Paul Legendre will be presented with the RNLI’s ‘Thanks of the Institution on Vellum’ for his role in the search for 14-year-old Dylan Atkins, who was swept into the sea off Newhaven's West Beach on 27 October 2013.
Amid dreadful sea conditions and storm force 10 winds, Paul led his volunteer crew during an extensive search from the shoreline to the open sea. Conditions were made more challenging by waves rebounding from the nearby breakwater and breaking over the lifeboat – pushing water into the engine room and forcing the crew to rely on their safety lines as they were knocked from their feet.
Dramatic video footage and photographs taken from the beach show the lifeboat pitching and rolling in turbulent conditions.
Such was the ferocity of the sea, one wave tore the handrails from the after end of the lifeboat, forcing Coxswain Legendre to briefly seek shelter in the harbour to assess the damage and check his bruised crew. Less than twenty-five minutes later they returned to the open sea to continue searching in the failing light.
The crew were eventually stood down 9.45pm and got back to station after six hours at sea and an extensive search of the area,. Tragically, Dylan was not found by the lifeboat crew or the coastguard shore teams and search and rescue helicopter also searching that day. He is still missing
Now the efforts and determination of Paul and his crew are to be officially recognised by the RNLI.
George Rawlinson, RNLI Operations Director, said: ‘To launch into such atrocious conditions with darkness approaching takes great skill and courage. The seamanship Paul displayed during this service was second to none and the concentration required to hold the lifeboat in position in shallow waters and breaking waves was intense.
‘This shows the dedication, bravery and teamwork demanded of a lifeboat crew working in extremely challenging conditions to try to save a life and I’d like to thank Paul and his crew for their efforts to find Dylan.’
The lifeboat crew’s efforts also received praise from key figures in the local community. Reverend David Tutt, chaplain with the South East Coast Ambulance Service, wrote to the RNLI saying: ‘I would like to acknowledge and pass on my admiration for the skill and courage that you and your crew exhibited in attempting to locate the casualty. At times I wondered how ever you could retain control of the vessel in such close-in and turbulent seas, with a sea wall on one side and a steep shingle beach on the other. It is sad that the outcome could not have been better, but that takes nothing away from the courage shown.’
The crew were also honoured by local broadcaster Sovereign FM, when they were given a ‘Courage Award’ at the radio station’s annual awards ceremony.
George Rawlinson continued: ‘It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I nominate Paul for the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum. I know first-hand how much he was affected by this incident and am confident he did everything humanly possible to lead his crew in searching for Dylan that day. His actions epitomise the commitment that our lifeboat crews make and the spirit with which they go about their work to save lives at sea.’
Detailed rescue report
At 4.25pm on Sunday 27 October 2013, the volunteer crew at Newhaven lifeboat station launched their lifeboat at the request of the Coastguard after reports of a person in the water off West Beach, west of Newhaven breakwater.
Coxswain Paul Legendre and seven volunteer crew launched their Severn class all-weather lifeboat Volunteer Spirit into atrocious sea conditions. While visibility was good, the weather was a squally south westerly storm force 10 and the sea outside the harbour was very rough, with 5 metre swells.
Aware of the difficult conditions they faced, Coxswain Legendre briefed his crew thoroughly – all wore full protective equipment, including helmets, and were secured to the lifeboat with lifelines. The crew took up positions around the deck and upper steering position in order to scour the turbulent waters for both the missing person and any dangers that could threaten the safety of the lifeboat and her crew.
Once outside the harbour, Coxswain Legendre steered the lifeboat through the rough water as close to the western breakwater as possible and started searching the area. Waves rebounding from the breakwater made already challenging sea conditions more difficult. Large waves broke over the stern of the lifeboat, pushing water into the engine room and forcing the crew to rely on their safety lines as they were swept off their feet by the force of the breaking water. This, combined with the failing light, severely tested the lifeboat’s crew.
A Coastguard rescue helicopter, Rescue 104, joined the search at 4.52pm and Coastguard search teams from Newhaven, Birling Gap and Shoreham also searched along the shoreline.
During this initial search a member of the public reported seeing a person in the waves near the lifeboat but unfortunately neither the lifeboat nor helicopter crew could identify anyone in the water. After about 30 minutes, daylight gave way to darkness.
Just after 5pm a large wave broke a section of handrail at the back of the lifeboat and Coxswain Legendre briefly took shelter inside the breakwater to assess the damage and check his crew. At 5.25pm he returned to the open sea to continue searching having dropped one crew member at the lifeboat station and taken two more on board.
Throughout the search Second Coxswain Lee Blacknell helped Coxswain Legendre by occasionally taking the wheel in order to provide some relief in the difficult conditions.
The search was broadened to both the inside and outside of the eastern and western breakwater and east towards Seaford Head, before returning to the original search area near the breakwater. Nothing was found by the lifeboat or any of the other search teams.
At 9.45pm the lifeboat was stood down and returned to the lifeboat station at 10.25pm. At 11.10pm she was refuelled and ready for service.
RNLI media contacts
• Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East)
0207 6207426 / 07785 296252 / tim_ash@rnli.org.uk
• James Oxley, RNLI Press Officer (London/East/South East)
0207 6207425 / 07786 668825 / james_oxley@rnli.org.uk
• For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
Newhaven-RNLI-coxswain-to-receive-prestigious-award-for-missing-boy-search
Paul Legendre will be presented with the RNLI’s ‘Thanks of the Institution on Vellum’ for his role in the search for 14-year-old Dylan Atkins, who was swept into the sea off Newhaven’s West Beach on 27 October 2013.
