Saving Lives at Sea - Series 7 Episode 3

Thursday 8 September 2022

Find out more about the stories and stations featured in series 7 episode 4 of Saving Lives at Sea, with rescues from Lyme Regis, Oban, Harlyn Beach, and Kinsale.

Lyme Regis: Floating to live

The B class lifeboat at Lyme Regis making best speed through the water — The crew at Lyme Regis power to the rescue of three men in the water

We saw the volunteer crew at Lyme Regis RNLI heading out on a dark November night to rescue three people in the water after their boat capsized. They weren’t wearing lifejackets – and the sea was cold.

The men survived by floating on their backs until help arrived – do you know how to Float to Live?

Learn a lifesaving skill

Oban: A rocky rescue

Crew Member Leonie Mead stands next to Oban’s Trent class lifeboat — We saw Oban Crew Member Leonie Mead, and her fellow volunteers, help rescue a woman with an injured leg

We also saw the volunteers at Oban RNLI work alongside the Coastguard to reach a Geology student with a serious leg injury on the Isle of Kerrera. The crew had the challenging task of manoeuvring a stretcher over slippery boulders to get her onboard the lifeboat.

Most RNLI volunteers join the crew with no medical training – so how do they deal with sick and injured casualties?

Read: Big Sick, Little Sick

Harlyn Beach: Stuck in a rip

Next, we saw the lifeguards at Harlyn Beach head to the rescue of a 13-year-old boy trapped in a rip current at nearby Trevone Beach.

Rip currents are a major cause of accidental drowning on beaches all across the world – would you know to spot one?

How to spot and escape a rip current

Kinsale: 52 days alone at sea

Kinsale RNLI board the casualty yacht to assist the skipper — A Kinsale RNLI crew member boards the yacht to help the skipper

And finally, we saw the crew at Kinsale launch their B class lifeboat to a solo sailor with engine failure. The exhausted skipper, who was sailing from the Caribbean island Carriacou to the UK, had been alone at sea for 52 days before the Kinsale volunteers found his yacht.

Off the coast of Ballybunion in County Kerry, a windsurfer is stranded at sea, in darkness and at risk of hypothermia.

Read Lorenzo's story

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