A little job

Last nights incident shows how a small enquiry by a family member turned out to have 1 helicopter, 2 lifeboats and 2 Coastguard teams get called out.

A member of the public had called Portland Coastguard concerned about a family member who hadn't turned up after a day on the water. It was believed they had left Swanage and were heading to Portland.

The Swanage IRT were tasked to make enquiries and 1st stop was the NCI lookout at Peveril (thanks to the Station Manager who kindly turned up so we could check the log book). We found the kayak had left Swanage around 10.00 but just as we were relaying this information Rescue 106 who had just finished searching for the diver spotted the craft off Anvil Point.

St Albans IRT had also been tasked to search around St Albans head so both mobiles got in a position to monitor the situation. As we arrived the kayaker was in the water and the winchman was being lowered down to airlift the casualty.

This of course left the kayak in the water and to avoid any further enquiries from the public Swanage Lifeboat and ILB who were being tasked to search for the casualty collected it and brought it ashore.

It always a good idea to tell someone where you are going and what time you will be back. Ensure you carry the proper equipment, like a VHF radio or flares.