Kayaker blown out to sea saved after being pulled from water by Poole RNLI

The first informant on the beach had raised the alarm when the kayak had been blown out to sea towards Old Harry and then the person on the beach had lost sight of them.

The lifeboats swiftly departed the station and headed through the harbour conditions were clear, with a biting north easterly wind F3-4.

The lifeboats were soon on scene, the Atlantic began to a search from Old Harry rocks back to Westcliff and the D class searched from the beach back across towards Old Harry. A Shannon class lifeboat that was on passage was also tasked by the UK Coastguard to as-sist with the search and Poole and Southborne Coastguards were also tasked.

The lifeboat volunteers were conducting search patterns and then during the 4th leg of the search pattern, the blue, grey kayak was spotted by the helm on the Atlantic, in the water, the casualty had drifted apart from the kayak.

The lifeboat went alongside and pulled him from the water. The casualty was extremely cold and had ingested water. The crew carried out a casualty care assessment, an ambulance was requested. The lifeboat brought the casualty back to the lifeboat station and passed him into the care of the ambulance crew that were standing by, who then transferred him to hospital.

The Shannon was stood down with thanks and carried on with its passage and the D class lifeboat retrieved the floating debris from the kayak and then returned to station.

Both lifeboats were made ready for service by 5pm.

Poole lifeboat volunteer Jonathan Clark said:

‘Thankfully the first informant quickly alerted the coastguard when they saw the kayaker being blown offshore and out of sight.

‘He was very lucky to be found on that leg of the search, as the weather conditions were exceptionally cold, the outcome could have been very different.’

This was the 8th and 9th launch for Poole Lifeboat volunteers.

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 146,000 lives.

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