Minehead RNLI crew saved three lives in 2016

Official figures released by the RNLI this week reveal that of that casualty total, three were officially classified as ‘lives saved’.

The volunteer crew of 18 men and women provide safety and rescue cover along the Bristol Channel coast from Lynmouth to Hinkley Point, a patch which includes the highest sea cliffs in England between Porlock Weir and Foreland Point.

Of the 16 calls, 14 services were carried out at night, and in total the crew spent a total of 122 hours at sea.

The number of calls was eight fewer than 2015’s total and, said RNLI Minehead chairman Bryan Stoner that was probably partly a reflection of 2016’s better weather.

“On the other hand across the country the RNLI has been working tremendously hard hammering home the message of safety at sea,” he said.

“The emphasis is now much more on using education to prevent things going wrong, though of course we are still ready to intervene whenever they do.”

In total, crews at Somerset’s four RNLI stations – Minehead, Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-mare and Portishead – launched 160 times, rescued 80 people and saved 10 lives last year.

Minehead’s latest call came on Monday afternoon when the crew was in action towing in a yacht which had suffered steering failure in Porlock Bay.

Cheques worth more than £3,000 were handed over to two local charities this week by ladies from the former Millennium 352 masonic lodge in Watchet.

The money was divided between Minehead lifeboat station and Dorset and Somerset air ambulance.

The RNLI is urging people to put their safety first when visiting the coast this Easter

Steve Instance, RNLI community safety partner, said: "As the Easter holidays approach, we’d like to remind people that despite it being spring, the conditions around the coast can still be challenging and should you go in the water intentionally or unintentionally, the sea is extremely cold at this time of year making cold water shock a real danger."