The volunteer crew launched the charity's Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat instantly after receiving an earlier pager alert to stand at immediate readiness.
Due to the high spring tide and severely strong wind, St Agnes RNLI Lifeboat were unable to launch their D Class inshore lifeboat and with a young surfer struggling to get to shore, time was of the essence.
Battling through severely rough sea, in a north westerly force 5-6 wind, Andrew Trebilcock (Helm) asked for St Ives Lifeboat to attend as back up.
Newquay's volunteer crew reached the casualty at 6.50pm, who had been advised by St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team on land to stay out back and not to try to get to shore. By now the young casualty had been in the water for almost two hours.
Andrew said: 'When we arrived, we could see the guy was fatigued and suffering from the cold. We could see sets of waves building and heading our way, I steered the Atlantic level with the casualty as another crew member, Richard Martin, positioned himself at the front of the boat to lean over and pull the casualty onboard.'
At 6.55pm Newquay Lifeboat crew left the area to return to Newquay harbour, while St Ives RNLI Lifeboat crew were stood down.
Newquay volunteers along with the casualty arrived back at Newquay harbour at 7.30pm.
The casualty was taken into the lifeboat station to get warm, receive a hot drink and arrange for family to collect him.
Newquay RNLI Lifeboat volunteer crew, Andrew Trebilcock, Richard Martin, James Coombes, Nick Phillips along with the casualty, returned slightly bashed around after their white knuckle ride home, but were in good spirits and relieved at such a positive outcome.
If you get into trouble or see someone else in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
If you find yourself in difficulty in the water, float to live;
• tilt your head back with ears submerged
• relax and try to control your breathing
• use your hands to help you stay afloat
• call for help if able
Dave Cox
Rescue of surfer at St Agnes
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
