- 2 days ago
BestTVShows
https://t.me/TopFilmUSA1
https://t.me/TopFilmUSA1
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00we're an island nation drawn to the sea that surrounds us a playground for some for others
00:10it's where they make their living but the sea's unpredictable the sea can be so powerful and
00:17dangerous the weather changes and before you know it you're in trouble grab hold him do not let him
00:23go i was literally fighting for my life without them i would have drowned
00:30there to save our lives is a volunteer army of over 5 000 ordinary people
00:38you have to be able to drop everything when the pager goes off
00:45equipped with their own cameras the crews give us a unique insight into every call out
00:53as only they see it for those who risk their lives it has become a way of life
01:01to save somebody's life it's the best thing in the world really
01:06on the south coast of england in east sussex lies the town of hastings famous for the battle that took
01:27place here in 1066 its modern claim to fame is that it boasts one of the largest onshore fishing fleets
01:34in europe the fishing community is very traditional and they've been here since day dot really you'll
01:40see them on the on the shore if you walk through the through the old town they're all they're trying
01:45to sell their catch and it all goes to the local pubs and restaurants
01:48partly to serve its fishing industry there's been a lifeboat station here since 1835 as well as an
01:59inshore d-class lifeboat it also boasts an all-weather shannon class with a range of 250 nautical miles
02:07the shannon's a exceptional piece of kit um it can deal with all sort of the weather that mother nature
02:12can throw us and you know she'll keep on plowing through we quite often get taskings out to the
02:19shipping lanes and that comes with its own challenges the shipping lanes in the english channel are the
02:25busiest in the world with around 500 vessels passing through daily we're trying to avoid huge ships which
02:33don't stop quickly and making sure they know that we're there and what we're doing but we've got some
02:38good equipment on board and um well touch wood nothing's ever uh gone sideways
02:44mid april early evening a storm is battering the south coast
02:56the winds are absolutely relentless it's gale force at times and the storm is bringing in these
03:04really heavy downpours too they're also pelting us with hail with winds of well over 60 miles an hour
03:12the storm named noah is one of the worst to hit the uk in 50 years it got up to a storm 10 large waves
03:20blowing through from the lifeboat station you could tell it was really rough the sea was starting to
03:25foam on top which is when we're getting into serious storm conditions despite the conditions ashley
03:31is at the station completing his training to become a coxswain i was on the lifeboat and the coxswain
03:37on the day strolled onto the boat and said oh we've got a call come in and i thought i thought it was a
03:43joke next thing i know the pages are going off and i'm getting my kit on ready to launch the lifeboat
03:51i was very surprised when we got a page and thinking who's out in these conditions
03:58a mayday call has come in from a fishing boat that's lost engine power in the middle of the
04:04shipping lanes
04:04once i heard that it was a fishing vessel that was out there they're normally quite hardy and to call
04:13for help you know there's something that's drastically gone wrong being a south facing station
04:17we are launching straight into the conditions we know there's lives at risk so we will do our best
04:25to launch into anything if we have to it's a dangerous place to be in but the crew were comfortable
04:31so the decision was made to go ahead just over 20 minutes after the page has sounded shannon is ready
04:40to launch into the surf from the shingle beach
04:42as soon as we hit the water i could feel the power of the sea the wind was howling over the top
04:52of the lifeboat there was spray immediately coming up from the waves
04:57almost about 30 or 40 seconds later we had to make a hard turn to take a large wave
05:06and that really set the tone for the rest of the tasking
05:12we've had a bit of a jolt and a wake up and realization that this is not just any storm this is a
05:22this is a big storm past the harbor arm the crew navigate their way to the fishing boats reported
05:27position 10 miles out in the channel our intentions were to proceed to that position at sort of best
05:33speed given conditions knowing that there's a fishing vessel and a number of crew that are in distress
05:40as we progress the conditions got worse the further we got offshore waves they were some of the biggest
05:49waves that i've worked with probably 10 meters all you're seeing is sea sky sea sky
05:55when you're working in these conditions it's hazardous the boats moving about extreme amounts
06:02all of the equipment is shifting about and moving
06:05storm noah starts to pull eastwards through this evening winds are still very very strong and the sea state
06:14is very rough after almost an hour of battling through the waves the shannon arrives at the
06:22fishing boats reported location but there's no sign of it we were thinking as the vessel sunk but also
06:31could they have drifted somewhere else it's thinking in the back of the head how are those crew members
06:37on that boat doing after a few minutes of scouring the seas more information comes through
06:44from the coast guard it turned out they're drifted another two three miles further to the east so we
