The holiday season is always a busy period for Filey’s RNLI lifeboat crew. This year the month of August saw both lifeboats called out on numerous occasions. 

Of course, the first day of August is celebrated as Yorkshire Day. However, before our intrepid lifeboat crew could think about raising a glass to God’s Own County, the inshore lifeboat was called to a gentleman experiencing difficulty in the water at Reighton Gap. He was taken in the inshore lifeboat to an awaiting ambulance on Coble Landing. 

On 3rd August both lifeboats were launched when reports were received of three people struggling in the sea, again off Reighton Gap. Fortunately, all three were out of the water when the inshore lifeboat arrived on the scene. However, the crew administered oxygen and two people were taken to hospital by ambulance. 

On Tuesday 6 August the inshore lifeboat was requested to attend an incident involving inflatables at Reighton Gap. However, just as the inshore lifeboat was launched, news arrived that the situation had been resolved and that everyone was out of the water. 

The following day the inshore lifeboat was once again bound for Reighton Gap, where a child in an inflatable was drifting out to sea. Three people had entered the water in a bid to rescue the child. Fortunately, the inshore lifeboat was able resolve the situation, although the four people in the water, and a distressed person on the beach, were taken to hospital by a fleet of three ambulances. 

On Tuesday 13th August the inshore lifeboat was called to Reighton Gap where a father and daughter had got into difficulties whilst swimming. Both made it back to the beach, but the father had swallowed a lot of water and required medical assistance. 

Two days later the inshore lifeboat was launched when reports were received that canoeists were in trouble off Primrose Valley. The canoeists were found to be in control of the situation, but the call to the RNLI was made with good intentions. 

Saturday 17 August, the inshore lifeboat rescued two dogs that had been missing for twenty hours. The dogs were stranded at the bottom of a cliff two miles north of Filey. They were coaxed into the lifeboat and reunited with their delighted, and relived owners, at Coble Landing. 

At the end of August the inshore lifeboat was launched to search for a missing six year old boy. Happily the child was found by other search units. 

What a month August was for our lifeboats! Did you know that the average age of the lifeboat crew at Filey is just twenty-nine? However, between them they have an incredible 350 years of experience on the all-weather lifeboat. The dedication of the volunteer crews is a source of pride to the people of the town and our visitors. 

You can support the work of the lifeboat in numerous ways, but please do consider bobbing into the RNLI shop on the Coble Landing that is open every weekend.