Littlehampton RNLI conduct night-time rescue as boat runs aground near beach

At 9.15pm on Saturday (April 22), HM Coastguard requested assistance from Littlehampton’s lifeboat crews to assist with recovering a vessel, which had ‘run aground near the beach’.

The vessel had reportedly run aground approximately one mile west of the harbour entrance.

An RNLI spokesperson said: “The station’s B-Class inshore lifeboat Renee Sherman was launched, facing waves of up to 2.5m in height and a moderately strong Force 4-5 southerly wind.

"Arriving at the scene it became apparent that, although now two hours after low tide, the water level was still too low for the lifeboat to reach the casualty vessel. The decision was therefore taken to also launch the station’s smaller D-Class lifeboat Ray of Hope which, with a smaller draft, can operate in shallower water.

"Although it was dark the visibility was good, but both boat crews faced rain and hail as they combatted the waves.”

The D-Class lifeboat managed to get close to the beach amongst the breaking surf and sent an RNLI crew member ashore. They were able to attach a tow rope to the casualty vessel – a 6.1m boat with an outboard engine.

The spokesperson added: “Once towed through the surf an RNLI crew member safely boarded the vessel to double check for signs of any significant damage to its hull.

"All seemed well and the vessel was towed back to Littlehampton harbour where it was moored alongside at Fisherman’s Quay. Both lifeboats were then recovered from the water, cleaned and returned to the boathouse.”

The deputy launch authority for this incident was Nick White, the lifeboat operations manager at Littlehampton lifeboat station.

He said: “Night time rescues are more complex due to reduced visibility, especially when the sea state has significant wave heights. The recovery of the vessel that had run aground was complicated by the fact that it was a lee shore wind, one that is blowing from the sea to the land, which creates a lot of surf and breaking waves.

“The RNLI crew at Littlehampton are well versed in dealing with these conditions though and were able to complete the vessel recovery in a safe and efficient manner.”

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