On Saturday afternoon at 12:50pm, (September 28) RNLI lifeguards at Chapel Porth rescued a man who was struggling in a rip current near the cliff area of the beach.
RNLI lifeguard Max Lawrence had noticed the surfer attempting to paddle out on numerous occasions and then entered the water as the casualty began to be dragged by the rip current into the smaller coves under the cliffs to the left hand side of the beach.
As Max paddled out to assist the casualty he noticed he had lost his board and on arrival at the scene could tell the surfer was exhausted.
Max was able to get the casualty onto his rescue board and paddled them both out to safety whilst another lifeguard came to retrieve the surfer’s board.
Due to the conditions, with strong onshore winds and 1-1.5 metre waves it took a while to get back to shore but after a long paddle the surfer was returned safely to the beach, where casualty care checks were carried out.
Once lifeguards were satisfied the casualty was ok they were reunited with their family and safe to go home.
RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor , Drustan Ward said:
‘Max did a great job responding quickly and getting the casualty back to shore in very difficult conditions.
‘The incident serves as a reminder about the dangers of our coastline and how quickly things can change and especially if inexperienced, they might not always be visible.
‘If you find yourself in a rip current don’t panic, don’t try to swim or paddle if you’re surfing, against the current as you’ll get exhausted, if you can stand- wade and if you’re out of your depth swim or paddle parallel to the shore until free of the rip current and head to shore.’
As we enter October the RNLI will be operating with a reduced lifeguard service operating predominantly at weekends and throughout the October half term. It is RNLI advice that if you can head to one of these beaches, and if you are swimming and bodyboarding do so between the red and yellow flags. If there are no lifeguards present and you see someone in trouble dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
To find your nearest lifeguarded beach click here: Lifeguarded Beaches - Find Your Nearest Lifeguarded Beach (rnli.org)
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