RNLI Lifeguards at Boscombe Rescue 16 Paddleboarders
Quick thinking Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Lifeguards at Boscombe beach put their winter training to the test this weekend when 16 stand up paddleboarders found themselves in difficulty.
Dan Miller and Alex Boutchier RNLI lifeguards quickly launched their Rescue Water Craft (jet ski) and delivered safety advice to the paddle boarders, advising them to stay floating on their paddleboards until the lifeguards could come back and ferry them back to beach in pairs on the rescue watercraft.
RNLI Lifeguard supervisor for Boscombe Mike Winter said: ‘The Lifeguards did a great job helping the paddleboarders. They have been training hard to be ready for the summer and the way they dealt with the situation shows how professional the Lifeguards are.
‘We understand it is easy to get into trouble, and when you are working against the wind it can become extremely tiring very quickly. It’s important to respect the water and make sure you attend a lifeguarded beach when doing water sports or swimming. If anyone has any questions about the conditions we’ll always on hand to answer them.
RNLI lifeguards are on Bournemouth, Boscombe and Poole beaches from now until September from 10am to 6pm patrolling he beach and keeping the public safe. Last year, RNLI lifeguards helped over 18,000 people, dealing with anything from stings, slips and trips, to missing children, major first aid incidents, as well as rescues in the water.
Mike continued ‘Most people who get in difficulty do not realise the dangers are present, so having a Lifeguard service is important in ensuring the beach is as safe an environment as possible. Our Lifeguards were able to react to the situation and bring everyone back to safety, however, had this incident of occurred at a non-lifeguarded beach, it could have been a very dangerous situation.’
For more beach safety and advice, visit www.rnli.org.uk/beachsafety
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