UK Coastguard had received reports of a jet skier who had suffered a serious injury and required medical attention outside the harbour entrance.
With the volunteers already kitted up, they were swiftly underway and they came across a lot of traffic on the water, with the weather set fair, there was lots of water users, with this in mind, the Poole Harbour jet ski met the lifeboat at the harbour entrance and directed the crew to the jet skier halfway down the main channel.
When the lifeboat crew arrived on scene, the jet skier had been recovered from the water but required medical attention and evacuation.
Two crew were placed onboard the vessel to administer casualty care and the Atlantic crew requested the D class to divert from their training session to assist.
After an initial assessment, an ambulance was requested as further medical care was needed.
With both lifeboats now on scene, the casualty was made as comfortable as possible before being carefully transferred onto the lifeboat.
Due to the nature of the injuries, a slow steady speed was made, up to the boathouse, where an ambulance had been requested to attend.
The Poole Harbour Commissioners jet ski went ahead of the lifeboat to ease the passage by ensuring minimum wash, off other vessels.
The casualty was then handed across to Dorset South West Ambulance service and a Critical Care Practitioner from Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance who had arrived by land. Poole Coastguard Rescue Team were also on scene.
During the handover, the D class was tasked to the stations 100th launch this year, to a report of a person on a paddleboard or possibly a windsurfer, perceived to be in difficulty at the south side of Round Island.
Conditions were calm, the wind F2 northwesterly.
The volunteers conducted a search and spoke with people in the vicinity, but nothing untoward was found, so the lifeboat was stood down and returned to station.
Both lifeboats were refuelled, washdown and made ready for service by 1pm.
Poole volunteer Helm Dave Riley said:
‘This call demonstrated great teamwork from the volunteers at Poole dealing with the injured person. We are thankful to the passing vessel who pulled the jet skier out of the water and thanks to all the vessels that kept to a minimum wash, whilst the crew transferred the casualty, all of us at the station wish the casualty well’.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity 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 142,700 lives.
