Fylde lifeboats in vain search at sea for life raft

The alarm was raised shortly after 5pm on Friday, February 19, when the Coastguard received a report from the ferry Stena Embla of a ship’s life raft in the sea around 21 miles out to sea off the Fylde Coast.

The near gale force wind and the large size of the ferry prevented any further investigation so the Coastguard immediately requested the Lytham St Annes Lifeboat launch while the ferry continued on her regular run to Birkenhead. The Coastguard issued a Mayday call warning all vessels in the area to keep a look out for the raft.

The Lytham St Annes all-weather Llfeboat Barbara Anne under the command of coxswain / mechanic Andrew McHaffie headed out to the reported position but driving rain and hail combined with spray whipped up by the high wind made visibility very poor.

With no sighting of the raft, the Barbara Anne, by that time joined in the search by the Coastguard helicopter and the gas rig support vessel VOS Endurance, began a parallel pattern search of the area up to 25 miles out from the coast in the estimated direction that the life-raft would have drifted.

The Kenneth James Pierpoint lifeboat was also launched from Fleetwood at 8pm to join in but despite a thorough search, nothing was found and the operation was scaled down in stages, the Lytham boat being stood down to return to her station at 11.20pm.

The search was ended when the Fleetwood lifeboat was stood down at 1am on Saturday before arriving home for 3.30am..

Coxswain McHaffie said: “Unfortunately we had no sightings of the object, originally reported as a life raft, in the atrocious conditions.

"Thank you to the other searchers for their assistance and the Lytham St Annes Shore Crew who had turned out in the early hours to recover the lifeboat and make sure she was refuelled and ready for the next service. "

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