A SMALL boat with three men on board was rescued by Tynemouth and Cullercoats RNLI lifeboats this morning after it suffered mechanical failure and drifted onto rocks at South Shields pier.
Humber Coastguard requested the launch of Tynemouth RNLI’s inshore lifeboat at 09.59, and tasked Cullercoats RNLI lifeboat which was already launched and carrying out a regular crew training exercise.
Cullercoats lifeboat reached the boat, a 5m cabin cruiser, first and immediately towed it to safer water away from the rocks. Tynemouth’s inshore lifeboat then arrived and went alongside the boat to keep it stable during the tow to the nearby South Shields slipway, where Cullercoats lifeboat transferred the tow to the Tynemouth boat to get the casualty vessel close enough to shore where it could be recovered onto a trailer.
Once the boat and its occupants were safe, the lifeboat returned to station.
Lifeboat: D-693 Mark Noble