‘I thought I was climbing Everest’

‘I couldn’t really understand what was happening. My brain wasn’t processing the ideas of rip currents and things like that. I was also wondering why the wind was getting up and the waves were getting higher – it was because I’d been pushed out of the bay, but I wasn’t really computing that.

‘So there I am, being pushed towards submerged rocks, and I realise I’m swimming just to avoid the rocks, not to get to the shore. I’m still in denial that I’m in any sort of trouble because I can still see the shore, but I’m going round in circles and I’m getting colder and more tired. I was starting to swallow water, and realised: “I’m in trouble.”

Meanwhile, on the beach, nine members from the local RNLI lifeguard team were finishing the team’s pre-season training. The lifeguards had spent the day practising inshore rescue boat (IRB) manoeuvres, and were in the lifeguard hut for a debrief when HM Coastguard received multiple 999 calls reporting a swimmer in difficulty off Hoe Point, a nearby headland.

‘I raise my hand and try to wave for help but as soon as I do that, I sink and swallow a load of water. I’m short-sighted and my glasses have been knocked off – they’re on a chain, so they’re still around my neck but I can’t get them back on, so everything’s a blur, including the shoreline. At this point, I don’t know if anybody has seen me or raised the alarm.

‘I’m exhausted now, I think I might black out and I know that if I keep trying to fight the current, I could lose consciousness and drown. I have this idea that if I tread water using the buoyancy of the wetsuit, I may get pushed onto the rocks, but maybe I might get lucky and maybe this might have a good outcome. That is probably the last cohesive thought I had. 

‘Sometime after that, I hear a voice. I see someone in the water – the only thing I can remember is blonde hair, and this idea in my mind that they’re trying to help me.’

With the sun low on the horizon, the glare made it almost impossible to spot anyone in the water. Despite this, alerted by the Coastguard, Senior Lifeguard Matt Trewhella entered the sea in only his shorts, paddling a rescue board through strong currents. Around 200m offshore, he located Mark, barely responsive, struggling to keep his head above water and being pushed toward the rocks and cliff.

Mark continues: ‘I felt instant relief that maybe somebody was there to help me but also the despair of realising that I’ve put someone else in trouble – there are now two of us in danger. Then it all goes blank.’

Recognising the danger, Lead Lifeguard Supervisor Adam Harris launches into the surf with a second rescue board, while lifeguards Dave Revell and Elliot McCluskey sprint back to the hut for rescue tubes and fins. Battling dumping waves, the four lifeguards work together to manoeuvre Mark away from the rocks. 

‘My next recollection is that I’m on some kind of board, like a surfboard, and I can see the shoreline is close,’ says Mark. ‘I then recall that I was sat down, and I had an oxygen mask on. I can see oxygen cylinders, and I can see snow on the ground and I’m thinking: “Have I failed to summit?” What I later realised is that I’d just read two books back-to-back about people climbing Mount Everest, and I thought I was climbing Everest!’

On the beach, lifeguards Nelly Gallichan, Paul Richards and Hamish Curtis-Cullen immediately took over casualty care. Mark had swallowed a lot of water and there was a risk that he had inhaled some too. He was suffering from mild hypothermia and shock from the ordeal. They continued to monitor Mark until paramedics arrived.

‘I remember being in an ambulance, trying to get a wetsuit off, and then I remember being in hospital and having an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have water on my lungs. It was a while until a consultant gave me the all-clear.’

Almost a year after Mark’s dramatic rescue, the RNLI lifeguards who saved his life received a commendation. And the man they rescued returned to the beach to present it to them in person. ‘I’m very fortunate that there are people out there who are prepared to put their lives in danger, even though they don’t know me and have never met me. I won’t ever forget it.’

RNLI Lead Lifeguard Supervisor, Adam Harris, says: ‘I’m incredibly proud of the lifeguards, who showed incredible courage and teamwork. If we were not there, I fear there would have been a completely different outcome. Well done to the team who entered the water, especially Matt Trewhella, who risked his own life to save another.’

RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor Andy Bray adds: ‘This rescue shows how important it is to swim between the red-and-yellow flags at an RNLI lifeguarded beach.’