Lifeboat crew rescued four people in a sinking canoe just outside Shoreham Harbour last week.
The struggling outrigger rowing boat was first spotted by a volunteer watchkeeper about 1/4 mile outside the harbour entrance at about 11.30am on Friday (16 January).
The watchkeeper, from the Shoreham National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), alerted HM coastguard and kept it under observation until Shoreham RNLI’s D-class inshore lifeboat, the Joan Woodland, arrived on scene.
Despite the casualties all being experienced outriggers, they had been caught out by the sea conditions and were unable to keep up bailing out the amount water swamping their boat.
Shoreham RNLI got the vessel under tow, taking them ashore to bail out and then escorting them back into the harbour and to the Sussex Yacht Club, where they were met by the local volunteer coastguard team.
Adam Fox, inshore lifeboat helm, said: “We were happy to be able to help the four outriggers who got into trouble.
“It just goes to show that even those who are experienced can get into difficulties, but they were all doing the right thing by wearing lifejackets, and we’re grateful to our friends at NCI Shoreham who saw that they were in trouble and alerted the coastguard.”
Jonathan Ellman-Brown, one of the outriggers rescued and chairman of the Shoreham Outrigger Canoe club, said: “After launching safely on the high dropping tide off Shoreham Beach we took on a critical volume of water just south of the harbour entrance.
“We could still somehow paddle the submerged four-man outrigger canoe, it was just particularly inefficient!
“The team at the NCI Shoreham lookout saw our plight and called it in to the coastguard. In turn, the RNLI inshore lifeboat crew arrived and calmly worked with us to securely tow our canoe into the relative safety just east of the harbour arm.
“From there we were able to catch a large wave and run her up the beach, empty the water then re launch and paddle into the harbour safely.
“Had it not been for the RNLI, we’d have struggled for a lot longer when we were already tired, which may have ended up with us abandoning the canoe.
“Our canoe recovery training that we practice each year with the Sussex Yacht Club safety boat teams paid off big time.
“Thanks to the NCI, the crew on the lifeboat and all the back stage volunteers, including Shoreham Coastguard, for your diligent and selfless work keeping all of us seafarers safe.”
Stephen Hand, watch-keeper on duty and Chair of the NCI, said: “It was a privilege to assist highly professional colleagues at Solent Coastguard and Shoreham RNLI and be part of successful multi agency teamwork to recover the outrigger in difficulties.
“Everyone involved did what they do best.”