06:52had to then try and track them
06:58a fishing vessel of that size they sit quite high in the water but it was still a struggle to see them
07:04until we were fairly close finally the crew spot the 40-foot vessel in amongst the waves when we found
07:15the fishing vessel it's always a sense of relief but also you're then moving straight on to the task in
07:20hand so what we're going to do how are we going to approach it and although it drifted it hadn't sort
07:27of drifted out of danger and there's still that thought of another boat coming down upon it
07:31in the next hour around 20 vessels will pass along this stretch of the shipping lane
07:38without engine power the fishing boat and its crew of four are in an extremely vulnerable position
07:46they are beam on which means that they're sideways to the waves
07:50you can hear in the in the skipper's voice that he was very distressed mentioned that there was
07:57four crew members including himself on board three of them were in their bunks unwell
08:02he'd said this is the worst storm that he'd ever been in the weather was you know the worst he'd ever
08:09experienced in these conditions the only option is to establish a tow
08:15which means putting ashley and jeremy out on deck
08:20when you come out the wheelhouse and you feel the strength of the wind and the sea smashing into
08:28you it's quite daunting at first we were being rocked all over the place for me that was initially
08:36quite unnerving you tend to do everything with one hand because the other hand is holding on all the
08:44time after 20 minutes preparing the tow line ashley and jeremy now have to get it across to the
08:51fishing boat throwing the toe is usually quite straightforward but in conditions that we're
08:57working in it's a real challenge it's probably the roughest conditions i've had to ever pass a toe in
09:02you need to time it right you need to get our vessel in the right position that we're not gonna
09:10lift up on a wave and crash down on the casualty vessel but we also need to be close enough that
09:16we can actually pass the toe if we're too far away we're gonna run out of line jez made the first
09:23throw it unfortunately missed we've got to act really quickly we've got to get that line out the
09:34water if we get that line caught in our jets we're pretty stuck we're not going to go anywhere
09:39so we had to reset with another throwing line reposition the boat again and make another attempt
09:47but this effort failed as does the third and after almost an hour on deck fatigue is starting to set
09:59in we're almost at the end of what we can provide we're absolutely physically drained
10:05having to keep yourself upright in those conditions on the deck it's hard work on the fourth attempt
10:12i gave it absolutely everything i got
10:14at the fourth time of asking the line finally makes it across
10:22once the skipper had caught in we were like right best happy we've got a line on
10:29now let's get these guys into a bit more calmer water
10:33it's that sense of relief that we can get them out of the shipping lane and try and get them back
10:38to a place of safety but after a few minutes of towing there's a problem
10:44the tow line has parted and the fishing boat is adrift again gutted
10:52we put a lot of work in at that point pulling that line in and out it does take it out of you
10:59we're back at square one again it appears the boat skipper hasn't been able to properly secure the line
11:06as soon as he got caught by a wave there was a little bit of slack into the line and it just
11:12essentially slipped off we're not judgmental in these things it's difficult conditions to work in
11:17he admitted that he was extremely scared when and when he was up on the on the bow of the boat
11:21anything can happen in the stress of that environment
11:30i was exhausted the other crew as well were exhausted essentially we've been in a washing
11:36machine for five hours and it's at a point now where we are so physically and mentally drained
11:44that we aren't able to continue
11:53with darkness approaching the hastings crew receive an update from the coast guard
12:01they're being stood down and replaced with a lifeboat from neighboring station dungeon s
12:07there's a limit of what we can do and there is only so much that we can do
12:12it's the end of a working day for most of us as well and sometimes we will reach that that point and
12:19and we need to say enough is enough
12:23with storm noah still in full force
12:27as we go through tonight we will continue to see wind gusts of 70 to 75 miles per hour around some
12:32exposed coast there will also be some heavy the hastings crew head to the nearest safe harbor
12:38dover 20 miles away it was probably about an hour's passage to get there in the dark and in the
12:44conditions there was no bad heart it was more are you okay it's more welfare checking on
12:54after that tasking like that it's disappointing and gutting to be quite frank but when you're working in
13:00conditions like that obviously there's heightened levels of of danger it's not a matter of winning
13:05and losing them all it's doing what you can on the day and in the conditions that you're working in
13:11it would take a further 10 hours and the combined efforts of the dungeon s dover and ramsgate
13:17lifeboats to finally bring the stricken vessel to the safety of dover the situation could have been
13:24a nightmare ultimately if they'd have come into the path of a cargo vessel that hadn't seen them
13:30on the day it would have almost certainly sunk them i think the fishing vessel was very lucky that
