The crews of two fishing boats have the Royal Navy to thank for saving them in dramatic rescues at both ends of the country yesterday afternoon.
Four sailors were plucked to safety from a blazing boat in the Firth of Clyde by a Sea King from HMS Gannet.
Gannet winchman Taff Ashman pulls in the hi-line to lift two of the crew members (just seen at the left)
THE crews of two fishing boats have the Royal Navy to thank for saving them in dramatic rescues at both ends of the country yesterday afternoon.
Four sailors were plucked to safety from a blazing boat in the Firth of Clyde by a Sea King from HMS Gannet.
Meanwhile at almost exactly the same time in Plymouth Sound, the crew of HMS St Albans towed a stricken fishing vessel to safety before it was dashed on the rocks at Rame Head.
The Gannet rescue saw the trademark red and grey Sea King scramble in just six minutes of receiving the mayday from Belfast Coastguard.
They had picked up an SOS from the fishing vessel Amy Harris 3 from Campbeltown just after 3pm. It reported it was on fire some three miles south of Kilmory on the Isle of Arran.
In fading light, but moderate weather conditions, the Sea King was able to speed to the scene from its Ayrshire base in just a dozen minutes.
It was clear that the fire was in the wheelhouse of the Amy Harris 3 and it looked like it had spread. Although the helicopter crew could not see any flames, there was a significant amount of smoke to contend with.
The crew were preparing to abandon ship and take to the water in their life raft, but the rapid response by the Gannet helicopter meant that, when it arrived on scene, all four sailors were still on the forward deck of the burning boat.
However, quite a rough sea state meant that the boat itself was pitching around significantly in the water, making the winch transfer tricky.
The two pilots had no visual references to work with, so the flying of the aircraft was temporarily handed to the crew’s observer, Lt Cdr Andy Drodge, who was able to manoeuvre the aircraft into position using better sight lines from the aircraft’s cargo door, before handing control back to the pilots to maintain a hover over the burning boat.
“We arrived on scene very quickly,” explained Andy, who is also HMS Gannet’s Commanding Officer. ”Because the sea was quite rough, it immediately made the rescue more difficult.
“Our winchman, Petty Officer Taff Ashman, was lowered on to the bow of the boat beside the fishermen.
“Once Taff was on the deck we elected to winch the crew members off two at a time, with Taff remaining on the burning boat throughout to operate the hi-line.
“With all four sailors on board, Taff left our hi-line on the fishing boat and we positioned the helicopter above the deck to winch him clear.”
The whole rescue was conducted with speed and accuracy and was completed just 22 minutes after arriving at the stricken vessel.
All four of the sailors on board the fishing boat were uninjured and were transferred to Campbeltown airport by 4pm.
HMS St Albans’ RIB races towards the stricken Lady Ellen off Rame Head
By the time the Gannet Sea King had completed its rescue, the Lady Ellen was also safe, 350 miles to the south.
HMS St Albans had been just a couple of miles away when she picked up a mayday from the 18ft fishing boat, whose engine had failed close to Rame Head. She had started to drift perilously close to the rocks.
Brixham Coastguard coordinated other offers of assistance, but gave the job to ‘The Saint’ because the frigate’s marine engineers might be able to restart the engines; at the very least her sea boats would be able to tow her safely away from the cliffs.
The sea boat did just that, but the engineers realised the Lady Ellen would require more substantial repairs in Plymouth.
The RNLI and a pilot cutter take over rescue duties of the tiny Lady Ellen from HMS St Albans’ RIB
St Albans’s sea boat crew passed the tow over to pilot cutter Tamar Racer to take the Lady Ellen back to the Barbican, allowing the warship to finish her trials. The fishing boat’s crew of two were very grateful for the speedy assistance and no harm came to any of the fishermen.
AB John Bayne, the coxswain of the first sea boat on the scene, said: “As soon as we hear a mayday call we all react immediately. It was good that we were so close as the fishing boat was getting very close to the rocks.”
His commanding officer, Cdr Andrew Block, added: “We will always offer assistance to nearby seafarers – saving life at sea, regardless of who it is, is the first rule of any sailor.
“I am very proud of my ship’s company who reacted quickly and instinctively, ensuring that the crew of the Lady Ellen came to no harm.”
The rescue comes just three days after a joint effort by the crews of fishery protection ship HMS Severn and St Albans’ sister HMS Lancaster prevented the ocean-going tug Christos XXII sinking after she was holed in Torbay on Sunday night.
