The RNLI Hoylake was deployed to assist a 46 tonnes, 21 metre high speed catamaran which suffered loss of propulsion in one of its twin engines and was having difficulty manoeuvring.

The Dalby Humber had been working on the Burbo wind farm extension and had six crew on board.

The lifeboat, Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood,was deployed within 20 minutes of being paged at 7.16pm on Sunday 20 November and reached the catamaran, near the entrance to the buoyed channel of the River Mersey, in less than half an hour.

Volunteer crew towed the Dalby Humber to Langton Lock where it was taken for repairs. The lifeboat was secured alongside the wind farm vessel and was able to manoeuvre the much larger craft on to a berth in the dock. Members of the local Coastguard Rescue Team were present to assist on the dockside.

Lifeboat crewman Dave Crozier said; “This is just one of the situations which we train so hard for week in and week out all year in all weather. Jobs like this make all that time and effort worthwhile. It has been a long night but as RNLI volunteer crew we all feel privileged to be able to serve the community at times like this.”

Hoylake lifeboat recovered on the beach at 01.45 am. and taken back to the station where it was ready for the next service at 03.30 am.