Test voyage for new Clacton lifeboat ends in rescue (From Gazette)

Test voyage for new Clacton lifeboat ends in rescue

8:00am Monday 29th June 2009

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A NEW lifeboat was called into action within minutes of taking to the water on its maiden voyage.

The Clacton RNLI crew were taking the £31,000 boat for a spin on, but it turned into a rescue after two kite surfers got into trouble 250m from the Martello Bay shore.

Spokesman Mel Winger said: “It only arrived from our headquarters in Poole, Dorset, at lunchtime.

“The boys were exercising with it and had to rescue a couple of kite surfers whose lines had tangled up.”

One of the male kite surfers got to the shore on his own, while the other was helped by the lifeboat crew. The new class D boat, which has not been named yet, is a beefed-up version of its predecessor, with a top speed of 25 knots.

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