December 02, 2010                                                               

First shout for Looe’s new D class lifeboat

LOOE RNLI’S new D class lifeboat Ollie Naismith went out on its first shout last night to assist in a search for a missing pensioner.

At 11pm, a couple hours after the volunteer crew had completed their weekly training session, both the Atlantic lifeboat Alan and Margaret and the new D class were launched to help search for the woman.

Crews searched the coastline between Looe and Polperro, alongside Brixham coastguards, Looe and Polruan coastguards, police and a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter.

Search teams continued for more than two hours in freezing cold temperatures and were stood down at about 1.30am.

The woman was located by police this morning (Thursday December 2).

David Haines, Lifeboat Operations Manager, said: ‘Our two lifeboats, the Atlantic Alan and Margaret and D class Ollie Naismith were both launched to assist in the search of the woman.  This was the first shout with our new D class lifeboat and proved challenging as it was a freezing cold night. The new boat and the crew both performed extremely well in the conditions. We are relieved the woman was found safe and well.’

We're up to 48 launches this year so far, as of November 19, the busiest year Looe RNLI has ever had!

October 10, 2010                                                                   

Speedboat capsizes off Looe

LOOE’S two lifeboats were launched on Sunday morning to reports of a capsized speedboat.

The Atlantic and D Class lifeboats were launched at 8.30am and arrived to a mooring off Plaidy Beach, east of Looe to find an upturned cabin cruiser.

It is thought the vessel had capsized in the strong easterly winds over the weekend.  

The crew were unable to right the vessel and it was recovered later by the owner.

Looe’s two lifeboats were launched on Sunday morning to rescue a yacht aground on rocks.

The Atlantic and D Class lifeboats were launched at 8am following several 999 calls to Brixham Coastguard of a 20-ft yacht aground on the Mid Main rocks.

Volunteer crew arrived on the scene between Hannafore and Looe Island and found one person aboard the yacht.

Lifeboat operations manager David Haines said: “When the lifeboats arrived, the yacht was well aground on the reef of rocks with the tide going out. Due to the position the vessel was in, when the tide was low the yacht would have fallen over and cause considerable damage.”

The crew decided to tow the vessel clear and after a couple of attempts, was successful.

The yacht was towed to a mooring off Looe and checked for any damage before returning to harbour.

It was on course from Plymouth to Fowey.

The lifeboats returned to station at about 9am.

September 8, 2010

LOOE lifeboat took part in a two-hour search on Tuesday morning following reports a vessel had capsized.

The alarm was raised at 9.30am by a Downderry resident, who said they saw a sailing boat approximately 20 feet capsize.

Looe’s Atlantic lifeboat was launched and carried out an extensive search of the area. A Royal Navy Lynx helicopter from a destroyer ship in the area also took part in the search.

Looe Coastguard also took part in the search from the shore.

After extensive searching, nothing was found and all units were stood down.

Elsewhere….

Both of Looe’s lifeboats were called out on Friday after a boat encountered steering problems.

The vessel, with three persons onboard, was delivering furniture to St George’s Island when it lost its steering.

Due to the freshening onshore south east winds, it was decided to launch the Atlantic and D-Class lifeboats to tow the vessel into Looe harbour over the bar.

The boat was towed safely into Looe where repairs were made.

August 18, 2010                                                                     

Broken down fishing vessel towed in

Looe RNLI towed in a broken down fishing boat on Wednesday morning.

The Atlantic lifeboat 'Alan and Margaret' was launched at 6am to reports of a 20-ft fishing vessel off Portwrinkle with engine failure.

The boat had electrical problems and the skipper was unable to start the engine.

Looe lifeboat towed the boat, called Leanoa, back to Looe harbour for repairs.

Most of the volunteer crew were fast asleep when the pagers went off at 6am this morning - all except Verity Pope who was already at work busy making pasties.

Crew was helm John Crabb, Clive Palfrey and Jamie Curtis.

The lifeboat returned to station at 7.35am.

August 14, 2010                                                                     

Strong offshore winds result in several rescues

Volunteer crew from Looe RNLI launched on Friday night following reports of a broken down Cabin Cruiser.

The Atlantic lifeboat was launched at 8.30pm to the vessel which was drifting towards Looe Island.

The vessel was towed back into Looe harbour.

Two local fishermen also towed in boats during the day, after people got caught out by the strong north westerly winds.

One fisherman towed a small inflatable dinghy back to Looe beach with two holidaymakers aboard after it drifted rapidly offshore.

Later, another fisherman towed a canoeist back to shore after a woman was heard shouting for help drifting off Millendreath.

Last week, Looe RNLI also assisted in several rescues which involved dinghies drifting offshore.

The RNLI issue the following sea safety advice:

• Always wear a lifejacket

• Get trained – knowledge of your activity is essential

• Carry some means of calling for help

• Check your engine and fuel

• Check the weather and tide conditions before heading out

• Tell others where you are going

A couple rescued from their yacht after a suspected fire have thanked volunteer crew at Looe RNLI.

The Atlantic lifeboat Alan and Margaret was launched at 2.30pm on Tuesday afternoon (July 27) to reports of a suspected fire on a 32-ft yacht about two miles south of Looe Island.

On arrival, volunteer crew boarded the vessel and found an electrical fault with the yacht’s engine.

The yacht was towed back to Looe harbour by the lifeboat.

David Still and Isabelle Bricker from Torpoint were on their way to Fowey on the yacht when they noticed something wrong and raised the alarm.

Back on dry land at Looe, Isabelle said: “A huge thank you to the Looe RNLI for their help. The crew were amazing. We are very thankful.”

The lifeboat returned to station at 5pm.

photo shows Isabelle and David in Looe with their yacht (white) in the background after it was towed into harbour.

July 26, 2010

Busy weekend for Looe lifeboat

VOLUNTEER lifeboat crew at Looe had a busy weekend this weekend with two shouts in 24 hours.

On Saturday afternoon (July 24), the lifeboats were launched to reports of a fishing boat taking on water four miles south of Looe.

The pagers were set off at 4.30pm and both lifeboats, the Atlantic lifeboat Alan and Margaret and the D class lifeboat Regina Mary, were launched.

On arrival, crews boarded the vessel with salvage pump and pumped vessel dry.

The cause of the leak was soon found to be a mechanical failure and was repaired by crew.

The vessel returned to harbour under its own power escorted by the lifeboats. 

Crews returned to station at 6pm.

Then, on Sunday (July 25) at 4pm, the Atlantic lifeboat was launched following reports of a canoeist in difficulties off Hannafore near Looe Island.

It was found the canoeist was suffering from exhaustion and was assisted ashore by another canoeist before being treated by paramedics at Hannafore beach.

On returning to the harbour, lifeboat crews found a 25ft cabin cruiser drifting from Looe beach towards rocks off Hannafore.

The vessel was towed into Looe harbour safely.

Crews returned to station at approximately 5pm.

Want to Know When Shouts Take Place?

You can subscribe to a new service where you receive an SMS alert on your mobile once the lifeboat has launched on emergency service.

You can choose the stations you want and choose how much you would like to pay for the service. A portion of the fee goes to the RNLI, so not only are you kept in the know, you are contributing to the real cost of the lifeboat launch.

The SMS alerts are triggered by the crew pager system so shortly after they get the call, you do too.

However, unlike the crews you can choose what time of day you want to receive alerts and set a limit on the number of alerts received.. You can also pause the service, for example if going away on holiday.

To sign up visit www.rnli.org.uk/sms-launch-alerts.

This service is not available in the ROI.