Five rescued from Hire Boat aground on Flat Owers

Five teachers hired a motor launch from Dartmouth and at 10.50am, one hour after high water, went aground on the Flat Owers mud bank up the River Dart. Falmouth Coastguard tasked the Dart RNLI D class to assess the situation. The boat was found to be 150m from navigable water and a crew member was given permission by the Coastguard to assess their condition, take them water and provide a radio for communication. In view of the length of time before they would float free the Coastguard decided to deploy their mud rescue teams from Teignmouth and Prawle. The Teignmouth team assembled on Greenway Quay, inflated their rescue raft and two Coastguard mud rescue technicians and their equipment were taken on board. In the mean time the Dart RNLI B class crew had been assembled at the lifeboat station and, with the permission of the Area Lifesaving manager, brought the Prawle Coastguard team and their equipment to the scene. Three Coastguard technicians towed the two rescue rafts across the mud, trailing two 200m floating lines. The D class crew took one of the lines to the B class lifeboat through a pulley that had been attached to a moored buoy. The B class was able to pull the rescue raft with three teachers and one technician to the water's edge where they were taken on board the D class and transferred to the B class. By that time the Hire Boat was floating with two teachers on board and could be pulled by the two technicians to the D class. The D class crew transferred the Teignmouth equipment and coastguard team to Greenway Quay and the B class lifeboat accompanied the Hire Boat and took the Prawle team and those rescued to Dartmouth.

View video of this launch on the RNLI website