On Sunday, April 21, Littlehampton RNLI lifeboat crews, fresh from a training exercise, responded to a Mayday call about a vessel sinking approximately 4 miles south of Worthing. The incident occurred shortly after the crews of Littlehampton’s B-class lifeboat “Renee Sherman” and a Tamar class lifeboat from Shoreham RNLI had met at sea for a joint exercise under challenging conditions with choppy seas and strong force 4 north-easterly winds.
At 11:40 AM, both lifeboats were dispatched to the reported location by HM Coastguard. Upon arrival, they found only the bow of a small motor vessel visible above the water. Three individuals who had been on the boat were already rescued by a nearby fishing boat. One of the individuals, suffering from the cold and a minor injury, was transferred to the Littlehampton lifeboat and then onto the Shoreham vessel for warmth and shelter.
