It was a busy day on Saturday for Exmouth RNLI volunteers who went to the aid of a wing foiler in difficulty and an injured paddleboarder.
At shortly before 2pm on 30th September 2023, the volunteer crew of Exmouth RNLI inshore lifeboat D-805 George Bearman II self-launched to attend to a female kite surfer apparently in difficulty about 800 metres south of Queens Drive, Exmouth, being swept out to sea.
The charity’s lifeboat, commanded by Helm, Harry Griffin, with crew Jake Butt and Ed Thomas made towards the wing foiler and assisted her to the safety of shore.
Almost immediately afterwards the lifeboat crew were re-tasked by H.M. Coastguard to attend to a report of two male windsurfers on the River Exe, one of whom had sustained an injury to his foot and needed help and the other with a deflated board. They had managed to board a boat on a mooring before calling for help.
The volunteer lifesavers sped to the area where they located both the casualties on the River Exe, just north of the River Exe café at about 2.27pm. The crew assessed the situation and determined that the best course of action was to convey the two windsurfers to the safety of shore at Exmouth Marina. No further medical assistance was required.
Satisfied that both men were safe at that location, the RNLI crew returned to Exmouth RNLI lifeboat station arriving there at 2.55pm. The lifeboat was back on station and made ready for service a short time later.
Other RNLI volunteers involved in the rescue were Tractor Driver, Scott Ranft, Head Launcher, Robert Thompson, with shore crew Tim Thorn, Rory Carrig and Ted Wignall.
A handy RNLI safety guide for windsurfers, bodyboarders, kayakers and other water users can be downloaded from here : https://rnli.org/-/media/rnli/downloads/in-the-surf-rnli-guide-to-surfsport-safety-english-version.pdf
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