Crew criticised after sea rescue

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An "ill-prepared" speed boat crew, including a young boy, were rescued in thick fog from the North Sea.

The owners had purchased the vessel from South Shields and were sailing it to Sunderland when it broke down.

Although the seven occupants were wearing lifejackets, they did not have a marine VHF radio, anchor or flares.

RNLI crews, who towed the boat to safety on Saturday, said the incident highlighted the importance of carrying the proper equipment.

The crew alerted emergency services using a mobile phone.

Due to the poor visibility, they were unable to give their exact location and the Sunderland and Tynemouth lifeboats had to sound foghorns and fire parachute flares to find the 17-foot boat.

'Suffering seasickness'

After about an hour, the vessel was found a mile north of Sunderland.

All seven on board, including the ten-year-old boy, were found to be "cold, distressed and suffering from seasickness".

Tynemouth's lifeboat took the crew to Sunderland Marina while the second RNLI crew towed the boat to shore.

A spokesperson for the RNLI said: "This demonstrates the need to go to sea only when properly prepared.

"If the boat had carried a VHF radio and flares, and was operated by someone knowledgeable enough to give relevant information the vessel would have been found much quicker using radio direction finding equipment."