Bridlington RNLI rescue fishing vessel that lost power 28 miles from shore

Volunteer crew from Bridlington RNLI lifeboat station were tasked by HM Coastguards at 2.27pm on Thursday, April 4 in response to a fishing vessel ‘Onward Star’ that had lost power. The vessel had little chance of returning to port under its own steam some, 28 miles south-east of Bridlington.

With a volunteer crew of 6, Bridlington all-weather lifeboat (ALB) Antony Patrick Jones launched from Bridlington beach leaving the launch vehicle at 2.55pm.

With the all-weather lifeboat making good speed in reasonable sea conditions, the volunteer crew rendezvoused with the stricken fishing vessel in under just under two hours. Due to the position of the casualty vessel, which was close to the busy shipping grounds, the decision was taken to take it under tow, along with its crew of six and return the boat to Bridlington harbour.

After a slow but successful tow to Bridlington the fishing vessel was returned to the harbour with all its crew safely at 0.10 am, Friday, April 5. After leaving the harbour the lifeboat was recovered from the beach, washed down and re-fuelled, the ALB was back on service by 1.35 am.

Steve Emmerson, Bridlington RNLI Coxswain, said: “The tasking to assist a fishing vessel in trouble went very well, we conducted a tow of the vessel from a potentially dangerous situation whilst suffering engine trouble. The vessel was safely returned to Bridlington harbour and a good result for all concerned.”

Mike Sayer, skipper of the Onward Star said: “It was brilliant to see how fast the lifeboat arrived on the scene. It was clear that the volunteer crew knew exactly what they were doing, even to the point of when to get us safely back into the harbour, which gave us a great relief as the wind was just starting to increase. Any longer and it could have been very interesting.”