Latest News 2006
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The
longest trek… Former
actress Jannina Henderson, who set out on 1st January 2006 to walk more
than 4,000 miles around the coast of Britain to raise money for a new
Lizard Lifeboat, reached
The Lizard in early November – and completed her epic walk bang on
time on 25th November at Lyme Regis. |
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Round-Britain walker homes in on The Lizard lifeboat Former
actress Jannina Henderson, who is walking 5,000 miles around the
coast of Britain to raise money for a new Lizard RNLI Lifeboat,
reached The Lizard lifeboat station this week - and now has
less than 300 miles to go on her trek. Jannina
was welcomed by members of The Lizard lifeboat including coxswain
Phil Burgess. Jannina
set off with her two dogs Jago and Tressa on January 1st from Lyme
Regis, heading anti-clockwise right round Britain. She has now
walked the entire coastline of England, Scotland and Wales except
for the final stretch from Coverack to Lyme Regis.
She said at The Lizard this week:
"It's like coming home. I've had the most amazing weather for
the last eight or nine days, and for that to welcome me to The
Lizard makes it all just perfect."
In the last 10 months she has faced
hurricane-force gales, pathless wildernesses
and exhaustion,
averaging more than 16 miles a day. "But it's all been worth
it, a marvellous experience," she says.
Her
walk will end at Lyme Regis on November 25th.
Jannina
is covering all the costs of her walk so that every penny collected
will go to the new lifeboat fund at The Lizard, The Wooodland Trust,
the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the Topsy
Foundation, an Aids orphanage in South Africa. Details
of the walk and how people can support Jannina are available on a
special website at
www.walkingthewalk2006.com. |
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The
Lizard Lifeboat rescues injured yachtsman The
Lizard lifeboat spent seven hours at sea yesterday (Wednesday November 1st)
going to the aid of an injured French yachtsman more than 30 miles
south-east of The Lizard. The
Lizard lifeboat brought the yacht into |
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The Lizard Lifeboat goes to container ship's aid
The
Lizard Lifeboat David Robinson was launched for the third
time in five days on
Thursday
28th September
to go to the aid of a large container vessel. An
engine problem had hit the container ship Geest Externo
just over three miles from The Lizard's treacherous rocky coast, and
the vessel, laden with bananas, was drifting. The
Geest Externo, bound for Dublin, radioed the coastguard for
help and the Lizard RNLI lifeboat was launched under the command of
second coxswain David Hill to go to the ship and stand by while the
problem was dealt with. The
ocean tug Anglican Princess was also tasked from Mounts Bay
to escort the Geest Externo once repairs had been made.
The container vessel got under way again at around 6am, and The Lizard
lifeboat returned to its base at Kilcobben Cove. This
was the ninth call-out for The Lizard lifeboat during August and
September.
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Busy weekend for The Lizard Lifeboat The Lizard lifeboat was called out twice in 12 hours over the weekend of 23rd/24th September, spending more than seven hours at sea. Just a few hours after returning from a joint air-sea search for a missing yachtsman on Saturday, the RNLI lifeboat David Robinson was called out again, this time to a yacht in trouble. The vessel, a 44ft single-handed Swedish yacht that had sailed from Florida via Bermuda, had spent the past two weeks in what the skipper described as near hurricane conditions, suffering damage at times to his stern gear. He called Falmouth Coastguard on Saturday night requesting assistance when his rudder was snagged on lobster pot lines, 3.5 miles east of The Lizard station. The lifeboat was launched with seven crew on board under second coxswain Dave Hill's command just after 10 pm. The yacht was quickly released from the snagging lines, but with disabled steering gear, it was then towed to Falmouth by the lifeboat. The David Robinson returned to its station at Kilcobben Cove in the small hours of Sunday and was refuelled and ready for service again by 1.20 Sunday morning. |
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The Lizard Lifeboat's busiest weekend The Lizard Lifeboat David Robinson was back in the water just hours after returning from its second yacht rescue in 72 hours - this time to the 24-ft yacht Peedy, in trouble off the dangerous rocks of Lizard Point. The RNLI lifeboat put a tow on board the drifting yacht, which had two people on board, and towed it safely to Newlyn. The Lizard boat returned to its Kilcobben Cove station after more than four hours in action. This was the third yacht rescue in as many days for The Lizard lifeboat - and the sixth yacht to be rescued in the first three weeks of August, making it one of the David Robinson's busiest months in memory. |
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The Lizard Lifeboat rescues two yachts in three days
The
Lizard lifeboat David Robinson was called out for the second time
in 72 hours on Saturday
26th August
to go to the aid of a stricken two-masted yacht. The
42-ft yawl Passeve, on passage from Spain to the Solent, had
a fouled propeller seven miles South-west of The Lizard and had to
be towed into Newlyn by the RNLI lifeboat. The lifeboat returned to its
station after five hours at sea.
