Swanage Lifeboat crew, who are to feature in the latest BBC TV Saving Lives at Sea episode, were paged to help the owners of a speedboat, who were risking injury by trying to rescue the boat themselves.
The incident happened on Monday 30th August 2021, when a 19 foot speedboat broke its mooring in the cool north easterly breeze and had washed ashore in Swanage Bay
The owners of the craft were attempting to push it back out to sea from Monkey Beach near Swanage’s Stone Quay. Fearing they were risking injury, the inshore lifeboat (ILB) was asked to assist.
“Someone was going to get hurt in the choppy conditions”
Swanage Lifeboat reported:
“The coastguard was concerned that someone was going to get hurt in the choppy conditions, as the owners tried to recover their boat. The north easterly waves were pushing the boat ashore and its owners were trying to push it back out to sea again.
“The ILB crew were paged and were soon afloat and on scene with the casualty vessel.”
Once it was confirmed that the people who had got into the sea to help were safe, the speedboat was towed by the ILB back to the Swanage Town Council boat park near to the lifeboat station. Once at the boat park, the speedboat was able to be stowed safely onto a trailer.
BBC TV Saving Lives at Sea
This latest rescue was the tenth callout in August 2021 for Swanage Lifeboat Station – which is typically a busy month for the lifeboat crew.
Back on Saturday 1st May 2021, the summer started for Swanage RNLI with a dramatic incident, that features in the second episode of BBC TV Saving Lives at Sea on BBC2 at 8 pm on Tuesday 31st August 2021.
The injured man was rescued from the sea and brought to the shore by kayakers
The crew of the Swanage inshore lifeboat arriving at the bottom of Old Harry Rocks with the stretcher for the injured man
Miraculously survived
This was when 28 year old Alex Tridico, while walking with friends, accidently fell more than a 100 foot from the top of the cliff at Old Harry Rocks near Swanage. He landed in shallow water which broke his fall and miraculously saved his life.
Kayakers from the Studland outdoor company, Fore Adventure were first to reach Alex, a research scientist from London. They got him onto the rocky shore at the bottom of the cliff from where Swanage RNLI’s inshore lifeboat crew were able to rescue him and transfer him to an ambulance.
The injured man was transferred from the lifeboat into a waiting ambulance at Swanage Lifeboat Station
“Showcase the lifesaving work of RNLI volunteers
Becky Mack from Swanage Lifeboat Station, who was one of the volunteer crew members on that day, said:
“It’s great that we can showcase the lifesaving work of RNLI volunteers in a TV programme like this.
“Without the generous support and donations from the public, we wouldn’t be able to save lives at sea and it’s great to be able to share what we do with our supporters from the comfort of their own home”.
Further information
More about the second episode of BBC TV Saving Lives at Sea on BBC2 at 8 pm on Tuesday 31st August 2021, is on the BBC’s website
