Brixham Coastguard tasked inshore lifeboat, George Bearman at 2.49pm on 23 June to reports of a broken down speedboat drifting at the entrance to Exmouth marina.

A man and his adult daughter had anchored in the busy Exe estuary after their 15-foot Fletcher had suffered engine failure. The occupants had no alternative means of propulsion (eg. oars), had no flares on board and neither were wearing lifejackets.

At 3.15pm crew volunteers towed the casualties to a slipway at Starcross, to safety and returned to the station.

Lifeboat Operations Manager, Kevin Riley advises;

‘It would help our volunteers and the coastguards to effectively co-ordinate rescues if people carried the appropriate equipment, such as flares and a VHF radio. If people are taking to the water, we strongly advise all occupants wear lifejackets at all times.’