Whitstable RNLI Rescue Two Paddleboarders
The dangers of using paddleboards and inflatable beach toys in offshore winds was highlighted on Monday afternoon when the Whitstable RNLI lifeboat rescued two persons being blown out to sea from Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey.
Fortunately persons onshore had raised the alarm and the Whitstable B-class lifeboat Lewisco launched at 3.11pm and arrived ‘on scene’ 9-minutes after launching at 3.20pm.
The lifeboat crew located the two casualties, both adult males 300-yards off Leysdown beach. Neither had lifejackets or a means of calling for help. The pair were brought onboard the lifeboat and landed ashore into the care of the Sheppey Coastguard Rescue Team and family members.
During the lifeboats return to Whitstable the crew recovered a pink Flamingo beach toy 1-mile offshore that belonged to the same casualties.
Weather conditions were south-westerly force 5 winds and therefore blowing offshore from that area of Sheppey.
Whitstable RNLI Launch Authority John Baker said “This incident highlights the risks of venturing onto or in the water during strong offshore winds”.
“It was fortunate that the lifeboat was able to respond in good time and return them to the shore but there was a real risk that they would have been carried much further out to sea”.
“The advice we give is that people should be aware of wind and tide in their location and the use of inflatables is of particular concern to the RNLI. Nationally over 200 people are swept out to sea each year and Whitstable lifeboat crews are no strangers to such incidents. Blow-up toys and airbeds are designed for pools, not the sea”.
“Similar advice also applies to paddleboards and calls to incidents involving their use has been increasing not only in the area covered by Whitstable lifeboat but all around the shores of the UK and Ireland. Paddleboarders are advised to wear lifejackets and carry some means of calling for assistance should they get into difficulties”.
“By taking some simple precautions a potential tradgedy can be avoided”.
This was the 26th call of the year for the volunteer crews at Whitstable RNLI.
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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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