Amid dreadful sea conditions and storm force 10 winds, Paul led his volunteer crew during an extensive search from the shoreline to the open sea. Conditions were made more challenging by waves rebounding from the nearby breakwater and breaking over the lifeboat – pushing water into the engine room and forcing the crew to rely on their safety lines as they were knocked from their feet.
Dramatic video footage and photographs taken from the beach show the lifeboat pitching and rolling in turbulent conditions.
Such was the ferocity of the sea, one wave tore the handrails from the after end of the lifeboat, forcing Coxswain Legendre to briefly seek shelter in the harbour to assess the damage and check his bruised crew. Less than twenty-five minutes later they returned to the open sea to continue searching in the failing light.
The crew were eventually stood down 9.45pm and got back to station after six hours at sea and an extensive search of the area,. Tragically, Dylan was not found by the lifeboat crew or the coastguard shore teams and search and rescue helicopter also searching that day. He is still missing
Now the efforts and determination of Paul and his crew are to be officially recognised by the RNLI.
George Rawlinson, RNLI Operations Director, said: ‘To launch into such atrocious conditions with darkness approaching takes great skill and courage. The seamanship Paul displayed during this service was second to none and the concentration required to hold the lifeboat in position in shallow waters and breaking waves was intense.
‘This shows the dedication, bravery and teamwork demanded of a lifeboat crew working in extremely challenging conditions to try to save a life and I’d like to thank Paul and his crew for their efforts to find Dylan.’
The lifeboat crew’s efforts also received praise from key figures in the local community. Reverend David Tutt, chaplain with the South East Coast Ambulance Service, wrote to the RNLI saying: ‘I would like to acknowledge and pass on my admiration for the skill and courage that you and your crew exhibited in attempting to locate the casualty. At times I wondered how ever you could retain control of the vessel in such close-in and turbulent seas, with a sea wall on one side and a steep shingle beach on the other. It is sad that the outcome could not have been better, but that takes nothing away from the courage shown.’
The crew were also honoured by local broadcaster Sovereign FM, when they were given a ‘Courage Award’ at the radio station’s annual awards ceremony.
George Rawlinson continued: ‘It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I nominate Paul for the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum. I know first-hand how much he was affected by this incident and am confident he did everything humanly possible to lead his crew in searching for Dylan that day. His actions epitomise the commitment that our lifeboat crews make and the spirit with which they go about their work to save lives at sea.’
Detailed rescue report
At 4.25pm on Sunday 27 October 2013, the volunteer crew at Newhaven lifeboat station launched their lifeboat at the request of the Coastguard after reports of a person in the water off West Beach, west of Newhaven breakwater.
Coxswain Paul Legendre and seven volunteer crew launched their Severn class all-weather lifeboat Volunteer Spirit into atrocious sea conditions. While visibility was good, the weather was a squally south westerly storm force 10 and the sea outside the harbour was very rough, with 5 metre swells.
Aware of the difficult conditions they faced, Coxswain Legendre briefed his crew thoroughly – all wore full protective equipment, including helmets, and were secured to the lifeboat with lifelines. The crew took up positions around the deck and upper steering position in order to scour the turbulent waters for both the missing person and any dangers that could threaten the safety of the lifeboat and her crew.
Once outside the harbour, Coxswain Legendre steered the lifeboat through the rough water as close to the western breakwater as possible and started searching the area. Waves rebounding from the breakwater made already challenging sea conditions more difficult. Large waves broke over the stern of the lifeboat, pushing water into the engine room and forcing the crew to rely on their safety lines as they were swept off their feet by the force of the breaking water. This, combined with the failing light, severely tested the lifeboat’s crew.
A Coastguard rescue helicopter, Rescue 104, joined the search at 4.52pm and Coastguard search teams from Newhaven, Birling Gap and Shoreham also searched along the shoreline.
During this initial search a member of the public reported seeing a person in the waves near the lifeboat but unfortunately neither the lifeboat nor helicopter crew could identify anyone in the water. After about 30 minutes, daylight gave way to darkness.
Just after 5pm a large wave broke a section of handrail at the back of the lifeboat and Coxswain Legendre briefly took shelter inside the breakwater to assess the damage and check his crew. At 5.25pm he returned to the open sea to continue searching having dropped one crew member at the lifeboat station and taken two more on board.
Throughout the search Second Coxswain Lee Blacknell helped Coxswain Legendre by occasionally taking the wheel in order to provide some relief in the difficult conditions.
The search was broadened to both the inside and outside of the eastern and western breakwater and east towards Seaford Head, before returning to the original search area near the breakwater. Nothing was found by the lifeboat or any of the other search teams.
At 9.45pm the lifeboat was stood down and returned to the lifeboat station at 10.25pm. At 11.10pm she was refuelled and ready for service.
RNLI media contacts
• Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East)
0207 6207426 / 07785 296252 / tim_ash@rnli.org.uk
• James Oxley, RNLI Press Officer (London/East/South East)
0207 6207425 / 07786 668825 / james_oxley@rnli.org.uk
• For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789