Port St Mary Lifeboat Station - Callouts: 6th May 2002.
Weather:Fine ; Wind: NE force 3
00:06 BST Liverpool Coastguard paged the crew of PSM all weather lifeboat after receiving a 999 call from a mobile phone belonging to the single male occupant of a small ex-oil rig survival craft ( a fully enclosed lifeboat capable of being dropped from a height ). The man reported that they had been trying to contact the Coastguard by VHF radio for half an hour before making the phone call (the ships VHF radio had failed); he gave his position (per his GPS navigator) as 53 deg 59 min North; 004 deg 49 min West (a position approx. 3 Nautical miles south of the Chickens Rock Lighthouse and 6 Nm from Port St Mary ). The boats gearbox appeared to have failed - he could make way astern but had no forward gears and was adrift in busy shipping lanes.
Lifeboat "Gough Ritchie II" slipped her moorings at 00:22 BST and proceeded at full speed to the given position. Radar quickly confirmed that their was a craft near to the position given and there were no other vessels nearby. The survival craft was reached in under twenty minutes and a tow line quickly passed.
Progress back to Port St Mary was more sedate and both lifeboat arrived in harbour at 02:15 BST after an uneventful tow. After placing the survival craft at a quiet berth the lifeboat "Gough Ritchie II" was put back on her moorings and the crew were back ashore half an hour after arriving in harbour.
Edited 6-May -02