Just as it was getting dark last night, the team was alerted to a group of 9 paddle boarders potentially in difficulties in Studland Bay; a passing vessel had contacted HM Coastguard with concern for welfare.
Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) were deployed to South Beach, Middle Beach and Knoll Beach in an attempt to find the paddleboarders, with another unit going to the higher ground at Old Harry for a better view.
The group was soon spotted; all appeared to be in order and they were tracked back towards Knoll Beach where they were met by the team there.
As suspected, everything was fine and the group had just been out for an evening paddle to Old Harry and back were never in difficulty. We did discuss letting HM Coastguard know if they were likely to be out late again or on a route away from the shoreline and we put the incident down as FAWGI - false alarm with good intent.
If you ever see anybody in difficulty or who appears to be in difficulty on or near the coast then please call 999 Coastguard. We'd rather be called to a false alarm than miss someone in danger.
Stand Up Paddleboards (SUPs) have become a growth leisure activity over the last few years with more and more people taking to the water and we'll be offering some safety advice in a coming blog.
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