Douglas RNLI volunteer crew were paged today (25 August) at 2.47pm to assist the Coastguard recover three youths from cliffs.
A post incident report from Douglas Coastguard recounts the circumstances of the call. ‘Douglas Coastguards were called today to 3 youths that had become stuck on the cliff just before the Toll Gates on the Marine Drive. The incident was a joint operation with Douglas Lifeboat as it was decided it was safer to lower two of the youths down to be recovered by the Lifeboat and recover one back to the top’
Douglas all-weather lifeboat, Marine Engineer, was launched under the command of coxswain Tony Radcliffe and with not far to go was quickly on the scene of the incident.
With two of the youths to be recovered to the lifeboat, volunteer crew members Robert Radcliffe and Michael Kaighen used the lifeboat’s daughter boat, an inflatable dinghy, to go ashore to liaise with the Coastguard Cliff Technician on site who assisted with transferring the two youths, one at a time, into the dinghy to be taken to the lifeboat.
With both youths safely onboard, and daughter boat and crew recovered, the lifeboat made the short journey back to harbour where the Coastguard were waiting with the youth recovered to the cliff top.
The three youths now reunited were left in the care of the Coastguard seeming none the worse for their experience.
