Latest Shout
If They Hadn't Launched The ILB So Quickly, I Wouldn't Be Here
Libruary Photo
The St Ives Inshore Lifeboat
Colin Bramley Parker
& her crew made an emergency Self Launch Monday Afternoon (25 th June 2007), to rescue a local St Ives man who had gone out to try and bail out his boat in the harbour, saving him with just moments to spare as he fought against the weight of his waders full of water. He is certain that had the ILB been just a minute or so later, he would not be here to tell his story. The situation unfolded on Monday Afternoon, as strong winds brought rough seas into the normally sheltered St Ives harbour, causing self hire boat owners to bring their boats ashore, and causing problems for other local boat owners. After hearing a report that his 17ft Dory Jonathan Seagull was filling with water, St Ives local Peter Thomas went down to the harbour to check on his boat to find that the report was true and his boat was getting lower & lower in the water. With the tide going out he made the decision that it would now be OK to wade out to his boat to see what was happening, and with chest waders on, made his way out to his floundering boat. Reaching the boat almost up to his neck in water, he found that the boat was in fact full to the gunnels, so made the decision to try & beach the boat before the engine was ruined. Undoing the mooring he tried to drag the boat into the harbour to the beach, however the strong wind and outgoing tide ended up dragging him and the boat out towards the sea. Holding on to the side he tried to get into the boat, cutting the cover straps and managing to get one leg into the port side of the boat, not realising the trouble he was getting into. It all went badly wrong when at this point, as a wave hit the starboard side of the boat and with him on the opposite side, the boat capsized throwing him into the water.
With his boat heading out to sea upside down, and with his chest waders full of water & dragging him down, he tried to get his coat off so he could release the wader shoulder straps, but with the waders stopping him from kicking to keep afloat, he just couldn't get the coat off. After trying to get his legs up out of the water unsuccessfully, he know that he was in real trouble as his waders did their best to pull him under, and he was well out of his depth by now. Seeing a man in a yellow coat on the shore he tried to wave for help, in the hope that someone would see him. Seeing another boat moored about 25 yards away, he gave it everything he had and just managed to swim over to the mooring, almost missing it because of the drag of the tide & waves. Wrapping one leg around the mooring rope all he could do was hang on against the pull of his waders, tired & exhausted, and rapidly running out of energy.
While all this had been going on, he was fortunate enough to have been seen by another local man from the shore, and luckily for him the onlooker was brother to St Ives Lifeboat Coxswain, and realising how bad the situation was decided to speed things up by ringing his brother directly. Taking the call and seeing that Peter Thomas was in such trouble, Coxswain Tommy Cocking made the decision that there was absolutely no time to lose, and ?self launched' the Inshore Lifeboat at 3:35pm, bypassing the usual route of going through the Coastguard to save what could be vital seconds.
Launching the ILB with Anthony McClary and the helm and crewed by Scott Perkin and as an emergency measure Tommy Cocking, the ILB sped straight to Peter who was struggling to hang on to the boat mooring, and pulled him into the ILB. The poor conditions in the harbour were demonstrated when even as they stopped at the West Pier steps, the waves were still big enough to break right over the ILB, drenching the casualty lying in the boat.
After taking Peter into the boathouse it was clear that he was suffering from shock and mild hypothermia, and he was quickly taken out of his wet clothes and dressed in an RNLI Thermal Undersuit (as worn by ILB crew under their drysuit) to keep warm, before being taken to Royal Cornwall Hospital by ambulance. After being checked over, Peter was released early that evening, returning home by around 8.00 pm.
Talking after the event, Peter said that if Tommy hadn't jumped straight into the ILB, he would not be here now, he felt that he only had another minute or so before exhaustion would beat him and the waders would drag him under. He said that it also helped him immensely when he saw Tommy coming towards him in the ILB, and from that moment on he know that he would be OK. He also made a point of thanking everyone who helped him that afternoon, those who helped retrieve his boat, the informant, and the ILB crew who saved him, as well as all the many locals who have asked him since if he is OK.
Derek Hall
St Ives Lifeboat Press Officer
|
News
Havoc at St Ives Lifeboat House
New Inshore Lifeboat Delivered &
On Service
|
