Volunteers from Bridlington RNLI battled through miles of thick fog to evacuate a man who had fallen ill on a drilling platform 26 nautical miles out at sea from Flamborough Head.
The team sprang into action after receiving a launch request from HM Coastguard shortly after 8pm on Friday (December 27). Under normal circumstances, the Coastguard would have deployed their search and rescue helicopter, but adverse weather conditions made this not possible.
The Bridlington RNLI all-weather lifeboat (ALB) ‘Antony Patrick Jones’, manned by a six-person crew, was launched shortly after the tasking request. Despite thick fog blanketing the East Yorkshire coast and significantly reducing visibility, the crew set off at a brisk pace to meet with the platform.
The sea state was slight, with a light south-westerly wind blowing. By 10pm, thanks to the skill of the volunteer crew, the ALB had reached the drilling platform and the casualty vessel.
The patient was evacuated from the platform and brought aboard the lifeboat, which left the scene at 11pm to navigate back through the fog towards Bridlington harbour. Upon arrival in East Yorkshire, the patient was transferred to an awaiting ambulance and taken to hospital for medical treatment.
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The volunteer crew aboard the ALB returned to the beach, where the boat was recovered, cleaned down and refuelled by 1am.
Volunteer Andy Rodgers, who served as the navigator on the night, said: “Due to the dense fog, visibility was drastically diminished which made navigation of the lifeboat critical. We train regularly for such occasions so we are ready to act when such weather conditions prevail.
“All the crew step up with increased lookouts, extra vigilance on the radar and increased position checks to ensure we are staying on route to the casualty and the same on the way home again.”