Saturday 4 July 2015

Thunderstorm

As a volunteer Coastguard sometimes you wonder why you do it.

It's dark and four hours into a rescue, you're standing on the top of a sheer 100m cliff with two cliff techs on the rescue line and a thunderstorm rolls in. The rain is torrential. The helicopter is standing off alongside, waiting to assist. Do we stop and run for cover, or do we risk getting hit by lightning and continue to prosecute the rescue?

There is a flash of lighting and an immediate thunder clap and the whole of Weymouth Bay and Portland are lit up in a purply white light for the briefest of moments.  

In that split second you get to see 20 Coastguards absolutely unphased, and the silhouette of our cliff top safety officer Roger Patrick - steadfast - watching out for the safety of the cliff techs below. 

That mental image is the reward.


The teams work through and successfully complete the rescue.

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