A member of the public raised the alarm, when they spotted three paddle boarders struggling in the breezy conditions this morning, just off Old Harry Rocks.
With the paddle boarders being swept out to sea by the outgoing tide, the Swanage Lifeboat crew was paged and the all weather Shannon class lifeboat was launched at 11.38 am today, Wednesday 1st July 2020.
A small yacht had responded
In the meantime, a small yacht had responded to the UK Coastguard’s radio call asking for vessels in the area to assist the paddle boarders. The crew had managed to pass the paddle boarders a rope but wasn’t able to get them aboard.
The assistance of the yacht made it easier for the lifeboat to locate the scene of the incident with the crew of the yacht able to confirm its position, which was slightly further south than first thought.
With the lifeboat quickly on the scene, the three paddle boarders and their boards were recovered on to the lifeboat.
“One was cold and tired but the others were ok”
A spokesperson for Swanage Lifeboat Station said:
“All three were checked over – one was cold and tired but the others were ok. It was agreed to take the three back to Knoll Beach where they’d initially left from, so the lifeboat made best speed to Studland Bay.
“Once in Studland Bay another paddle boarder was spotted who wasn’t making any headway towards the beach in the gusty offshore conditions. After a quick chat they were taken aboard the lifeboat too and were dropped 100 metres or so off Knoll Beach with the initial casualties.”
Once on the beach, all four were met by the volunteers from Swanage Coastguard and the lifeboat was then able to return to the lifeboat station.
