Howtown Bay, scene of the rescue callout
A rescue team was stood down after a Lake District mayday call turned out to be a false alarm
Members of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team responded to a call from police at 5pm today, Friday, after reports that a yacht was sinking on Ullswater.
The volunteer team launched its rescue boat and members made their way to Howtown Bay. The Coastguard had alerted police that it had received a distress call from the vessel,
A spokesperson for the rescuers said: “A search was undertaken assisted by boats from a local outdoor centre that form part of the Ullswater Lake Search and Rescue Association.
“The yacht and it occupants were eventually located safe and well on a mooring. It transpired the call was a training exercise which unknowingly had been transmitted on the emergency frequency.”
Both the Patterdale team and their colleagues in Wasdale have rigid inflatable boats enabling them to carry out rescues in and around Ullswater and Wast Water respectively.
Richard Warren, Wasdale MRT
05 September 2011More importantly, Keswick MRT also have a rescue craft for Derwentwater - we in Wasdale MRT do have a rescue craft for Wastwater and county wide rescue but it is primarily for casualty recovery from the Screes path and crags on the far shore, searches along the screes plus occasional diver recovery. Boating on wastwater is heavily restricted.
Although other Cumbrian MRT have water rescue craft, Patterdale and Keswick are the two busiest 'lake rescue capable' MR teams providing an extremely valuable and capable asset for the county.