At 05:08 Falmouth Coastguard requested that Falmouth Inshore Lifeboat be launched following a report that a small dinghy had capsized and four of its occupants were believed to be on a yacht 200m off Admirals Quay in Falmouth Inner Harbour. The Falmouth Coastguard Mobile was also tasked.

The Inshore Lifeboat launched from her slipway at 05:14 and arrived on scene off Admirals Quay at 05:17, and after an initial search located the casualties onboard the yacht Valhalla at 05:20. The four casualties were wet and very cold so were immediately transferred to the inshore lifeboat and taken back to the lifeboat station where they were landed into the care of ambulance paramedics at 05:29. The inshore lifeboat then headed back up the harbour to collect the casualties personal belongings from the yacht and to recover the partially submerged dinghy which was taken back to the lifeboat station.

The Inshore Lifeboat was back on its slipway by 06:09 where it was refuelled, rehoused and was ready for service by 06:30.

The five people involved in this incident had been out for the evening and had decided to row their 8ft dinghy from Falmouth to Flushing. The dinghy which was overloaded had capsized throwing them into the water and having realised the seriousness of their situation they then tried to get onboard various boats in the harbour, eventually after 20 minutes in the water managing to get onboard the yacht Valhalla which had a low stern and ladder, They then tried to warm themselves up but after over an hour on the yacht one of the party decided to swim ashore to raise the alarm. None of the five had been wearing a lifejacket, they had been drinking, one could not swim and they had all had to use the capsized dinghy for support. All are very lucky to be alive, especially the person who put himself at further risk by re-entering the water to swim ashore.

An Inshore Lifeboat Service