Man who narrowly avoided castration and possible death following a freak accident on his boat is fundraising for the independent lifeboat that came to his aid, Hamble Lifeboat
Pete Lovett and his wife Lorna were enjoying a day on the water with their son Alex on 29 June when disaster struck and had it not been for the swift actions of an independent lifeboat crew the outcome could have been much worse.
As the family were anchored in Standswood Bay, Hants, on their boat Tanzanite, Pete tried to leave the boat via the stern and in order to avoid the drive legs and his son’s PWC, which was tied to the back of the boat, he shifted along the bathing platform in a seated position. However, when he attempted to jump off the boat his wetsuit and genitalia got caught on the snap davit.
Pete suffered horrific injuries but thanks to the actions of Hamble Lifeboat, which responded quickly and was able to scramble the nearby Search and Rescue helicopter, he was taken to hospital where he was operated on for three hours, and aside from a sensitively placed six-inch scar there is no lasting damage.
Pete said, “I owe the independent lifeboat a huge debt and they do this for free. Instinctively, afterwards I got my cheque book out and went to write a cheque to the RNLI only to be told that Hamble Lifeboat is completely separate from them.
Pete is now trying to raise £10,000 for the lifeboat charity under the banner “Pete’s Plums”.
Pete’s story will also appear on episode 3 of BBC One’s Real Rescues, which will air tomorrow morning at 11am.
Look out for our independent lifeboat series, coming soon.