13:35given the weather the shipping lanes were relatively quiet on that that night
13:45it wasn't until the following afternoon that the hastings crew finally made it back to station
13:51there was still the residual storm conditions but nothing like what we'd been out in the day before
13:57it was a relatively comfortable passage back i just couldn't wait to get into my bed
14:13at sea no two days are the same come towards the boat come towards the boat
14:17right each time the crews around the uk and ireland head out
14:24they have to be prepared to be pushed to their limits
14:29the sea is extremely dangerous the power that it has is unmeasurable we'll just throw you around and
14:36spit you out quicker than you know what's happened the sea is a very powerful beast
14:42sea scares me pretty much every time you go out you just can't ever predict what's going to happen
14:53the weather can change in the blink of an eye and if you're not ready it starts to go wrong very very
14:58quickly it's not just the waves it's the wind as well we're in a rubber boat and the wind can just
15:06catch us in the blink of an eye as well getting off the boat and going home you signed up the long haul
15:17at the end of the day if the boat can go out and we can save someone i know i'm gonna do that
15:22just a few miles west of newkey on the north cornwall coast lies the popular beach of crantock
15:39i think a lot of people visit crantock because it's such a beautiful beach and it just looks tropical
15:48on a sunny day on the high tide whatever the weather throughout the summer months crantock beach
15:56is watched over by a team of six rnli lifeguards so if we come around here including senior lifeguard
16:04harry perfect so we know that the kilk was working and the engine's working and new recruit eleni i was
16:11a psychologist before becoming a lifeguard working with children and young people which was quite stressful
16:18and overwhelming at times it's been a big change but a change for the better it's probably one of the
16:23best decisions that i've made for like my past on my mental health really if you want to give that a
16:28turn and the handlebars will go she's very committed to the role very bubbly and very enthusiastic and
16:36always willing to learn um and just great company great thank you you too
16:48but even for the most experienced lifeguard crantock is a difficult beach to master
16:54crantock is one of the most dangerous beaches in cornwall soft sand in different places river changing
17:01direction every day and whenever we change direction you can create holes which do then
17:06create rip currents which will pull you up to sea the tides are big and horrible i'd say
17:14we always have to be rescue ready at the beach things can go wrong pretty quickly
17:23early july with a temperature of just 15 degrees and a stiff westerly
17:28breeze crantock beach is unusually quiet the weather wasn't great it was quite overcast and
17:37the sea was quite messy really so there weren't a lot of people in
17:41one of our lifeguards radiated up saying i believe there's two people on goose rock
17:48we thought that the lifeguards maybe had seen a bird or something like that up there because
17:54people don't often go to goose rock goose rock is a small uninhabited island in crantock bay
18:01just over half a mile north of the beach it took us quite some time to find them but they eventually
18:07appeared right on top of the rock we were very shocked that they even got up onto the rock in the first
18:13place grant off beach two men have reached the rock after setting off from crantock beach half an hour ago
18:21when the conditions were calmer and that's what we've got to go back to the waves are massive
18:30and you think how did they get there are they okay are they going to be all right going back is
18:35something wrong is that why they're on there it was very dangerous there was waves crashing
18:40breaking on it my first instinct was we need to get out and help them harry and eleni immediately
18:48launch their rescue watercraft a specialized jet ski my concerns were how are they going to get off
18:58the waves are picking up if they jumped off they could seriously get hurt you could get smashed onto
19:04the rocks
19:07the swell was getting bigger as we were going out
19:11many times we both kind of looked at each other and thought oh my god my goodness this is bigger
19:19than we thought and as further we got out the bigger it got
19:26we were concerned maybe something had happened to the casualties
19:31but on arrival it appears the casualties have already made their escape we saw the two people
19:43that we had spotted put a blue inflatable kayak back in the water to leave goose rock
19:52initially we did go out just to check that everything was okay because they could have been
19:57absolutely fine and known what they were doing but although they've made it off the rock one of the
20:03kayakers is in the water where do you guys come from
20:09polly jakeway unfortunately as he was climbing in it capsized and then they both fell into the water
20:19at this point they were both in the water and out of the kayak but we didn't want to get that close
20:26to goose rock in case a wave would then hit us into the rocks come on you got this you don't want to
20:34make people panic because if you panic then they would get into trouble they said to us that they
20:42were going to try and get back into the kayak again so we kind of again stood back and allowed them to try
20:48one of the kayakers has made it back on board but the other is still adrift
