Members of the Smalltown Canoe Club rowed to the rescue of a ship from the Smalltown Sailing Club, which ran aground on the rocks at FREE Cake Island on Saturday.
The ship was taking part in the Smalltown Boat Race, taking place in Main Street when disaster struck. Ship owner, Jack Onassis said “I had totally forgotten about the hazard to shipping outside G. W. Hurlings, where a pile of leftover stale rock cakes had been submerged under the flood waters. Before I knew it I was totally wedged. Luckily the Canoe Club were on hand to help me out of my predicament.”
A spokesoar from the Canoe Club told SomersetClive ‘With the Really Needy Lifesaving Association (RNLA) busy counting up their donations received during the week, and with both the Coastguard and the Smalltown Area Ship, Hovercraft and Helicopter (SMASHH) still hosing down their equipment after taking part in the Jubilee Parade on Thursday, it was left to us to enact a rescue. We managed to tie a rope to a tow hook on the prow of the ship and then pull it to safety.
We’ve had people come up to us and call us ‘heroes’ and tell us that without us Main Street could have been closed for weeks. Some have even suggested that we should set up our own rescue service, but that idea is a load of rollocks, three sea rescue services in Smalltown is more than enough for any estuary.”
The RNLA, Coastguard and SMASHH were said to be ‘gutted’ about missing the opportunity for press coverage with one crew member saying “An actual real-life rescue situation involving water and a ship. And we missed it.”