Rob’s run in memory of father who died in Swanage kayak race

By Andrew Smith 26 April 2025, 6:00 am

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Rob Collier is to tackle the London Marathon, to thank the lifeboat crews including Swanage, who did all they could to rescue his father after a kayak race went tragically wrong.

Rob’s father Alistair died after he went missing in October 2018 during a race from Knoll Beach to Swanage Pier in Dorset, despite one of the largest search operations launched by the RNLI.

Alistair Collier had been taking part in a kayak race from Studland to Swanage Pier in October 2018

Separated from the racing group

Crews from Swanage, Poole, Mudeford, Bembridge, Yarmouth and Weymouth were launched to find Alistair on Saturday 6th October 2018, when he became separated from the racing group and stranded at sea.

But a storm blew in and conditions worsened, making it almost impossible to see anything more than 10 metres from the lifeboats, which continued searching regardless.

It was not until the following afternoon that Alistair’s body was found and recovered, alongside his outrigger kayak, some 22 miles south of Tyneham further along the Purbeck Coast.

Now his son Rob, who met the Swanage lifeboat crew after the tragedy to thank them for everything they did during the search operation, wants to show his gratitude in another way.

Rob, now 34 and living in Worcester, will run the London Marathon on Sunday 27th April 2025, in memory of his father and also to raise at least £1,500 for the RNLI.

Rob Collier wants to show his appreciation for the work of the RNLI

“An amazing charity of inspiring people”

Rob Collier said:

“Dad enjoyed running, he participated in loads of Great North Runs and an odd London Marathon or two.

“I have fond memories of playing with the medals he kept in a drawer in the kitchen, we used to run together when I was a teenager and I picked up running again after he died. I’m excited about running London in his memory.

“We miss Dad a lot and the thing that makes me emotional is how many crews went out. When their pagers go off, they can be doing anything and then suddenly they’re out at sea doing whatever job needs doing.

“The RNLI offers a public service run by volunteers, providing a lot of public good. It’s a really obvious choice for us to support when it comes to fundraising, because it’s an amazing charity of inspiring people – something I know firsthand.”

Alistair was a keen runner and watersport enthusiast

“Huge amount of respect and gratitude”

Rob added:

“Rescue teams from Swanage, Poole and other stations were heavily involved in the search for my dad when he was lost at sea.

“It was one of the largest of its kind for the RNLI and the coastguard, and we could not imagine how much worse our experience would have been without their expertise.

“Every single possible resource was deployed and we have such a huge amount of respect and gratitude for those who dedicate their time and energy to providing safety for those at sea.

“I came down to Dorset with my family the morning after Dad disappeared. I was walking the coast and even without having direct news from the teams, we knew the search was significant.

“I saw multiple boats, the helicopter flying over, and the coastguard going up and down the coast. Seeing them out there, knowing there were more searches taking place, helped provide some solace for me.”

Dave Turnbull, coxswain of Swanage Lifeboat, was on a Shannon class lifeboat, one of the first to launch in the rescue mission

“Quite quickly it turned pretty horrible”

Dave Turnbull, Swanage Lifeboat coxswain, said at the time:

“It was my wedding anniversary, and my wife and I had just been out for lunch. We’d literally just arrived home when the pager went off. I remembered seeing some kayaks out in the bay and thinking it didn’t seem quite right.

“When we started off, the conditions were not too bad. Quite quickly it turned pretty horrible. There was a strong wind that blew up to a gale at one point.

“I’d expected to find this guy quite quickly because we were told he was part of a race from Studland to Swanage and had somehow become separated from the rest of the pack.

“I assumed that we’d find him in the northern end of Swanage bay somewhere, within 30 minutes to an hour or so and that would be that. After we’d finished our initial search, I realised it wasn’t quite unfolding as I thought it was going to.”

The Swanage Shannon class lifeboat, on a callout in rough weather

“Not what we were looking for”

Dave Turnbull added:

“When it starts to get dark, staring out over the side looking for something that, in those conditions, is probably no more than 100 metres away, is tough. After a few hours of doing that, you start to lose your concentration and focus a bit.

“If you can, you need to swap people out. With the speed of our boat, we were able to get back to the station quite quickly, swap crew and head back out again.

“We did five hours on the first stint, then came back ashore to swap over with another crew. There was a strange moment when somebody had spotted something red in the water down near St Alban’s Head.

“We’d completed our search and been ashore for 10 minutes when a call came in that something red had been spotted in the water.

“The man we were looking for was wearing a red buoyancy jacket, so we were immediately sent back down that way. The coastguard helicopter got there before we did and saw that it was two spear fishermen – not what we were looking for.”

Rob Collier, who is also a keen cyclist, wants to show his appreciation for all that the RNLI does

“The crew is naturally humble”

Rob Collier said:

“We’re watersport enthusiasts in the family and we’re all extremely familiar with the RNLI as an organisation. But it’s also one of those things that are kind of invisible to you until you really need it.

“We went to Swanage lifeboat station the day after Dad was found, we wanted to show our appreciation and just be there and show some solidarity with the teams that had been out looking for Dad for as long as they did.

“When you visit Swanage Lifeboat Station, it’s an amazing facility. You think of it as a volunteer or charity organisation, but it’s all so professional, and the crew is naturally humble.

“I’m glad I met them and have that image of the teams, to go with the image of them out on the coast. As a family, we’ve done a lot of fundraising since, to recognise the RNLI and all the stuff that they did over the weekend. It’s something we’re really grateful for.”