20:55one of them had a very cheap wetsuit on and the other did not have a wetsuit on just had a coat on
21:10so that is a big red flag if you're in that scenario where you don't have a proper wetsuit
21:16you could get hypothermia it can be very dangerous after watching the casualties struggle harry decides
21:23to intervene and maneuvers alongside for eleni to lend a hand pop off
21:29but in order to assist eleni has to leave the safety of the jet ski
21:41for crew to to enter the water it can be quite dangerous if you get disconnected from the ski
21:50it's a big ask especially in those conditions you want to make sure your crew is comfortable going in
21:56and then they'll be on their way
22:07with eleni having helped both men back on board their kayak
22:11which way are you going to now they attempt to paddle back to the beach
22:17at the start they thought they could get back in they were like they were oh we can we can
22:22help him but with the swells increasing and the wind against them they're not making any headway
22:32they just weren't going anywhere guys jump on with me mate it's too fast
22:39jump off we made the decision that it wasn't going to work and you know it wasn't a good idea
22:44so harry and eleni tried to persuade the men to abandon the kayak
22:49and join them on the rescue watercraft leave the kayak man don't leave it it's too dodgy man you
22:55have to jump on
22:59but to avoid the rolling waves harry has to carefully time his approach to pick them up
23:04so
23:08get off mate get up come on jump off just jump off come on mate
23:14i've got a turn i've got a turn
23:17you want
23:22turn that on can you swim over here can you swim out
23:25both casualties make it on board
23:27finally followed by eleni
23:36the original plan was i was gonna drive all four of us on the jet ski to shore and they will be safe
23:43but you'll see it got bigger uh jet ski was very heavy we could have all fallen off
23:56especially if it hit side on the wave
24:00with the jet ski now in danger of capsizing harry radios the coast guard for help
24:05so we've got two on board at the mat and i've got eleni on the back of the jet ski as well
24:12we're just holding them here i don't want to go further in as it is pretty messy
24:20a lifeboat has been launched from newkey four miles around the headland to come and pick up the kayakers
24:26while we're waiting for the lifeboat to come we were chatting to the casualties we're making sure
24:37that they're okay and they're still alert we were worried about the casualty who was wearing his own
24:44clothes at the start there was just adrenaline going through them all and as that started to
24:49wear off they had started to get really cold
24:5115 minutes after harry called for help the newkey inshore lifeboat arrives on scene
25:02once we could see the boat the mood changed a little bit you want to pass them on so that
25:07they can then take them to land and make sure that they are all okay we just got these two recruits
25:13here we just can't get them back into the shore if you give us the essence that'll be great
25:25all right guys how we doing with the casualties safely transferred
25:30harry and delaney begin the bumpy ride back to crantle
25:34harry and i both felt a sense of relief we don't know what could have happened if they had tried
25:44to make their way back to the beach we prevented that from happening
25:50i think they were a bit gutted that their trips to to goose rock had kind of maybe not gone as they
25:57had planned
26:04i was all right because i had my wet suit but charlie was visibly cold he was shivering to the bones
26:10i lived in norway for two winters and it's not many times i was that point of shivering constantly you
26:15know
26:19for brothers charlie and jack the adventure to goose rock was inspired by their late grandfather alan
26:27crantock beach was the the place that we've had the fondest memories of growing up
26:34my granddad loved the place the story started in 1977 my granddad basically swam out to goose rock
26:43but it was two rough seas and never managed to actually get on the rock you know it was just
26:48that like myth in the family we've always looked up to as well he's like the tribe leader you know
26:54it's one of them you want to impress him sort of thing
26:59he just passed just before christmas
27:01and it was giving me goosebumps thinking about him it's like yeah it was a big big part for all of
27:05us family we thought let's go down to do some climbing in cornwall and we were sitting there
27:12having a drink and we thought i want to get to that rock and that was where it kind of started
27:17we went down to nukie town found a decent kayak and the same shop bought a wetsuit
27:25i thought at that moment you know i've just spent 170 quid on a kayak and it's like i don't need to
27:29spend another 50 quid whatever i asked him i'm like you sure did this get a wet suit and he was like
27:35nah nah it's fine i'm sure we won't capsize you know
27:37so charlie and jack inflated their new kayak and for its maiden voyage headed out towards goose rock
27:48it was very choppy we didn't realize how big the waves were but we were fine you know we were confident
27:56it was a bit like summit fever no matter what we're going to get to the top
27:59the waves were going up and down pretty hard so it took us a good say 15 20 minutes to actually get
28:07on the rock from like once we got to the island one of the first things we did we got the camera out
28:13we've kayaked over grand top beach we're gonna we're gonna summit the rock that grandad never got to
