‘IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE’
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Lymington voluntary crew were paged at 1438 on 22 March by HM Coastguard to assist Martin Blount.
Three crewmembers launched Lymington’s Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat
David Bradley and managed to locate the cruiser on its river mooring to the north of Berthon. The lifeboat moored alongside the vessel and three crew members went on board to try and locate the casualty.
RNLI volunteer Jamie Lever was among the rescuers. They believed the casualty to be in the bilge so immediately went inside the cabin. They then went back on deck and found Martin wedged upside down in the lazarette locker.
Jamie said: ‘When we couldn’t find him, I turned around and all I could see were his wellies.’
Helm Phil Baker described it as ‘a very unique shout, which I haven’t seen in my 30 years of service.’
He added: ‘The casualty was very lucky and he did the right thing by having a phone on his person, so he was able to contact HM Coastguard for help.’
Getting stuck on a boat is more common than people might realise.
Jamie, who used to work on superyachts, said: ‘It happened to me,
I’ve managed to get stuck on board a boat before and I obviously work on the water. I was on a 60ft Grand Banks motorboat, I went under the stairs to service the vacuum tank for the toilet and I got my hips stuck. I was working alone and it took me an hour to get out.
‘I think it’s a very common thing. And in fact when I went to retrieve Martin’s phone from his locker I nearly went in, it could have been a comedy of errors.
‘It’s just shows the importance of carrying a mobile phone in your pocket – not the top one as it could fall out – and to tell somebody what time you think you’re going to be back.’
The lifeboat crewmembers assessed Martin before lifting him onto the deck of the yacht. They monitored his blood pressure and administered oxygen and once stable, Martin was transferred to the lifeboat and then into the care of the ambulance crew waiting on Lymington Town Quay.
Martin praised the ambulance crew: ‘They were very reassuring. I was in there for an hour and a half and they made me feel a lot better.’
Later Martin contacted the RNLI. He said: ‘Thank you to the crew and lifeboat for getting out of a difficult situation very professionally. I don’t think I would have survived much longer and will be forever in your debt.’