No Liferaft, No Navigation, Lucky Save
by EADT on 2 Oct 2007
The Faem wasnt so lucky SW
Three people who went to sea on a 35ft sailing boat off the coast of Essex in the UK yesterday had no life raft, and then their (lack of) navigational skills put them on a sand bank in rough seas. They were fortunate that the local RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) acted quickly, as their boat was rapidly sinking and they were almost submerged in the cold water by the time help arrived.
The Walton and Frinton RNLI lifeboat launched after a mayday call was received from the three people whose yacht, the Faem had became lodged on the sandbank.
It is thought the Faem and its crew were travelling from Gravesend in Kent to Humberside when they ran into trouble about 20 miles from the Walton coast at Long Sand Head at about 5.30am.
The three people, a man, his wife and his brother, had fired red flares into the sky and were found clinging to the front rail of the yacht which had started to sink and fall apart.
Lifeboats and an RAF rescue helicopter headed out to the scene while an ambulance waited on the shore.
Coxswain of the Walton and Frinton lifeboat, Gary Edwards, said the trio were lucky and could have been at serious risk if they had stayed in the water for much longer.
He said: 'It was one of those rescues that we really did pluck them from the guard rail as it went down.
'By the time we got them off the yacht they were sitting on the only part that was visible - she (the Faem) was more or less gone.'
Mr Edwards said the yacht was not equipped with a life-raft, leaving the crew with little option but to cling on.
They were taken ashore and taken to Colchester General Hospital for treatment.
Mr Edwards added: 'They were soaking wet and very cold. They ended up in the water, for all intents and purposes.'
A spokesman for East of England Ambulance Service said the trio, all aged in their late 50s and early 60s, seemed in good spirits and had suffered no serious injuries.
She said they mainly needed 'warming up' after spending about half an hour in the cold water.
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