Both the Exmouth RNLI Shannon class lifeboat R and J Welburn and D class lifeboat George Bearman were called out to rescue casualties on two separate occasions in the river Exe on 25 June.

At 1.30am, inshore lifeboat George Bearman launched to a report of a man stuck in mud, in the water by the Exmouth’s Imperial recreation ground. When the three crew volunteers reached the scene, the casualty had been recovered by his friends and then passed to an ambulance.

At 1.42pm, all-weather lifeboat R and J Welburn launched to assist a 31’ yacht which had drifted onto sand after engine failure by the Marine camp. Crew volunteers towed the sloop to a berth in Exmouth Marina to safety.

Coxswain Steve Hockings-Thompson commented:

‘The combination of water jets in the design and the manoeuvrability capabilities of the Shannon class lifeboat means we can use R and J Welburn easily in the river Exe. Because of the size of the vessel, it was deemed that the Shannon could cope better than the D class lifeboat. ’