10th - 11th October 2009

Saturday

Solent Rescue launched both the lifeboat and the smaller 5.4m rescue avon for the day in order to get all crew more boat time.

Solent Rescue 1 was placed at the disposal of Solent Coastguard and put on mooring.

A patrol of the Western Solent was undertaken at approximately 1pm.  Having just come off the mooring, we were immediately tasked to a broken down speed boat with four persons on board who had called for help by waving down a passing yacht.

Having been given a precise location relayed by the reporting vessel through Solent Coastguard, and with them circling the casualty, we rapidly got on scene (many thanks to the skipper). We proceeded to place them in a tow astern and took them back to Calshot slip to their trailer.

Once we got there, we put them in line with their trailer and were still assisting them when another request to head back out into the Western to assist a 40 ft yacht with slight engine over heat came in.

Luckily for casualty number 1, Solent Rescue 2 was now on scene and the crew quickly released SR1 crew to head back out (Cheers Mick and Andy).

After a quick crew change, the vessel sat off the Beaulieu river entrance awaiting the arrival of the second tasking merrily sailing his way east.

SR2 by this time had completed with the first incident and arrived back on station and headed further west to locate the sail.

SR2 located and offered a shadow in case anything untoward occurred, nothing did and the skipper arrived at the Beaulieu entrance at the specified time.

A side by side two was requested and all SR1 had to do was provide propulsion, the captain of the yacht navigated to a suitable mooring as directed by the harbour master.

Sunday                                                           

SR1 and SR2 refuelled and returned to mooring for tasking, no incidents upon the water, although crew did come to the aid of an ice cream truck with a snapped drive shaft. 

Free ice creams next year please.