28:22and then we had a nice little moment reminiscing yeah very powerful moment wow
28:27all those years all those years and in the video we said oh yeah i don't know how we're gonna get
28:34back and that's where we've got to go back to the waves are massive we just assumed it would be jumping
28:39kayak back to where we put all our stuff new by now the brothers had been spotted by the lifeguards
28:47on crantock beach i got in the kayak and it just instantly the currents and stuff the wave just took me
28:52right out to the point i was trying to get back in that was the first moment i panicked as such
28:57like okay this it's getting dangerous charlie's face told the picture a little bit as well i could
29:04say i could tell that he was getting a bit more concerned he was doing like he often does gives
29:08me that confidence i'll be all right i'll try to just jump in quick and at that point wave came and
29:15we just capsized that was when i kind of realized that things were getting a little bit
29:23okay you know you didn't think about this too much at that point he was drifting away from the kayak
29:35really quickly and i i couldn't get back so it was a really sketchy moment leave it here's the kayak man
29:40that's when they were like yeah just abandon your kayak it's too dangerous now hop off and come on
29:54i wasn't shivering as much but i felt it he was just soaked through you know he was in hiking gear
29:59getting back it would have been impossible an hour after their adventure began the brothers were taken
30:09back to new key harbor in hindsight i think about how dangerous it is it could have been like you know
30:15fatal i don't think we would have done it if it wasn't that sort of story where granddad couldn't
30:19quite do it so it was a testament to my granddad why we did it but we got pulled in by the nostalgia and
30:24reminisce on the old memories i was definitely thinking of him i can just imagine the smile on
30:29his face just cracking up it's just like having a right little giggle at us we we learned the hard
30:34way i think it's lucky that we're there really was for eleni this was a successful outcome to her
30:44first major call out it does fill you with an immense sense of pride it's like actually we've
30:49we've helped these people out and it could have gone really badly we were very proud of eleni she
30:57put herself out there she definitely gained all our respect after that to be a lifeguard you have
31:05to have a passion for the sea passion for educating people making sure people are safe i think you need
31:14to be brave as well because you never really know what you're dealing with until you actually get out
31:20there on the east coast of dorset in the mouth of christ church harbor lies the charming quayside
31:34town of muddiford muddiford during the winter is a very sleepy fishing village and then in the summer
31:43we have a lot of holiday makers you've got beautiful beaches the sea you've got historical
31:51places around here it's just a lovely place to spend your time
31:59perched on the end of muddiford quay there's been a lifeboat station here since 1963.
32:05our biggest dangers are the entrance into christ church harbor the tides do cause trouble for boat
32:13users the currents and tide here at muddiford can be tricky it's very fast when the tide is flooding
32:20out you can get four to five knots out of there which swimming against i definitely can't do it
32:28when it's a little bit windier it's also a little bit choppier and then the services do tend to be more
32:33serious
32:42early january a bitterly cold afternoon winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour
32:49despite the gale force conditions a hardy windsurfer is on the water just outside the harbor
32:56a bystander is filming
33:04just as they appear to get into difficulty
33:10concerned onlookers have alerted the coast guard and the crew make their way to the station looking
33:23at the conditions i was concerned it was very cold january and someone couldn't last that long in the
33:27water as i came onto the quay i noticed how rough it was out to sea straight away my first thought was
33:35we are on our borderline of being able to go out in these conditions it's down to helm nathan and the
33:42launch authority to decide whether to deploy the station's atlantic inshore lifeboat it was important
33:48to me to get the right crew but also crew that were intent to go out nathan looked at me and said
33:53are you happy to go and i gave the nod because there was somebody in the water i made the decision
34:04that we will go out ready to push out time was in essence then there was a need to move as quickly
34:12and as safely as we possibly could within minutes the crew launch
34:21they head towards the casualties reported position just off avon beach half a mile east of the station
34:28the conditions were rougher than i've ever seen and ever launched into before
34:35it honestly feels scary going out in conditions like that
34:37being in the water all alone in those conditions his life is definitely in danger
34:43we don't know what life-saving equipment he has we need to get to him as quickly as possible
34:48there was a huge risk to life
34:51as the crew battle through the breaking waves further information comes through
34:57the person who called the coast guard from the shore was the casualties 12 year old son
35:01when i heard it's a casualty son that called it in watching his father in trouble it increased intensity
35:11i think what must have been going through the child's head he must have been very very scared
