by Graham Tutthill

PEOPLE who buy boats, no matter what type or size, should have proper training before heading out on the water.

That’s the message from Dover Coastguard after nine people, including four youngsters aged between 10 and 16, had to be rescued from the English Channel on Sunday evening.

The group were sailing from Boulogne to Dover in two large rigid inflatable boats and the alarm was raised just after 6pm when one of the boats disappeared.

A spotter plane was launched from Manston Airport along with Dover Lifeboat and the coastguard’s tug Anglian Monarch.

When both boats were found the lifeboats discovered the group did not have appropriate equipment or clothing on board.

Peter Legg, the senior watch manager at Dover Coastguard said: “Shorts and flip-flops are not the type of thing to wear in an open type boat. They did have some safety equipment on board but even so they were not wearing proper life jackets, they were wearing buoyancy aids. It may be easier to move around in them but if the vessel was to capsize they can only assist you for a short amount of time.

“This all started at 6.09pm so it was going to be getting dark during their passage across. Even though they had navigation lights other vessels probably might not have seen them because rubber craft do not give very good radar returns and they will be low in the water and obscured by wave heights.

“Ideally everybody should have proper training, or should attempt to obtain proper training but unfortunately that is not done. There is no law at the moment ensuring all people using a small leisure craft should receive proper training, but even so we would expect people to use their common sense and try to gain some sort of training.”