Falmouth lifeboats exceed 2022 callout figures after busy week
The volunteers had a busy night on Wednesday (August 30) - after being called out to two incidents
Falmouth lifeboats have now exceeded the total number of callouts for the whole of last year.
The all-weather lifeboat's been used 25 times, while the inshore vessel's been taken out 66 times.
It's after a busy evening on Wednesday - which saw the volunteers paged out to a medical emergency and a grounded yacht.
Volunteers were launched out on their inshore lifeboat on Wednesday evening (30 August) to the incidents, which saw them not getting back until after midnight the next day.
The incidents
Just as the RNLI volunteer team were getting ready to head on an exercise, they were paged by a Falmouth Coastguard following a 999 call for urgent medical assistance.
They were sent out to help a 34-year-old woman who was on an isolated beach east of East Portholland.
Falmouth's B class Atlantic 85 lifeboat 'Robina Nixon Chard' was launched within five minutes with four crew on board, including the station’s RNLI Lifeboat Medical Advisor, Rachael Wilson, arriving on scene at 7.33pm.
They were joined by the HM Coastguard helicopter, Rescue 924, who flew in from Newquay Airport, as well as the Mevagissey Coastguard Rescue team, who had also been tasked to assist.
The casualty had been transferred by dinghy to the nearby car park by the time Falmouth's volunteer crew had arrived, where the casualty was now sat in the family car.
The lifeboat dropped the doctor and another crew member ashore to administer casualty care.
The woman was then driven three minutes up the hill to the helicopter, which was waiting for them.
After the 34-year-old was checked over by the Coastguard paramedic, she was transferred to the helicopter and taken to hospital.
Following the incident, the two lifeboat crew then returned to the beach and to the lifeboat, which then came back to collect the remaining four members of the family, dropping them back at the car park.
Once the lifeboat was released by the lifeguard, at 8.42pm, it came back to Falmouth Lifeboat Station at 9.24pm, before it closed down ready for service again at 9.50pm.
However, that wasn't the end of that night's action for the volunteer crew.
At 10.56pm, shortly after the crew had returned home, their pagers sounded once again.
They were called out following a radio call which was received by the Coastguard advising that a 34ft yacht had run aground in the Percuil River, St Mawes.
The inshore lifeboat launched at 11.08pm, arriving on scene at 11.23pm.
The tide was only one hour off low tide.
Because of the low levels of the water, the lifeboat was unable to get fully alongside or to refloat the yacht.
Following discussions with the casualty, and noting that the yacht had not been damaged, the lifeboat crew confirmed that the occupants were happy to stay aboard and refloat the vessel on the incoming tide.
The lifeboat was then released, returning to station by midnight, closing down once again at 12.15am - finally meaning the lifeboat team could get some rest.
With these call outs, this year, both Falmouth lifeboats have now exceeded the total number of services from 2022, with the all-weather lifeboat being called out 25 times and the inshore lifeboat 66 times.