Barrow Lifeboat, Roa Island, Barrow-in-Furness (2026)

27/08/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their all-weather lifeboat late last night to assist in locating an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) which had been activated.

The tasking request was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 10.47pm. The information received was that the signal transmitted from the Beacon put it in a position in the vicinity of King’s Scar, just over a mile and a half off the coast of Fleetwood.

The crew, who had just gone home after completing an evening on exercise, was paged and the all-weather lifeboat, Grace Dixon, was launched at 11.09pm. The lifeboat was under the command of Coxswain, Jonny Long, supported by a crew of six. HM Coastguard was informed that it would take around 30 minutes for the lifeboat to reach the scene.

The RNLI’s Fleetwood inshore lifeboat was also tasked to take part in the search for the Beacon and with the Barrow boat approaching the scene, they reported there was no sign of the Beacon at King’s Scar. However, a further signal from the Beacon was received and this indicated it had drifted to the east. The Barrow boat was instructed to search the area from the mouth of the River Wyre heading east towards Pilling Sands. In the meantime, Coastguard helicopter, Rescue 336, arrived on scene and it was able to track the location of the signal being transmitted from the Beacon to the River Wyre, just east of the entrance channel into Fleetwood Docks. This enabled the Fleetwood lifeboat to head to the location and recover the Beacon.

With the search concluded, the Barrow lifeboat was stood down shortly after midnight and it returned to the Boathouse where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was good and the wind was northerly, Force 3-4. The high tide was due at 11.39pm with a predicted height of 8.6m.

18/08/2026

Barrow Lifeboat is grateful to Furness Fishing Association (Beach Section) for holding an event on September 13th, 2026 at Midday until 3pm with proceeds going to Barrow RNLI.

12/08/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat this afternoon to investigate reports of an upturned kayak which had been observed to be drifting around the south side of Piel Island.

The tasking request was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 11.51am. The informant who called HM Coastguard said that they had earlier seen a yellow kayak in the area with two people on board but that a short while later they saw an upturned yellow kayak in the water with no sign of anyone near to it. They made the correct decision to call HM Coastguard and provide all the information they had.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 12.15pm with Adam Cleasby at the helm along with crew Nic Johnson and Tom Ruecroft.

The lifeboat soon located the upturned kayak at the south of Piel Island and as it was a single person craft they were confident that it was not the same as the two-person kayak that had been seen earlier. In order to avoid it becoming a hazard to other vessels it was decided to tow the kayak the short distance back to Roa Island. The owner of the kayak was located and he was reunited with his craft.

With the call-out concluded, the lifeboat was stood down at 12.51pm and returned to the Boathouse where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was excellent and the wind was south-easterly, Force 1-2. The incident occurred on the high tide which was due at 11.59am with a predicted height of 8.9m.

08/08/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their all-weather lifeboat on Friday morning (7th August) to carry out a medical evacuation of an injured person from the former Manchester and Salford lifeboat in the East Irish Sea.

The tasking request was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 10.00am. The information received was that the injured person on board the 13-metre (45-foot) vessel had become unwell and had then suffered a fall resulting in a head injury.

The crew was paged and the all-weather lifeboat, Grace Dixon, was launched at 10.22am under the command of Coxswain, Shaun Charnley, along with a crew of six.

The Barrow lifeboat headed south and reached the scene after a 20-minute passage. The sea conditions were poor, but the two vessels were able to achieve a position to enable a crewman to transfer from the Barrow lifeboat to the former lifeboat so that the casualty could be assessed. The sea conditions were such that it wasn’t possible to transfer the casualty safely to the Grace Dixon until the vessels had reached the more sheltered water in Walney Channel. Once the transfer was completed the Barrow lifeboat proceeded to the Port of Barrow’s Belfast Berth where the casualty was then taken to hospital by the North West Ambulance Service supported by the team from Furness Coastguard.

Mark Raynes, owner and skipper of the 102-year-old Watson Class former Manchester and Salford sailing lifeboat, recounted what took place: “We were heading to the Royal Port of Barrow for the Festival of the Sea with the aim of opening the boat to the public and raising some funds for Barrow Lifeboat.

As a team of professionals, we never expected to need the services of the RNLI, but a crew member became sick due to the sea state and then fell and sustained a head injury. The injured person was unresponsive and after speaking to a doctor via the Coastguard, the Barrow Lifeboat was called out so that the casualty could be taken to hospital as soon as possible. The crew member who transferred to our vessel from the lifeboat was a real hero as the casualty required first aid and medical help. We would like to express our thanks to the Barrow lifeboat crew and I am pleased to say that the casualty is now fine and back on board with us.”

Visibility at the time of the incident was good and the wind was westerly, Force 4. The next high tide was due at 6.39pm with a predicted height of 7.4m.

04/08/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat this afternoon to go to the aid of a yacht in difficulty in Walney Channel.

The tasking request was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 3.07pm. The information received was that a 6-metre (20-foot) yacht understood to be on passage from Roa Island to Fleetwood was struggling in the south westerly wind whilst attempting to transit the Walney Channel. It soon became apparent that this was the same yacht which had been helped by the lifeboat less than 48 hours earlier.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 3.25pm with Ben Jackson at the helm along with crew Michael Armstrong and Luke Wilkinson.

