Thames Coastguard requested the lifeboat to launch to search for a sailing dinghy which had set off for a sailing trip from Whitstable but, with darkness falling, had not yet returned.

The lifeboat was launched at 1954 following the information that the dinghy was last seen at 1800 hrs between Whitstable and the Shivering Sands Towers.

Following a further report that the dinghy had been sighted 1 mile off Tankerton the lifeboat crew located the craft and towed it to the beach near to the boathouse.