Londoner Mr Mark Walker was pleased to see the Whitstable Lifeboat when he was located in his 20-foot dory after he found himself lost in fog off Whitstable on Bank Holiday Monday evening.

Mr Walker had recently purchased his craft in Dover and had been on passage from Ramsgate to London when he ran into difficulties after problems with his GPS and VHF equipment. ‘The fog closed in and I discovered that my sounder readings were out and this had made me wary’ he said. ‘I decided to make for Whitstable but about 2-3 miles off the GPS went on the blink and in the fog I could not see a thing.’

‘I called up on the VHF asking if anyone could guide me in but I could not pick up a reply. I gave out my mobile phone number and Thames Coastguard called me and I was able to give an approximate position. I was very pleased when the lifeboat arrived and escorted me in’

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