35:17that does put a certain amount of pressure on you you know that you need to get out there quickly
35:22just a few minutes after launching the crew arrive at the location where the boy's father rob was last seen
35:39there was a lot of wind blowing a lot of tide and a lot of waves
35:42which could cause him to be absolutely anywhere in that area
35:46because of the strength of the wind it made the conditions very difficult with the spray
35:53spray off the boat spray off the top of the waves made it very hard to see someone in the water
36:05suddenly through the waves the crew spot a figure in the distance we could see a windsurfer the sail
36:12and the kit described to the coast guard was exactly the same we were like brilliant there he is
36:33we quickly established it wasn't the person we were looking for
36:42this was the only person we had visual there was nobody else that we could see in the bay
36:56we're thinking where is he and are we running out of time
37:05it's now been almost half an hour since the alarm was raised
37:10with the gusting winds potentially blowing the casualty further east the crew must extend their
37:15search pattern along the coast it's still daylight but it's dark because it's that time of year so
37:21trying to find a black wetsuit in a black sea is very very difficult my worst fear is not finding that
37:29person in the water um that that's the biggest fear
37:32the sun must be going through all the feelings he's watching his dad getting washed out to sea
37:43with no equipment he probably lost sight of him and he's unsure where he was with every passing
37:47minute and a sea temperature of around just eight degrees hypothermia is also now becoming a real
37:54concern as time goes on we know the casualties also getting desperate so he's going to get more
37:58exhausted he's not going to be able to shout not going to wave his hands it was coming very time
38:02critical
38:15as we turned to os i was scanning outside
38:21something made me turn a little bit further behind myself just as i saw the top of the sail for a split
38:27second before a crest of a wave covered it
38:42i brought the boat around and we couldn't see anything could not see anything
38:46oh yeah then about half a mile away we could see the person in the water
38:57uh so we're just coming across the casualty at this time we're going to attempt to pick up
39:02as we got closer to the casualty we could see that it didn't have his board and just had his sail
39:07he was using it as a float it was a relief to see the casualty conscious and breathing it's also a relief to
39:13know that we hopefully have the right path but although he's been located the casualty is in a
39:18perilous position between the breaking waves and the shore an area known as the surf zone
39:25it's a dangerous area for both him and the lifeboat
39:32in these shallow waters large waves are created as the breaking surf hits the seabed
39:37my first thoughts are how deep is it in there how big are the waves in there and how can i get him
39:44and the boat out as quickly as safely as possible
39:52if you don't get the boat in the right position capsize is hugely possible
39:56the lifeboat has to be held in a certain direction but the props need to be not spinning in case the
40:09casualty goes under the boat
40:13everything has to come together to make it a successful rescue
40:17with a break in the waves the crew spot their chance
40:25ditch ditch your sail come here keep the sail
40:43okay he's on board
40:48you all right
40:49as soon as that casualty got on that lifeboat first thing he said was can you get a message to
40:57my son he's on the beach and we said back to him here your son saved your life yeah your son called in
41:06all right all right so we're going to take him back to station i guess yeah
41:11we'll be taking him back to my lifeboat station he is okay and i don't believe he needs any medical
41:16services to this time the casualty seemed in good spirits but he was very very cold he told us
41:23he'd been in the water for over an hour because his kit had broken
41:38okay
41:42over an hour after falling off his board you ready nice is that right yeah
41:51the windsurfer rob is reunited with his son back on dry land
41:59i'd hate to think how the sun was feeling must have been extremely frightening for him to be there
42:04pretty helpless really watching your father um struggling in those kind of conditions and he
42:11did the right thing he he raised the alarm and called for help
42:17to call 999 and ask ask for the coast guard and ask for help was very clever very clever
42:22okay this could have been a lot worse he was very lucky that we were there
42:31it was obvious that we were close to the limits of taking the lifeboat out but it was an easy decision
42:38as a parent myself you know just to reunite a father and son and make sure you know that person
42:45came back to his son that's one of the reasons i got into lifeboating it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside
42:59he's mr
43:04400 miles north on the banks of the firth of forth is the old fishing village of anstruther
43:13answer famous for its local chip shops and people queuing up for a fish supper
43:18won quite a lot of awards and i reckon that's why it's so busy
43:22also serving this community as it has since 1865 is anstruthers lifeboat station and its 36 strong
43:32crew we've got a lot of ex-fishermen some are still fishermen a lot of people will know a seagoing
43:40background whatsoever but they come in and they learn from scratch and they learn quick
43:45we do a lot of training to bring them on and still on a good day is very picturesque and
