In two separate incidents, Swanage and St Albans coastguard teams helped with the rescue of two paddle boarders drifting out to sea off Old Harry, and then undertook a search for a missing dog near Dancing Ledge in Dorset.
The incidents happened on a foggy afternoon on Saturday 21st February 2026.
Both the inshore lifeboat and the all weather lifeboat launched from Swanage boat house and headed towards Old Harry
Strong off shore breeze
The first callout was to the paddle boarders at 3.45 pm, and along with the coastguard teams, the lifeboat crews were paged.
Both the Swanage lifeboats quickly launched into choppy seas with a strong off shore breeze and headed towards the location of the two paddle boarders, 300 metres east of Old Harry.
Swanage Lifeboat Station reported:
“As the lifeboats approached Old Harry, the paddleboarders were spotted and both lifeboats and a yacht who had also responded to the call for help, converged on the casualty location.
“Two people and their paddle boards were drifting quickly out to sea, having already drifted nearly two miles from South Beach in Studland, after one of their paddles had come apart.
“Both casualties were taken aboard the inshore lifeboat before being transferred to the all weather lifeboat where they could take shelter.”
The all weather lifeboat headed back to the boat house with the two paddle boarders, who hadn’t been wearing buoyancy aids or life jackets, but had fortunately been carrying a mobile phone.
Back on shore they were met by the coastguard who were able to advise on safety measures when paddle boarding.
The coastguard teams searched for Uska for more than two hours in difficult conditions
Very foggy and getting dark
However the coastguard teams were soon called out again, this time at around 6 pm to the Dancing Ledge area, when a golden retriever dog called Uska was reported missing in the fog as the light faded.
Uska had suddenly decided that running off with some deer was a great idea leaving her owners behind and after searching unsuccessfully, the owners contacted the coastguard for assistance
Swanage Coastguard reported:
“In darkness, very poor visibility and extremely muddy conditions, the teams deployed to Dancing Ledge, Belle Vue, Priests Way and Anvil Point, beginning a coordinated search that lasted around two hours.
“As conditions and communications worsened, the teams were recalled to Spyway Farm after the owners checked Uska’s tracker again, which had previously not been showing due to poor signal.
“This time, her location appeared. The owners and coastguard teams quickly made their way to the area and successfully reunited with Uska in a nearby field as she was heading back towards their vehicle.
“The owners, visiting from Belgium to see family locally, were overjoyed to be reunited with Uska and thanked everyone involved for their efforts.
“We would also like to thank those members of the public who offered assistance. However, due to the weather and darkness, we did not want anyone else to place themselves at risk. A great outcome in very challenging conditions.”
Uska happy to be reunited with her owners
Further information
- Paddle boarding safety advice
- Keeping your dog on a lead is recommended when walking along the coast
