RNLI 200th: Whitby rower tells of moment boat capsized off pier in cross winds

Emma Cassie, 52 and 19-year-old student Tom Brown were on one of three boats which had gone out for a training session with Whitby Coastal Rowing Club on December 11.

They’d performed safety checks, checked tides currents and winds and were rowing out of the harbour when a strong cross wind picked up.

Emma said: “We decided as a group to come back and turn around.

"Unfortunately one of the oars got caught in the water, the wind pulled us and the boat capsized at the end of the piers.

"We usually flip back over but Tom was experiencing cold water shock, so it was much more difficult to be able to do anything.

"We asked the other boats to call the coastguard and we crawled on to the hull to get out of the water.

"We waited around 20 minutes which seemed like a lifetime.

"We were continually looking over our shoulder to see if we could see the lifeboat crew.”

Emma added: “I’m a mental health nurse and used to dealing with crises and put all the training into practice, but in those moments when it was quiet in the water out at sea, you think about your family.

"Tom is in his last year at university and has a great future ahead of him – and it was that relief of seeing the lifeboat crew come round.

"The conditions just changed, they weren’t what we were expecting but that’s why we turned back.

Jonathan Marr, who was at the helm of the inshore lifeboat, said at the time: “We later learned they had undertaken capsize training which was invaluable in this incident as its very easy to panic when you end up in cold water unexpectedly.”

Both Emma and Tom were “eternally grateful” to the RNLI for rescuing them and being “non-judgmental” about their actions – and it had inspired her to volunteer her services to the RNLI as a community water safety adviser.

"It’s part of Whitby’s history and to see them going out on training, going out to shouts, and just being there, it really hit home being one of those people that was saved,” she said.

On top of that, Tom rowed 238km in January to represent each station in the UK and Ireland, raising more than £1,000, a figure that was matched by ICL Boulby.