Thursday 19th February 2004

It was a bright and sunny day with a cutting cold easterly wind. The ILB was launched twice......

1245hrs. A yacht run aground at Aunt Betty's buoy which was towed to safety.

1551hrs. The ILB was launched, again, to a report of three children in a 7ft inflatable dinghy drifting towards the harbour's busy entrance. The ILB gained visual from Red Horn Lake and found them to be stuck on the mud south west of Brownsea Island. The three fourteen year olds had been sailing via yacht with their dad when they decided to have a trip out on the dinghy, unaware the low Spring Tide which caught them out. The crew reached the children by utilising the X-boat (a small inflatable dinghy which is used for mud rescues). The children were found to be in a hypothermic state, due to the weather conditions and the casualty dinghy being half filled with water. A speedy passage back to the boathouse ensued, where an ambulance was waiting to take them to hospital for treatment.

ILB Crews

1st Shout
Paul Singleton (aka Flipper) - Helmsman, Danny Hawkes, Stuart Newcombe and Mike Haw.

2nd Shout

Paul Singleton - Helmsman, James Haw, John Vine, Mike Fearn.