Six people including a baby have been rescued from a speedboat that became stranded on rocks as the autumnal sunshine prompted a dash to the coast and led to a spate of sea rescues.
Two lifeboats were launched after walkers spotted the vessel stuck on rocks at Plaidy, near Looe on the south coast of Cornwall.
When the rescuers arrived, waves were crashing over the six people and the speedboat was quickly filling with water. The crew of the Ollie Naismith lifeboat helped the passengers, all local, scramble into their vessel. The second lifeboat, Alan & Margaret, put a tow line to the speedboat and managed to pull it free from the rocks.
All six people, who were wearing lifejackets, were taken to the Looe lifeboat station suffering with cold. They were warmed up before being checked by paramedics.
Dave Haines, Looe lifeboat operations manager, said: “This was a well-executed rescue and demonstrated the excellent training and teamwork of the volunteer crew. Those rescued were lucky they were spotted by someone ashore. If it had been a bit later, the outcome might have been different.
“Although they were all wearing lifejackets, they were a couple of hundred yards from shore, over the rocks with a strong swell.”
After dropping the rescued group at the lifeboat station, the Ollie Naismith returned to the stricken vessel to help pull it back to the slipway. The crew managed to pull it on to a beach beside the lifeboat station, where it was pumped out. There was substantial damage to the engine and hull where the boat had hit the rocks.
Meanwhile, in Somerset four vehicles became stuck in the sand after being caught out by high tides. A VW Transporter van became stranded as its driver tried to launch his boat. A passing Mitsubishi Shogun driver stopped to try and help and also got stuck at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.
The BARB (Burnham Area Rescue Boat) team managed to get the Shogun out but the incoming waves engulfed the VW and could be retrieved only when the tide ebbed.
Two other motorists also got caught out on beaches in Brean and Berrow, Somerset, just a few miles away, and also had to be pulled to safety.
In Porthmadog, north Wales, the RNLI launched two boats to save a couple who were stranded on a sandbank. The rescuers reached them just before the sandbank went underwater. All the incidents took place on Sunday.
