The St Peter Port Lifeboat was launched for a medivac from Sark at 11:49 this morning (4th November 2019).  The Flying Christine III was already attending to an incident in Herm at the time, which necessitated the use of the All Weather Lifeboat. 

The Spirit of Guernsey departed Sark at 12:28 with 1 male casualty, arriving back in St Peter Port at 12:56. The ALB was back on station after refuelling at 13:21

At 1805 on Sunday 22^nd September 2019, Guernsey Coastguard received a radio call from a 45ft sailing vessel with 3 crew on board asking for assistance. The vessel was 5.5 miles North West of the Hanois Lighthouse and her engine was overheating. Whilst the fresh westerly breeze was allowing her to sail, she was struggling in increasingly high seas.

Given fading light and deteriorating weather conditions, St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) “Spirit of Guernsey” launched at 1843 in order to locate the vessel and to escort her safely back to St Peter Port. The ALB arrived on scene at 1905 and after conducting a welfare check with the vessel and her crew, it was agreed that she would sail under escort to St Peter Port.

Shortly after 2100 as both casualty and lifeboat approached the pier heads, a tow was established due to the ongoing issue with the overheating engine. Once safely in the Harbour, the tow was handed over to Harbour staff and the lifeboat returned to station.

At 1747 on Thursday 29^th August 2019, Guernsey Coastguard received a call regarding a 22ft motor vessel experiencing engine trouble 6 miles northeast of Sark. The vessel had one person on board and was struggling to make progress back to Guernsey due to a fuel supply issue. Attempts by Guernsey Coastguard to gain assistance from other vessels in the area failed. With the tide running fast to the north in the Big Russel and with less than 2 hours to go to sunset, St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) was launched at 1845 to locate and assist the casualty vessel arriving on scene at 1910. A lifeboat crew member was transferred to the vessel and a tow was established. The lifeboat and casualty arrived safely back in St Peter Port at 2030.

Meanwhile, at around 1930 Guernsey Coastguard took a 999 call from the skipper of an 18ft motor vessel that had run out of fuel near Platte Beacon northeast of the entrance to St Sampson’s Harbour. She was unable to anchor and was drifting quickly with the tide. After establishing that the vessel was standing into danger, St Peter Port Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) was paged and a MAYDAY Relay message was broadcast. 2 vessels in the area responded and proceeded quickly to the scene. Despite difficult conditions in the overfalls north of Platte Beacon, a towline was connected and the vessel was towed away from danger. The ILB was stood down and the vessel arrived safely back in St Sampson’s Harbour at 2030. Paramedics met the vessel on arrival and checked both crew over.

Following the 2 incidents, Guernsey Coastguard asks that all boat owners make sure that boat they and their vessel are fit to go to sea. Duty SAR Mission Coordinator James Way said “it is imperative that vessels are completely seaworthy and have all the necessary safety and communications equipment on board. It is equally important that skippers know how to operate all of the equipment carried and that they have the appropriate experience to safely navigate our challenging local waters”.