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The Lizard Lifeboat goes to yacht's aid The Lizard lifeboat spent the whole of Wednesday night (August 23rd) going to the rescue of a yacht in trouble 22 miles South-East of the Lizard. The RNLI lifeboat David Robinson was called out just before midnight to the stricken yacht Ziphius, which had been hit by engine, rudder and communications problems during a voyage from France to Plymouth. The lifeboat towed the yacht, with a three-man crew on board, to Falmouth before returning to its station at Kilcobben Cove after seven hours at sea. It was the fourth rescue of a stricken yacht by The Lizard Lifeboat during August, during which it spent a total of well over 24 hours at sea. |
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The Lizard Lifeboat Day cancelled for real drama Less than 18 hours after rescuing the yacht Lola, The Lizard RNLI lifeboat was called out again on the 13th august- just one hour before the scheduled start of its annual Lifeboat Day show. This time the David Robinson was launched to go to the aid of a 42-ft lugger believed to be sinking four miles off the Lizard coast. Such was the urgency that The Lizard boat was launched from its slipway within eight minutes of the alarm first being raised. An RNAS helicopter joined the lifeboat and two pumps were put aboard the lugger Ibis to pump it out. Once the situation was stabilised, The Lizard lifeboat towed the stricken vessel, which had two crew on board, to Newlyn. By the time the lifeboat returned to its Kilcobben Cove home, the whole operation had taken around six hours - a total of more than 12 hours at sea in the last 24. Sadly, the rescue meant that the David Robinson's demonstration day at Lizard Point - a major fund-raiser for the boat every year - had to be cancelled. The Lizard's operations manager Peter Greenslade said: "We are sure that people will understand why the demonstration had to take second place, and hope that they will feel moved to send a donation to The Lizard RNLI lifeboat after having heard about these two rescues in the space of just 24 hours.
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The Lizard lifeboat in wedding day rescue Lizard lifeboatman Darren Thirlaway will never forget his wedding day - and nor will the rest of The Lizard RNLI lifeboat's crew. As Darren and his bride Andrea Orchard stood at the altar in the tiny Lizard parish church of St Wynwallow on Saturday, lifeboat crew alarm pagers started bleeping - a yacht was in trouble out to sea. Bell-ringer John Harris, wedding guest Jonathan Bray and guard-of-honour members Nick Pryor and Geoff Ashby - all members of the crew or shore team - immediately left the service and rushed to the lifeboat station a few hundred yards away. Rector the Rev Bill Cole, who was officiating at the service, said: "They were really very discreet about it, they slipped away very quietly - I only noticed when I suddenly saw there were a few members of the congregation missing. Other crew members, including coxswain Phil Burgess, had also been on the way to the church to take part in a guard of honour but instead had to drive straight past the church to the lifeboat house. The Lizard lifeboat David Robinson was swiftly launched - and then came a phone call for help from the church. Offduty crewman Fergus Muller asked if anyone was available to form a shortened guard of honour when Darren and Andrea left the church. So Geoff Ashby, John Harris and Fergus formed the guard as the happy couple came out of the church. Meanwhile out at sea The Lizard lifeboat was heading to the rescue of a 25-foot French chartered yacht Lola, which had been dismasted in a strong north-westerly wind 13 miles west off The Lizard. The yacht had a French crew of five - three women and two men - including a woman skipper. Coxswain Phil Burgess said: "The skipper was very experienced and knew what she was doing, but it was a bit of a mess. There seemed to have been a rigging failure and the mast was hanging over the side. In the end we had to cut it away." The Lola was then towed into Newlyn and The Lizard lifeboat returned to its station after eight hours at sea. Wedding guest Jonathan Bray was not going to miss the wedding reception fun, though: "I managed to change and go straight over to the evening reception at Manaccan," he said. And to complete a hectic weekend for the whole crew,
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The Lizard lifeboat saves cross-channel yacht The Lizard lifeboat went to the aid of an exhausted cross-channel yacht crew on Thursday 3rd August, 14 miles out into the English Channel. The RNLI lifeboat David Robinson was launched just after 10 am when a fire was feared on board the 36-foot Jeu de Mer, 14 miles south-east of Lizard Point in southernmost Cornwall. When the lifeboat arrived at the scene, the four-person crew were found to be exhausted, having struggled all night with what appeared to be an overheating engine. The yacht, which had been en route from Cherbourg in France to Falmouth, finished its voyage by being taken in tow to the Cornish port by the David Robinson in a brisk Northerly wind . The Lizard lifeboat, with coxswain Phil Burgess in charge, returned to its home station at Kilcobben Cove more than six hours after launching.
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Dutch yacht rescued by The Lizard lifeboat The Lizard lifeboat David Robinson went to the aid of a Dutch yacht in trouble two miles south-west of Lizard Point on Saturday.15th July 2006 The RNLI lifeboat was launched at 2.45pm, skippered by coxswain Phil Burgess, to the 13-metre yacht, which was being crewed by a couple. The yacht had a fouled prop and rudder and had to be towed in a brisk easterly breeze to Newlyn by The Lizard lifeboat. The David Robinson returned to its Kilcobben Cove station at 6.40pm. |
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The Lizard lifeboat saves German yacht’s trip The Lizard lifeboat David Robinson went to the aid of a yacht hit by engine failure off the treacherous Lizard coast in the small hours of Monday 26th June. With coxswain Phil Burgess in charge, the RNLI lifeboat was launched after midnight in response to a call from the yacht Mira, becalmed two miles off the Lizard with two German couples on board. The 10-metre yacht was on passage from the Isles of Scilly to Falmouth when its engine failed in a calm sea. The David Robinson put a line aboard and towed the yacht with its crew to their Falmouth destination. The lifeboat returned to its station at Kilcobben Cove after more than five hours at sea. |