43:51answer on a bad day the waves could be smashing off the back of the pier and washing over the
43:55into the harbor there's a lot of kayakers and paddleboarders using the coast these days
44:02it's so easy for people to buy off the shelf and be ill prepared for the conditions
44:08and all of a sudden the weather just picks up and you can be caught unawares very easily
44:12a sunny saturday afternoon in june a steady south westerly is blowing out to sea
44:25i was attending a first birthday party it was friends another crew member
44:31ewan he was also going to the party the music was playing and all i hear is the peep peep of the pager
44:37going looked at my partner and went yeah i have to go two female paddleboarders are reported to be
44:48in difficulty off nearby kings barns beach there's always a sense of urgency with people in the water
44:55even in the summertime when it feels quite warm the sea is still fairly cold
44:59we knew at that time it was someone serious very time critical that's why we launched i'll be as
45:08quick as we could within 10 minutes the d-class is on the water and heading towards kings barns beach
45:17eight nautical miles northeast a journey time of around 25 minutes
45:22people's in the water 25 minutes is a very long time
45:28you have to remember they'd be in the water longer than that as well they'd be in the water before help
45:34was called what speed are we getting 22
45:41you feel like the boat's not going fast enough eh but you're actually turning along at full speed
45:47and it just seems to slow right down in the meantime the coast guard
45:51reporting further information from the first informants on the beach the paddleboarders family
46:04i was surprised when they didn't have any life jackets on it's normally your sort of number one
46:08if you're going to see on any vessel or any paddleboard or kayak like wear a life jacket
46:14we've searched a few times in the past looking for people on the water and failed to find anything
46:20yeah it happens quite a lot especially if they're not wearing a life jacket
46:26with the coast guard helicopter also now on route from inverness more information comes through about
46:32the paddleboarders
46:45looking for two people in the water if the people on the shore the first informant loses sight of them
46:50then you're searching your hands if the casualties drifted apart you're looking for two needles in the haystack
46:59when someone's in the water every second case because the water temperature in our area is very low
47:03it doesn't change much all year round so i prefer it doesn't take long concentrating on getting to them
47:10how your adrenaline's going with the offshore winds picking up to 20 miles an hour the potential search
47:18area is growing ever wider start looking at the key light and see what way the tides are running
47:25june pointed out that you could look at the creel floats and see the way the tides running so we kind
47:29of knew roughly what way they were drifting which was further away from us the longer it takes us to
47:35find them the less chance of surviving as the crew arrive at the casualties last reported position
47:43a further update comes through from the coast guard team now on shore
47:47uh we have a casualty pressure one second to come to touch with the paddle board
47:53and join us to make a difference to their board and have a paddle
47:58very relieved to hear that we're both together on the paddle board it means we're both out of
48:02water and together make it easier for us to locate as well but it's now a race to find the paddle
48:07boarders before they become separated from their board or get swept further out you see floats
48:14think it could be a person but it's not could we see seals and birds and that in the water that
48:18you think in the distance but it is very tricky to see somebody in the water
48:28there's something up there though is that rocks see that i did spot something in the distance
48:35i see something there i'm not sure if it's under the rocks but there's something up there
48:41i wasn't sure if it was a rock breaching the water
48:52the figures in the distance are almost a mile offshore
48:55and almost two miles away from where the casualties were reported to have entered the water
49:00so we saw them first
49:12then we heard them
49:13we've been out here for a bit
49:28thank you so much
49:30I've got you.
49:33Right, I'm going to get...
49:36Are you ready?
49:37I've got those in.
49:39Are you in?
49:41Right, you're in.
49:42One, two, three.
49:44I've got you. Are you on?
49:47Is it long gone, is it?
49:51I think they were pretty cold,
49:53even with their wetsuits on.
49:55He's come from Kingsbarns, yeah?
49:57Yeah.
49:58We've got them both on board on the port side
50:01and we've got the pad...
50:02Tam was holding onto the paddleboard on the starboard side.
50:04As you can imagine,
50:05it was not very much room on the D-class at that point.
50:09Thank you so much.
50:11This is so fun.
50:13It's all right.
50:14After almost two hours in the water,
50:16the paddleboarders are cold and exhausted,
50:19but otherwise in good health.
50:21Once the Carolays were aboard the lifeboat
50:24and conscious and didn't need any extra assistance,
50:27we were able to stand down the helicopter
50:29and any other assets that were on their way.
50:32He's been out for a while then?
50:34It would be cold, but they were fine physically.
50:38We just wanted to get them ashore as quickly as possible
50:41to the waiting Coast Guard
50:43and their family members were there as well.
