Motor Boat Aground on Main Beach

The team was tasked this evening following a number of 999 calls about a motor boat which broke free from its mooring and came aground half on and half off the Mowlem slipway.

A number of members of public entered the water to try and help move it, but there was a degree of confusion and a risk of injuries to them - crushed feet etc - and so once the team arrived it took control of the situation and asked the members of public to return the beach.  Some folks had tried to pull the boat further onto the beach, but our preference was to try and refloat it - a boat marooned on the main beach on the busiest week of the year would not be ideal with the security and pollution risks and the inevitable issues of moving it.

Appropriately dressed in drysuits, boots and lifejackets, and with a tether to a buddy on the shore, a number of Coastguards went into the water to move the boat away from the slipway where there was a risk of it being holed and of subsequent pollution.

The RNLI was requested owing to the number of people in the sea and as safety cover for the Coastguard team.

The team pushed and manoeuvred the vessel, timing each push with the larger waves until the boat floated free.  Shortly afterwards, the lifeboat arrived and with the risk to personnel now gone. it took the vessel under tow and took it to the boat park slip where is was loaded onto a trailer.

Many thanks to those called 999 and to those who tried to assist.  However, please don't put yourself at risk.  Some folks could have lost toes had the boat landed on on them, and there's always the potential for slipping and being caught under the boat. 

Swanage Carnival 2019

It was Carnival Day in Swanage today and that often means a busy day .......

Many of the team take holiday this week from their full time jobs to be about and help during the week.

First of all it was the annual Joint Emergency Service briefing  Breakfast Meeting, a time to catch up and discuss the day ahead.

The words ..... probably see you later were going to come true.

The team started to gather ready for the procession when they were asked to help with a medical incident on Shore Road.  The event ambulance team arrived and took over.
As that incident was being resolved we were made aware of another medical incident and again the team stepped in to assist.  The St Albans Coastguard just arriving in town were requested to assist take the male to the local hospital but as that was on route an ambulance arrived to deal.

The procession started and we were all enjoying the crowd when some youths decided to start throwing plastic bottles at our vehicles.   They weren't expecting the team to go and give them some advice on how to spend the rest of their day.

Half way round we were tasked to Studland to assist South Western Ambulance with a medical incident.  The team arrived and set up a landing site for the Coastguard helicopter which was then cancelled to allow the air ambulance to attend.  A male had been taken ill whilst walking the northern boundary, due to his condition the helicopter was required so he could be flown to Bournemouth hospital.

The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance ( the usual yellow one is away for maintenance.)

Before the team left they were tasked to search the South side of the harbour entrance for a possible missing male before another tasking of some clothing left on the beach.  The team quickly located the owner who confirmed all was well.

Finally everyone got back to the Carnival just before 7pm

Early Morning Search Success

The team was tasked just before 3am today, Thursday, to search for a male missing from Dorset.
He'd last been seen earlier this morning in the area near the Downs and so the Initial Visual Search (IVS) concentrated around the Pier, Downs and Peveril Point.

The profile of the missing person led us to extend the search area and whilst police searched areas of town, Coastguard teams supported by police dogs concentrated on the areas around Durlston.  Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue attended with their mobile operations room to provide an indoor search base.

As daylight started to break, the male was successfully located and handed over to the care of the Police. The team were left to enjoy the company of Rodney the search dog and a beautiful sun rise over the bay before returning to the station for a well deserved mug of tea.

The Summer Holidays Start

As the main holiday weeks start the team had several incidents over the weekend.

Saturday's patrol headed to Dancing Ledge and a report of a group coasteering in some rough conditions.  The patrol arrived and gave some safety advice to the group on the sea conditions.

Shortly after the full team were tasked to Swanage Pier to meet a dive boat who had a diver airlifted to Southampton hospital after a rapid ascent missing decompression stops.
 Both Swanage RNLI lifeboats were tasked to the vessel in support of the incident.
The team liaised with all those involved and the Police to establish what had caused the incident although several hours after the incident it was confirmed the male diver had had a lucky escape and their condition was not as bad as first thought.

Whilst the team was on the pier they dealt with a male with a fishing hook in their finger.

Sunday's patrol started in a similar way when they were tasked to Swanage Pier to meet a dive vessel.
Again a diver had missed a decompression stop and the crew and Coastguard liaised with a Dive Doctor in Poole.  Thankfully again there was no symptoms with advice given by the Doctor , the team took details and provided further advice.

The National Maritime Operations Centre then tasked the patrol to Studland after a Digital Emergency call was received indicating a vessel was in distress.

On arrival the team searched the beach area and located a boat owner who confirmed a fault with their radio which triggered the alarm.  Advice was given on drying the radio out before using it again and the patrol were released to return to the station.

999 - Coastguard

A little reminder with the holidays coming up ......

See someone in trouble ( or you think they might be in trouble) on the water, cliffs or in the mud ...

........ dial 999 and ask for the COASTGUARD.

Injury at Winspit

The team was tasked on Saturday afternoon to assist a young lady who'd jumped into the sea at Winspit and had landed badly and hurt herself.

Joining colleagues from St Albans, the team first set about making the lady comfortable and understanding the mechanics of the injury.  To understand what happened helps us look for signs and symptoms of what might be wrong and where injuries may be.

In this case the lady had jumped 10 feet into water which turned out to be much shallower than first imagined.  The lady landed awkwardly on her knees, cut her legs in a number of places and jarred her body in the process.
With the help of an off duty doctor, the team checked for signs of a spinal injury and thankfully none were present.  However, the lady's legs were both in a lot of pain.

The lady was made comfortable on the stretcher whilst we waited for an ambulance.   However on a sunny Saturday in Dorset its not always easy to get an ambulance in a hurry and when an ETA couldn't be provided the team requested a Coastguard helicopter.  These carry their own paramedics and could also winch from the site on the ledge at Winspit; an ambulance would require the lady to be stretchered up a steep and tricky path up to the quarry and with no pain relief available the team wasn't content to do this.

Rescue 187 from St Athan prepares to air lift the casualty to hospital

Swanage Lifeboat was called after a while as it carries entonox, a pain relieving 'gas and air' mixture and this allowed us to get some pain relief to the casualty whilst we waited for the helicopter to arrive. 

Once the winchman/paramedic had done some checks on the lady, she was prepared for the lift into the helicopter and the team manned the high-line to stop the stretcher spinning in mid air.

We wish the lady a speedy recovery and send our thanks to the
couple who offered help and to the off duty doctor who made himself available.


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