The crew onboard the Solent Scene, a passenger vessel that operates on and around Poole spotted the person in difficulty.
They approached the person who confirmed they required assistance.
Due to the size of the Solent Scene, and the location of the casualty, they didn’t want to cause harm to the person and they reported the incident to Solent Coastguard.
The Solent Scene stood by, observing the casualty as they drifted across the shallower areas of the harbour until the lifeboat arrived on scene.
The casualty, who was extremely cold, was recovered onto the lifeboat with their equipment and returned to the lifeboat station for gentle re-warming and a cup of tea.
Poole helm, Dave Riley said: ‘Conditions today were gusting fairly strong and on this occasion the gusts and the strong tide just caught this person out but we’re glad we were able to assist.
‘We’re thankful to the crew of the Solent Scene who made the initial call to the Coastguards and stood by until we arrived.’
Once warned up, Poole Coastguard Rescue Team took the casualty back to Hamworthy where they had launched from.
Poole volunteers have launched 117 times this year.
RNLI/Poole
Poole RNLI approaching the wing-foiler with Solent Scene standing by
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
