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.

1st February 2010 - Looe Lifeboats In Search for Missing Lady 

Looe Lifeboats had their first shout of 2010 on the afternoon of Friday 29th January. The Atlantic Class ' Alan & Margaret' was launched at 14.15 hrs to search for a missing lady belived to be in the Talland Bay area.
The lifeboat searched the area along with Looe Coastguard. However, nothing was found and the search was called off at 15.30.

Crew were Brain Bowdler (Helm), John Crabb and Mike Berry. Weather conditions were a northerly force 4 wind with a slight sea.

Both Looe Lifeboats were launched again the following day Saturday 30th January at 11.05hrs to search for the same lady. The lady from Exmouth was belived to be in the Looe area and maybe on the cliff path.
A detailed search took place close to the shore and on the beaches from Looe to Polperro, also involved were Looe and Polruan Coastguards and Rescue 193 from Culdrose. All units searched the area thoroughly.

However there were no sightings and the lifeboatswere stood down at 12.30. Brixham coastguards coordinated on both occasions.

Crew on the Atlantic Class lifeboat were John Crabb (Helm), Verity Pope and James Chudleigh. The D Class 'Regina Mary' were Clive Palfrey (Helm), Dale Staff and Jamie Curtis. Weather conditions were a NE wind force 3 and a slight sea. The location of the lady is still unknown and further enquiries are taking place.

In 2009 Looe Lifeboats were involved in 34 shouts, saving 34 people, eight rescues of which took place in darkness. This placed Looe Lifeboats as the 5th most busy in Cornwall and 13th in the Southwest.