It was another busy Bank Holiday weekend for all three rescue services in Smalltown, as they were kept on high alert ready to rescue people who were unaware that they needed rescuing.
Smalltown Coastguard and Smalltown Area Ship Hovercraft and Helicopter (SMASHH) crews were called to several incidents on Bream beach and worked hard to ensure that they arrived on scene before the Really Needy Lifesaving Association (RNLA).
“The first job was a call to Bream after a person was seen on the beach. They were walking and then sitting and then walking again. When we arrived on scene the person was observed to be part of a group of people who were enjoying the sunshine” said a Coastguard spokesperson.
“We approached the group and issued some safety advice about the dangers of enjoying themselves on the beach. They told us that they were waiting for the tide to come in as they were hoping to go for a swim, so we gave them further safety advice advising them not to swim because swimming is dangerous.”
They assured us that instead of swimming they would just have a paddle, so we issued some more safety advice advising them of the dangers of paddling, because paddling can be dangerous. They agreed that they would head off back home and thanked us for the safety advice.
We then advised SMASHH that they their presence was not required and they were a little bit annoyed, because they were already on their way. However, they were able to rendezvous back at their headquarters where they hosed down their equipment and had a cup of tea with Hobnobs.
On Monday Smalltown Coastguard received a call alerting them to a stricken yacht which was experiencing difficulties after their anchor winch broke and they found themselves stuck in the water near Chernobyl-by-Sea.
A Smalltown Coastguard Spokesperson said “We received a phone call asking if we could attend the incident. Unfortunately the Really Needed Lifesaving Association (RNLA) had hacked our phone and sprang into action. Luckily for them the tide was in and so they were able to launch their lifeboat from Smalltown Jetty.”
Lifeboat spokesperson, Dick Sprout said” “When we reached the yacht we quickly realised that we couldn’t raise the anchor so we attached a buoy to it and cut the chain. We had to work quickly because the tide was on the way out and there was a strong possibility that both the yacht and our lifeboat would be left high and dry.
After cutting the anchor, both we and the yacht crew were able to sail to safety. We returned to Smalltown Jetty, where a large group of people were able to watch us return to base and we wasted no time in getting our donation buckets out. Once we had a good sum of money we returned to our station, hosed down our equipment and had a cup of tea with biscuits.
Meanwhile, in a second incident at Bream, Smalltown Coastguard were called to reports of a dog stuck in the mud.
A Coastguard spokesperson said “We were asked to attend for the safety of the owners, because there was a strong possibility that they may have attempted to extricate the dog themsves and they did not have the relevant skills. It is important that members of the public do not attempt a rescue themselves as it it best to leave rescuing to the professionals.
Unfortunately, before we even reached our headquarters we received a further phone call to tell us that the dog was no longer stuck in the mud and our attendance was not needed, so we were able to hose down our equipment and have a cup of tea with biscuits instead.”