Busy, Busy, Busy

The first Saturday of the school holidays brought a very busy day for the Coastguard volunteers, with 8 incidents recorded through the day.

The day started just around 11.00am when the team met a local dive boat from which a diver had been airlifted a short time earlier.  The diver, returning from the Everleigh wreck had planned to take a scheduled 10-metre stop on his ascent, but had lost control of his buoyancy and despite his buddy's best efforts, had continued to the surface.  He showed no symptoms of the bends, but after a call to the dive doctor, was airlifted to the compression chamber in Poole anyway.  The team liaised with the diveboat skipper and the diver's buddy to check their welfare and to collect background information leading up to the incident.

Incidents continued to occur during the day, and the next task was to clear Studland beach so that the Royal Navy EOD team from Plymouth could blow up some wartime ordnance discovered there.

World War II munitions discovered on Studland Beach

Working with Police and National Trust to clear a very busy Knoll Beach

That done, there were two separate boats in trouble that the team kept a look out for and watch over,  before setting off for the mouth of the Wareham River where there was an 80-year old boater stuck in the mud on a low tide. In the event, our colleagues from Poole lifeboat undertook this rescue and the team returned to Studland where they supported Police and Ambulance services in the immediate aftermath of a road traffic accident on the Studland Road.  First aid support was provided to the Paramedic and logistical support to the Police.

Eyes On

On returning to the station, the team were just washing the vehicle down when they heard a Mayday call from a yacht on fire off the Training Bank at Studland Beach. After liaising with the National Maritime Operations Centre, and not knowing if casualties were likely to be in the water, the team made good speed to the site ready to provide sitreps to the NMOC and to deal with any casualties and / or debris washed on to the beach.  In the event, Poole ALB extinguished the fire and the casualties were transferred by Poole ILB to the Poole pilot boat and taken ashore.  Once the fire was out the lifeboats towed the burnt out yacht to Poole and the Coastguard team set off back to base.

The yacht crew were rescued by Poole ILB before Poole ALB tackled the fire

The day was not quite done yet, and a direct call from a local family saw first aid advice and support given to an unwell relative.  The team advised the tasking of an ambulance and waited until the paramedics were on scene.

Finally, some 12 hours after the initial call out, the vehicle was returned to the station, the logs written up and the lights turned out on a busy day.