| Official Number: | ON 1193 |
| Donor: | |
| Station | Aldeburgh |
RNLB Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) is the current all-weather lifeboat on station in the town of Aldeburgh[1] in the English county of Suffolk. The Freddie Cooper has the operation No: 12-34 and has been on station since 1993. She is a fast carriage lifeboat.
The Freddie Cooper was laid down in 1992 by Green Marine[2] of Southampton, Hampshire. She was delivered to the station in 1993. Her hull has been constructed using a fibre-reinforced composite making her robust, strong and very light.[2] The lifeboat is designed to self-right if capsized but only if her passenger capacity has reached 21 people.[3] If the lifeboat’s survivor compartment is fully ladened with 43 people then the lifeboat is non self-righting.[3] Due to the nature and terrain at the Aldeburgh station, the lifeboat is launched and retrieved using a supplied carriage which gives her quick and safe access across Aldeburgh’s shingle beach. The lifeboat is powered by two Caterpillar marine diesel 3208T engines.[3] Each engine produces 285 horsepower which will push the lifeboat through the water at a top speed of 17kn.[3] Her fuel tanks hold 1,110 of diesel which give a range of 240nmi.[3] The lifeboats propellers are installed in tunnels which protect them when launching or in the shallow waters as is the situation at Aldeburgh.
On 29 August 1996, Freddie Cooper was launched, along with Lowestoft lifeboat, to assist the yacht Red House Lugger which had sent out a mayday signal during a storm. The yacht was approximately 30miles southeast of Lowestoft.[4] On arrival, the lifeboats found that the P&O cargo ferry was sheltering the yacht.[5] The lifeboats evacuated the yacht's crew, and the Lugger was towed to Harwich, with the rescue taking around 12 hours in total. On 27 November 1996, coxswain of the Freddie Cooper, Ian Firman, received the RNLI bronze medal for his part in the rescue.
On Sunday 20 May 2000, the Freddie Cooper was launched to assist the small Dutch yacht Rose Bank, which was struggling in gale force 7 winds.[6] During the search, the weather deteriorated sharply and Harwich lifeboat was also launched to assist. Initially reported to be seven miles east of Aldeburgh, the Rose Bank had drifted to 20 miles east of Aldeburgh by the time she was located.
The wind had escalated to gale force 11, a violent storm, and waves were up to high. All four Rose Bank crew members were rescued, but the lifeboats were unable to secure the yacht for towing. The drifting Rose Bank was recovered three days later by a fishing boat and was towed into Ramsgate in Kent. Coxswain Ian Firman was awarded another RNLI bronze medal for his part in the rescue.
| Freddie Cooper | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Casualty | Lives saved |
| 2009 | ||
| 10 March | Windsurfer blown out to sea, Search area but nothing found | |
| 2010 | ||
| 20 May | Fishing Boat with engine failure, towed back to shore | |
| 17 July | Yacht in difficulties, Towed back to shore | |
| 1 September | Called to ditched light Aircraft, Helicopter rescued the 2 crew, Search and retrieved small amount of wreckage | |
| 9 September | Barge with steering difficulties, towed to Harwich | |
| 9 September | Yacht with broken rigging, Stood by | |
| 16 September | Yacht stuck on sandbank with broken rudder, Escorted yacht to safety | |
| 22 October | Yacht with un-well crewman, Crewman taken of by Harwich Lifeboat, escorted yacht to safety | |
| 2011 | ||
| Relieved by RNLB Bingo Lifeline (ON 1184) | ||
| 8 May | 42 ft Motor boat stranded, towed into Southwold harbour | |
| 2 August | Stranded Boat at the mouth of the River Alde, escorted to safety | |
| 28 August | Yacht run aground, Stood by | |
| September 20 | Yacht sinking, Pump water out of the boat, towed the yacht to Southwold Harbour[7] | 2 |
| 9 November | Fishing Boat, Towed to shore | |
| 2012 | ||
| 11 January | Fishing Boat with engine failure, Stood down after restart | |
| 3 March | Fishing Boat with engine failure, Towed to Shore | |
| 25 April | Yacht in Difficulty, Towed to Lowestoft | |
| 15 May | Dutch Motorboat with engine failure, towed to shore | |
| 31 May | Motorboat taking on water, Motorboat pump out and retrieved | 3 |
| 8 June | Dutch Yacht with broken rudder and taking on water, towed to shore | 3 |
| 12 July | 25 ft Yacht run aground, Rescued 1 man, returned to refloat the yacht | 1 |
| 12 July | 40 ft vessel with engine failure, towed to shore | |
| 17 July | Hazardous object in the water, two large storage containers, removed by lifeboat | |
| 27 July | 26 ft fishing vessel, Towed in and stood by | |
| 8 August | 26 ft Fishing vessel with engine problem, towed to shore | |
| 28 August | Yacht run aground, stood by | |
| 30 August | Yacht with engine failure, Towed into Lowestoft | |
| 31 August | Search for a vessel with distress beacon activated, Vessel found but safe and well | |
| 9 October | Fishing vessel with engine failure, Towed to safety | |
| 11 November | Object reported in the sea, Searched the area, nothing found | |
| 2013 | ||
| 4 May | Yacht run aground on the beach, re-floated and towed to safety | |
| 26 May | 133 swimmers[8] in charity race, All accounted for lifeboat stood down | |
| 13 August | 54 ft vessel with engine failure, Towed to Harwich | |
| 19 August | Abandoned stolen dinghy at anchor, Search carried out, no one found, Stood down | |