Fisherman says Float to Live helped save his life

John Tunney was fishing from his small boat on the Leitrim side of the River Shannon at 7am on a Saturday morning in Spring when he hit a log in the river that caused his boat to flip and forced him into the lake.

An experienced water user having fished across the world, John who was wearing a lifejacket that immediately inflated, began to cling to his boat.

However, he soon saw that he was heading towards an island and knew it wouldn’t be practical to stay with the boat for much longer. Instead, he let go and began to float.

‘I lay back, spread my legs and arms, using the Float technique,’ John explains. ‘The wind was blowing upwards and I was getting pulled into the mainstream. I knew I was going to use up all my energy, so I decided to let the water take me. I was floating towards a bridge, and I knew someone would see me when I got there. I was getting quite cold and heading towards hypothermia when I was nearing a house so I called out towards it as calmly as I could.’

It was at this point that Lynda Jones who lives by the river with her husband Nathan and son Morgan, heard a faint hello from her bed.

‘I was having a lie-in before 9am when I heard a bird call that I didn’t recognise,’ Lynda explains. ‘I opened the window to see what it was and listened. But it wasn’t a bird call, it was a faint hello calling for help. Someone in a bright yellow lifejacket. So, I ran in my pjs, put on my shoes, got my lifejacket on in my kayak, got my paddle and paddled out to him. I knew the water was so cold and I didn’t know how he’d be.’

At this stage, John had been in the water for just under two hours. While he wasn’t panicking, Lynda who has water safety training through her kayaking club, said her first step was to reassure him that he would be ok. She then asked him to hold the front of her kayak.

‘He was disorientated and shutting down so I kept talking to him’, Lynda says. ‘I got him to the house where he was able to stand. Our son Morgan who was six at the time, had stood on the shore and watched all this and helped to get John to the couch. We took off his wet clothes, and we got him on the couch while my husband called 999. I knew he was talking and he was ok. I just wanted to get him warm. We made him a sugary tea to warm him up while we waited for the ambulance.’

John says his life was saved thanks to him wearing a lifejacket, using the Float to Live technique, and the timely intervention of the Jones’ family.

‘Lynda came out on her kayak and pulled me in,’ he says. ‘I was shaking badly when the family wrapped me up. I went to hospital for four hours in a hypothermic blanket before being released. I had bought the lifejacket a couple of months before and I don’t think I’d be here today without that lifejacket.

‘I had read about floating to live on the RNLI website and the float technique helped to save me, not just the technique but also staying calm. All I was focusing on was floating. My key thing was staying afloat, nothing more, not necessarily getting to land in a hurry. I had a good awareness of what to do. If I hadn’t floated, I think I might have panicked and tired myself out and made some wrong decisions. Float to Live helps you to prioritise what you’re going to do next, it buys you time and keeps you calm. It’s not purely a physical technique but a mental one too.’

Ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day, the RNLI is urging people to remember Float to Live if they get into trouble in the water.

Linda-Gene Byrne, RNLI Water Safety Lead, says: ‘We know there are a huge amount of people visiting the coast and our inland waterways this summer and we want everyone to remember our Float to Live advice. Instinctively, most people who find themselves struggling in the water will begin to panic, swim, or thrash about.

‘We’re urging people to ignore this instinct and remember to float: Tilt your head back, with your ears submerged. Relax and try to breathe normally. Move your hands and legs to help you stay afloat if you need to. It’s fine if your legs sink – we all float differently. By doing this, you give yourself the chance to rest and recover your breathing. Once you’ve regained control of your breathing, you can call for help or swim to safety.’

The charity’s advice for anyone struggling in the water is Float to Live:

• Tilt your head back, with your ears submerged

• Relax and try to breathe normally
• Move your hands and feet to help you stay afloat
• It’s fine if your legs sink, we all float differently
• Practise floating in a local pool if you can.

If you see someone else struggling in water:

• Phone 999 to get help
• Tell them to stay calm and float on their back
• Throw rescue equipment to help them float until emergency services arrive

For more information visit RNLI.org/Float

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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.

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