RNLI Amble assists local fishing vessel Fair Harvest

by Alan Stewart on 8 Jan 2015 RNLI volunteers from Amble Lifeboat station responded to their first call out of 2015, on Monday 5th January, by launching the all-weather lifeboat The Four Boys to assist local fishing vessel Fair Harvest, which reported as having engine trouble.

The launch was requested by HM Coastguard at 1017am after the Coble class vessel Fair Harvest reported having engine problems approximately 8 miles east of Amble Harbour. The two man crew of the vessel said that they were unable to make the necessary repairs at sea and requested assistance.

The all-weather lifeboat The Four Boys swiftly reached the stricken vessel and the volunteers quickly assessed the situation. A towline was established between the two vessels and the boat was taken undertow back to the safety of Amble Harbour for repairs.

In 2017, Amble's current all-weather Mersey class lifeboat The Four Boys, will be nearing the end of her operational life and will be replaced by the newest member of the RNLI fleet, a £2M Shannon class lifeboat.

The Shannon is the RNLI's next generation all-weather class lifeboat and is the most agile in the RNLI fleet. It is the first modern RNLI all-weather lifeboat to be propelled by water jets and not propellers. Capable of speeds up to 25 knots, the Shannon is 50% faster than the lifeboats it replaces, ensuring that those in need can be reached more quickly than before.

Amble RNLI launched a fundraising appeal in July 2014 to raise £200,000 towards the cost of their new RNLI website