12th June 2019. The team at NCI Chapel Point have provided vital assistance to Skegness RNLI.

Skegness inshore lifeboat was launched to reports of an inflatable dinghy being blown out to sea with two people on board, a mile and a half miles out to sea from the coast at Chapel St Leonards, north of Skegness. The RNLI crew worked with the assistance of NCI Chapel Point, who were able to accurately guide the lifeboat to the dinghy’s position. The four metre inflatable dinghy was located drifting north east out to sea on the days stiff south westerly wind and its occupants were unaware of the danger they were in or the difficulty they would have trying to reach the shore. The two occupants of the inflatable were assessed to make sure they were in good health and transferred to the lifeboat, eventually being brought back to the shore and handed to the care of local coastguard officers.

 The NCI Chapel Point watchkeepers on duty, Barry Caldicott (DSM Chapel Point) and Watchkeeper Alan England who conned in the lifeboat had taken part in a joint exercise with the NCI stations at Mablethorpe and Skegnessa few days before.

 Lee St Quinton, RNLI Helmsman for Skegness RNLI Lifeboat, says: ‘On this occasion the gentlemen were very lucky that someone had alerted us to their plight, inflatable boats and dinghys are not suitable for the open sea and should not be used where a situation like this can evolve. In this case the people involved were not prepared for emergencies, there were no life jackets and no method of alerting anyone for help save for mobile phones which are not reliable out to sea.’

A video of the incident can be seen at www.news.com.au/video/id-5348771529001-6047004069001