Fort Tragedy
Issue: 2 Updated: 12th December 2012
We reproduce an open copy free feature with three reports (3) of the tragedy off the Red Sands Fort on Saturady 25th February 2012
Whitstable Times front page Thursday 1st March 2012
Download above front page Whitstable Times
1. Monday 27th February 2012 - Source Headline 'A Fisherman drowned & another had to be winched to safety by an RAF helicopter after a trip to visit the Red Sands sea Forts ended in tragedy
The drama unfolded on Saturday night when the crew of a passing ship raised the alarm after spotting an unlit 30-foot fishing boat drifting six miles off Herne Bay
The Whitstable Lifeboat was launched & found the boat the 'Lisa K' drifting among the turbines of the Kentish Flats Wind Farm
Helmsman Dave Parry said: "We launched just before 9pm & found the fishing vessel 30 minutes later. It was unlit but its engine was still running. There were no signs of anyone aboard"
The crew began searching for the boat's crew & found the body of a 21-year-old man floating in the sea. He was wearing a life-jacket
Mr Parry said: "We attempted resuscitation but we were too late. We continued our search because we were concerned there might be a second person missing, as we had reports there had been two men on board when the boat left Ramsgate on Saturday"
The crew were joined by lifeboats from Sheerness & Margate & a Sea King rescue helicopter from RAF Wittersham in Suffolk
But the search was abandoned just before 1am on Sunday. The fisherman's body & the boat were taken to Sheerness docks
Miraculously, a second man, the skipper of the potting boat, was found alive at 7.30am on Sunday morning, after spending the night clinging to one of the Forts
He was rescued by the crew of a passing boat and then winched to safety by the RAF helicopter
RAF winch man Sergeant Lee Clark said: "He was hungry, cold & shaken but without any major injuries or medical problems. He didn't seem to know about the death of his friend"
The rescued man, who has not been formally named, is believed to be fisherman Jason Madlin, 25. He was taken to Margate's Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital with suspected hypothermia but released after treatment
An inquest was opened on Tuesday to formally identify the dead man, who has been named locally as Wade Berryman
Both men are understood to come from Weymouth
The Coastguard said it is believed the rope the men used to tie the boat to the fort snapped, & Mr Berryman dived into the sea to retrieve it
The 'Lisa K' was built in Devon but registered in Ramsgate. On Monday night it was sailed back to Ramsgate. The boat had been operating out of there for six months, mostly potting for whelk, shellfish & crab
It is thought the men had been planning to have a barbecue on the Fort
Whitstable Times page 4 Thursday 1st March 2012
2. Monday, 27th February 2012 - Source Headline 'Whitstable RNLI finds fisherman's body at sea, but skipper survives on Red Sands Towers' The body of a fisherman was found at sea off the North Kent Coast by the Whitstable RNLI lifeboat on Saturday night, while his crew mate survived the night on one of the old Forts called Red Sands Towers in the middle of the Thames Estuary
The incident started when the Thames Coastguard received a report from a passing ship of an unlit fishing vessel, the 'Lisa K', drifting in the Princes Channel approximately 6.5 miles North of Herne Bay
Whitstable lifeboat was launched & investigate the boat & the rescue crew found the unoccupied 30-foot vessel near the Kentish Flats
The lifeboat crew began a search of the area & at 9.35pm found the body of an adult male from the water
It was reported that there were men men aboard the boat when it left Ramsgate, & the search of the area continued with lifeboats from Sheerness & Margate & the RAF Sea King helicopter from Wattisham joining the search
After an extensive search of the area nothing further was found & the search operation was terminated
The Whitstable lifeboat crew transferred the body to the Sheerness lifeboat which was taken to Sheerness along with the fishing boat
On Sunday morning, the 'Lisa K' skipper was found alive on the Red Sands Towers in the Thames Estuary North of Whitstable by a passing fishing vessel & subsequently airlifted to safety by the RAF Sea King from Wattisham
He was spotted at first light by a passing vessel waving from high up inside one of the Red Sands Towers 10 miles off Southend. The Maunsell Forts were built in 1942 as anti-aircraft defence (See Fort Fax Forts Built & positioned in 1943 Ed)
The man was rescued & taken to hospital by the rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham & assessed for hypothermia
The 'Lisa K' is a potting boat which has been working out of Ramsgate for shell & crab fishing
The rescued skipper reported that they had been on one of the Red Sands Towers which is nearly six miles from where the vessel was found drifting. His crew man had gone into the water after their fishing vessel began drifting away from the platform
Whitstable Times page 4 Thursday 1st March 2012
Friday 2nd March 2012 - Source Headline - 'Fisherman Drowns on Red Sands Visit' On Saturday night the crew of a passing ship raised the alarm after spotting a 30ft fishing boat drifting six miles off Herne Bay with no lights showing
The Whitstable lifeboat was launched & found the boat the 'Lisa K' drifting among the turbines of the Kentish Flats Wind Farm
Helmsman Dave Parry said: "We launched just before 9pm & found the fishing vessel 30 minutes later. She was unlit but its engine was still running. There were no signs of anyone aboard"
The crew began searching for the boat's crew & found the body of a 21-year-old man floating in the sea. He was wearing a life-jacket
Mr Parry said: "We attempted resuscitation but we were too late"
"We continued our search because we were concerned there might be a second person missing, as we had reports there had been two men on board when the boat left Ramsgate on Saturday"
The crew were joined by lifeboats from Sheerness and Margate & a Sea King rescue helicopter from RAF Wittersham in Suffolk
But the search was abandoned just before 1am on Sunday. The sailor's body & boat were taken to Sheerness docks. Miraculously, a second man, the skipper of the potting boat, was found alive at 7.30am on Sunday morning after spending the night clinging to one of the Forts
He was rescued by the crew of a passing boat & then winched to safety by the RAF helicopter
RAF winch man Sergeant Lee Clark said: "He was hungry, cold & shaken but without any major injuries or medical problems. He didn't seem to know about the death of his friend"
The man, named locally as Jason Madlin, 25, was taken to Margate's Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital with suspected hypothermia but released after treatment
An inquest was opened on Tuesday to formally identify the dead man. He was named locally as Wade Berryman
Both men were said to come from Weymouth
The Coastguard said it is understood the rope the men used to tie the boat to the Fort snapped & Mr Berryman dived into the sea to retrieve it
(N.B it's believed they'd tied the vessel to the Forts landing stage but hadn't allowed sufficient slack for the falling tide Ed)
The 'Lisa K' was built in Devon but registered in Ramsgate. On Monday night she was sailed back to Ramsgate. Sources said she had been operating out of Ramsgate for six months, mostly potting for whelk, shellfish & crab'
The two men were not believed to have been fishing at the weekend. One source said they had been planning to have a barbecue on the Fort
Saturday 25th February 2012 - Casualty 'Drifting Fishing Boat' Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station Report & Photographs
Footnote: Considerable damage had been done inside the Southern Gun Tower & a fire was set on the top of the Fort which damaged the Red Sands Radio antenna base, this has subsequently been repaired