Cowes RNLI lifeboat’s radio direction finding equipment was used with great effect in a pitch-dark Solent last night, when a craft with two people aboard reported they were broken down and lost in mid-Solent.
They had left Cowes for Haslar Marina, Gosport. When the craft, a RIB called Snore, alerted Solent coastguards of their plight soon after 1am they said they were unsure of their position.
The inshore lifeboats of both Cowes and Gosport and Fareham were dispatched and, together, using direction finding equipment, finally managed to locate the RIB near South Ryde Middle Buoy. Gosport lifeboat towed it to the Haslar Marina.
The Cowes helm, Patrick Moreton, praised his crew for what was a challenging task in the darkness. Heather Lambden manned the direction finding and the other crew were Chris Cockroft and Alisdair Boden. The lifeboat had been off-station for about an hour.
