Three paddleboarders rescued, with one pulled from the water by Tenby inshore
Lifeboats News Release
Tenby’s inshore lifeboat was requested to launch at 9.10pm on Saturday 12th July, after the Coastguard received a call stating that two paddleboards with three persons on them looked to be making little headway back towards shore off Morfa Bychan.
The volunteer crew were quickly on the water and made best speed to Morfa Bychan, some 6.5 miles north-east of Tenby.
As they were getting closer, the crew spotted the two paddleboards about 1.5 miles offshore, but there looked to be only two occupants. Once they got alongside, the distraught females, who were not wearing lifejackets and had no leash connecting them to the paddleboards, confirmed that the third person had fallen off and they had lost sight of him.
With light fading fast, the lifeboat crew immediately requested assistance from the all-weather lifeboat and after taking the casualties aboard, began a search for missing person.
Luckily, before the larger lifeboat had chance to launch, the inshore lifeboat crew spotted the third casualty, who also wasn’t wearing a lifejacket, clinging to one of the military danger zone marker buoys, about 0.5 miles closer to shore.
Once he was aboard, and checked over in case he needed medical assistance, all three casualties were taken back to Morfa Bychan.
The lifeboat then returned to station.
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind people that when going paddleboarding, you should always ensure you have the appropriate equipment such as a leash to keep you connected should you fall off the board and also buoyancy aids, to help keep you afloat if you end up in the water.
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The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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