SHOUT!

Something other than running this week as Saturday night brought us a shout! I was just cooking tea for Laura and I when I heard the shrill of the pager go to signify a 'Coastguard Launch Request'.

This is the first page we get which signifies that a call has come in. It is on this page that we drop everything that we're doing a head for the station.

In my case, the tea was left in the oven and a quick phone call gave Laura the instructions on how long until it was ready and I was out the door! As I got into the car the second page came through saying 'Launch ALB' (All-weather LifeBoat).

When I got to the station the shout sounded serious. An engine room fire had meant that a ship had lost control by Avonmouth and was drifting dangerously toward the Severn bridge.

While there was no initial reports of casualties this was a serious problem as the big tides meant that the ship was drifting fast and it's anchoring system had failed.

Heading out at around 30 knots in the pitch dark we started to prepare as much as we could before arriving on scene. This meant getting the first aid kit out, oxygen and entinox, getting our PPE ready such as our Ghekko helmets, and getting the towing line ready in case we had to try and hold the ship.

Luckily the sea conditions were calm and all things considered it was actually a beautiful night to be on the water! We were in safe hand with some experienced crew co-ordinating the fastest possible route to the casualty.

En route we heard that the ship had managed contain and extinguish the fire and had managed to deploy the secondary anchor which had slowed the drift of the vessel. It was also communicated that a tug had been called to help tow it back to the dock.

Already Portishead Atlantic 75 and D Class were on scene and the initial prognosis was to act as a standby whilst the tug went into action.

A secondary tug then arrived on scene to secure the stricken vessel and it was safety towed back to the harbour whilst we stood by just in case the fire re-ignited or any further complications arose. We kept a close eye on proceedings until we knew that everyone was safe.

The journey back was much slower but served as an ideal opportunity to give some of us some vital training in night navigation and helming. We took it in turns to steer the boat home and it showed just how essential it is for communication and accurate information to be passed between each other to ensure a safe passage!

Back to the running and Sunday I was out at 8.30am! I managed a 13 miler (route can be found here). I must say that it was tough this week because of the early start, but now the mornings are getting warmer and lighter I am sure it wont be long before I'll actually start enjoying the early starts!!!

Please see my sponsorship link here if you wish to donate to my London Marathon cause for the RNLI. I need to raise £2,300! All donations are gratefully accepted! Thank you for your support.