BUDE Lifeboat recently attended a shout, involving the assistance of a 60ft canal barge. Just after 2pm on July 6, the inshore lifeboat was requested to take over an escort from Appledore Lifeboat by Falmouth Coastguard, which was for a 60 ft canal barge that had been heading down the coast from Ilfracombe.

The crew, Jez Brow, Mike Tame and Daniel Lewis-Bale, ensured they were anchored safely until high tide when they were able to approach the lock gates in order to lock into the canal. The owners seemed very anxious about navigating the barge into Bude harbour, but were unharmed.

The lifeboat returned to the barge with crew Liam Sharpe, Charlie Green and Daniel Lewis-Bale at around 6pm, after assistance was requested again following a slight swell that picked up, resulting in the Orbis losing her anchor. The lifeboat ‘George Bird’ launched with four members of crew, and put two crew members aboard to liaise with the harbour master due to the size of the vessel and her poor maneuverability, whilst assisting her into harbour. The lock gate crew safely locked the Orbis into the harbour.

Chris Wilson, lifeboat operations manager, said: “You don’t expect to see a 60ft canal barge off the north coast of Cornwall, and it required careful planning and good teamwork by the crew and harbour team to safely navigate the vessel into Bude Lock, due to her poor maneuverability. I would encourage anybody taking to sea to always ensure they carefully plan their journey and ensure that they are correctly equipped.”