Busy two days for RNLI lifeguards in West Cornwall

RNLI lifeguards at Hayle and Porthkidney worked together on Thursday 16 August to rescue a kite surfer in difficulty on the river. RNLI lifeguard Tom Davis spotted the casualty get into difficulty while kite-surfing at the river mouth. Tom radioed down to the water’s edge where colleague Mesha Wardman was patrolling. Mesha immediately entered the water with a rescue tube and made her way through the water towards the casualty.

Tom communicated from the lifeguard unit with Porthkidney Lifeguards where Johnny Williams was patrolling on the All-terrain vehicle (ATV), and responded to the incident as back up. The lady was struggling to stay above the water and was beginning to drift across to Porthkidney. Johnny quickly entered the water from the other side of the river to assist Mesha in helping the lady over to Porthkidney Sands. Once ashore, Johnny sat with the lady and calmed her down before Mesha supported her with a rescue tube back over to Hayle Towans beach to collect her belongings.

The next day, Friday 17 August, RNLI lifeguard Constantine “Tin Tin” Klamar who was on duty at Gwithian beach rescued a 10 year old boy and his step-sister who had become caught in a rip current. Tin Tin was on patrol at the water’s edge when he noticed the pair getting dragged out to sea.

Tin Tin immediately entered the water and paddled over to the pair on a rescue board. By the time he reached them, the young boy was beginning to panic and was struggling to keep his head above the water. Tin Tin helped him onto the rescue board and paddled him back to shore while his step-sister was able to stand up and make her own way back to safety.

Joel Ninnes, RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor for the area, said:

‘It has been a very busy couple of days for our lifeguards. Thanks to the great observations and quick reactions from our lifeguards in these incidents, they were quickly resolved.

We advise all water users to always visit a lifeguarded beach and to always stay between their designated flags. For kite surfers, you should launch and recover between the black and white chequered flags. Always swim between the red and yellow flags as this marks the safest area for bathing on the beach. For more information about the Hayle river, please see our new leaflets which will be distributed at campsites around the town and in the harbour.’

Notes to Editor

• RNLI lifeguards patrol over 249 beaches around the UK and Channel Islands

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