The lifeboat was soon alongside the casualty and the crew followed the standard procedure in carrying out an assessment of the circumstances and, given the conditions and other factors, determined that the safest course of action was to take the yacht under tow. A line was attached and the yacht was towed back to Piel Bight where it was secured to a safe mooring. The yachtsman aboard the casualty vessel was brought back to the lifeboat station and met by the team from Furness Coastguard who gave him appropriate safety advice.

With the lifeboat re-housed by the waiting shore crew it was then made ready for the next launch.

Barrow Lifeboat Press Officer, Chris Clouter, said “The RNLI’s mission is to save lives at sea and our volunteer crews will always respond to incidents when requested to do so. It is vitally important that those using the sea for whatever purpose, do so within their capabilities and take account of the prevailing tide and weather conditions before venturing out on the water”.

The weather at the time of the incident was good and the wind was south westerly, Force 4-5. The next high tide was due at 3.54pm with a predicted height of 8.4m.

03/08/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat late yesterday evening to go to the aid of a yacht requiring assistance in Walney Channel.

The tasking request was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 11.23pm. The information received was that a lone yachtsman on board a 6-metre (20-foot) vessel had become disorientated upon entering the Walney Channel at Haws Point.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 11.41pm with Jonny Long at the helm along with a crew of three.

The lifeboat located the casualty to the east of Piel Island, only a short distance from the lifeboat station. The crew carried out an assessment of the situation and determined that the safest course of action was to take the yacht under tow in order to avoid it becoming a hazard within the Channel. One of the lifeboat crew was transferred to the yacht to secure the tow and assist in dropping the yacht’s sails. The vessel was towed back to Roa Island where it was secured to a suitable mooring and made safe.

The lifeboat returned to the Boathouse at 0.20am where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was good and the wind was easterly, Force 4. The next high tide was due at 2.49am with a predicted height of 8.9m.

23/07/2026

Excellent work by our fellow lifeboat crew at RNLI Blackpool earlier in May this year.

Well done! 👏

13/07/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat yesterday evening to go to the aid of a yacht which had run aground off the south end of Walney Island.

The tasking request for assistance was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 8.13pm. The information received was that an 8-metre (26-foot) yacht with one person on board had lost its rudder and was aground off the south end of Walney Island near the lighthouse.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 8.30pm with Saul Tomlin at the helm along with crew, Mike Harris and Nic Johnson.

The lifeboat reached the grounded yacht within ten minutes and proceeded to reposition the vessel’s anchor to assist in securing its position. The team from Furness Coastguard was also in attendance and made the vessel secure from the shore side. The crewman from the yacht was safely ashore with the Coastguard and it was agreed that he would make arrangements to try and refloat his yacht on Monday’s higher tide and tow it back to a safe mooring.

The lifeboat returned to the Boathouse at 9.30pm where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was good and the wind was easterly, Force 5. The high tide on Sunday evening was due at 10.37pm with a predicted height of 8.4m.

09/07/2026

Barrow RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew launched their all-weather lifeboat this morning to go to the aid of a fisherman who had become disorientated after mist and fog had descended offshore.

The request for assistance was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 8.13am. The information received was that a lone fisherman in a 3-metre (10-foot) river boat had been spotted by a passing windfarm CTV (Crew Transfer Vessel) approximately 2 miles southwest of Walney Lighthouse. It was reported that the fisherman had become confused and disorientated when the fog came in and was unsure of his location. The CTV had come alongside the small boat and made the call to the Coastguard for assistance.

The crew was paged and the all-weather lifeboat, Grace Dixon, was launched at 8.50am under the command of Coxswain, Shaun Charnley, supported by a crew of six.

The lifeboat reached the scene after a 20-minute passage and following an assessment of the casualty and conditions offshore it was decided that the safest course of action was to take the fisherman on board the lifeboat and tow his vessel back to Roa Island from where he had set off earlier in the day.

Lifeboat Press Officer, Chris Clouter, commented ‘We are grateful to the crew of the CTV, Windcat 38, for contacting HM Coastguard and ensuring that the casualty was kept safe until we arrived on scene. The Barrow Lifeboat team of volunteers also pass on their congratulations to crew member, Paddy Wade, for doing a great job on his first shout today.’

With the casualty safe, the lifeboat returned to the Boathouse later in the morning where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was fair and the wind was westerly, Force 1-2. However, visibility offshore was restricted by fog to approximately a quarter of a mile. The high tide had passed at 6.36am with a predicted height of 8.0m.

06/07/2026

The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat this afternoon to go to the aid of the crew of a yacht which had run aground in Walney Channel.

The tasking request for assistance was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 11-52am. The information given was that a 14-metre (46-foot) yacht had run aground near East Scar in Walney Channel, to the south-east of Piel Island.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 12-23pm with Adam Cleasby at the helm along with crew, Mike Armstrong and Phil Jackson.

The lifeboat made the short passage to the casualty and was able to reset its anchor. The combination of a better anchor position and the incoming tide allowed the yacht to refloat, and the casualty was soon able to resume its onward passage to Fleetwood. As a precaution and with other traffic operating in the Channel, the lifeboat escorted the yacht out towards Sea 5 buoy in the Outer Channel.

The lifeboat returned to the Boathouse at 1-07pm where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was good and the wind was south-westerly, Force 5. The next high tide was due at 4-26pm with a predicted height of 8.0m.

Barrow Lifeboat

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