50:45Thank you so much, guys, for some fun.
50:50I really appreciate it.
50:52I don't know if I'm going to leave it back.
50:59Once we got onto the beach,
51:01one of the casualties' boyfriend came across and said thank you.
51:05Oh, I wasn't laughing.
51:07Oh, it was all right.
51:08Thank you so much.
51:09It was a nice feeling.
51:10Forgot your paddle.
51:15I think a bit of inexperience.
51:17Forgot about that situation,
51:18not understanding the tides and the offshore wind.
51:21One, I've never been on a paddleboard before,
51:23so maybe the open sea's not the best place to go for your first time,
51:26but it could happen to anyone, to be honest.
51:29You're just unlucky.
51:32Thank you so much, guys.
51:37I couldn't wait to go paddleboarding for the first time.
51:40I'd always seen loads of people do it on Instagram and social media,
51:45so I was really excited to get out there and try it.
51:48Caitlin and her cousin, Anna, had ventured to King's Barns
51:55for a family day out on the beach.
51:58My uncle and his fiancée had just recently bought paddleboards.
52:05There was a bit of a breeze,
52:06but it didn't look like anything too bad.
52:10We weren't actually wearing a life jacket.
52:13My uncle's fiancée had actually told us to before we left,
52:18and we said,
52:19it's really shallow, we won't need them.
52:22Caitlin and Anna launched their paddleboards
52:25and soon found themselves making surprisingly steady progress.
52:30Me and Anna thought that we were doing so well
52:33and we'd really got the hang of it.
52:36So we were saying,
52:37oh, this is so relaxing, this is so fun.
52:40Yeah, that wasn't the case.
52:43My boyfriend was shouting at me,
52:47but I thought he was just telling me that I wasn't doing it right,
52:51but really, I think he was telling me to come back.
52:55All of a sudden, we were so far away from everybody else.
53:00Within minutes, Caitlin and Anna had drifted
53:02a few hundred metres from the beach.
53:05I was like, I want to turn back,
53:08and as I went to turn the paddleboard,
53:10I was really, really struggling,
53:12and then I was shouting to Anna to say,
53:14oh, my goodness, I'm not able to turn this around.
53:17I just felt totally helpless.
53:20I couldn't control what I was doing.
53:22And then I think that's when the panic started.
53:26It was terrifying.
53:27It just started screaming.
53:28I thought, right, OK, I know I can swim.
53:33I'll get off, and I'll kick with my feet instead.
53:37Without knowing if their family on the beach had called for help,
53:42the cousins ditched one of the boards and joined forces
53:46in an attempt to paddle back together.
53:48It literally went away so quick, that other paddle board,
53:51which made me nervous how strong the current was.
53:55My cousin Anna got up and rode on her knees,
53:58and I lay down on the back and kicked with my feet.
54:04We were getting colder and colder.
54:06I feel like that's when the real exhaustion started.
54:15It felt like the longest time of my whole life.
54:19It's so isolating.
54:21It just feels like you're the only people on the planet
54:24because you're just screaming so hard and so loud
54:27in the hope that somebody will hear you,
54:29but you don't know if anyone's going to hear you.
54:33It was like a nightmare,
54:34because you just don't know when it's going to end,
54:36if it'll end, are you going to be OK?
54:42Right there.
54:44I think I see them.
54:46I had turned my head to the side,
54:47and I had seen this orange boat,
54:50and I just could not believe it.
54:52I started screaming.
54:53I was like, they're coming, they're coming,
54:55we're getting saved.
54:56Thank you so much.
54:59One, two, three.
55:00Just felt just like a complete sigh of relief.
55:04Couldn't thank them enough for saving us
55:07and being there to help.
55:09We just couldn't stop saying thank you.
55:12Two and a half hours after they set off,
55:14Caitlin and Anna were reunited with their family on the beach.
55:18Being back on dry land was just like the best feeling ever.
55:21It was just such a sigh of relief.
55:23I feel extremely lucky to be alive.
55:27I'll be eternally grateful, so will Anna.
55:30I was just so, so grateful.
55:36I don't think the casualties knew what sort of danger they were in.
55:39The sort of day it was with the sun,
55:41the offshore breeze just probably very nice,
55:44quite close into the shore.
55:46But once you get closer, further off the shore,
55:48your next stop is Arbroath.
55:52They were lucky if it was rougher,
55:54it would have been a lot worse for them.
55:55They could have been taken on water and stuff.
55:57They could have struggled to stay on the board.
55:59They could have drifted faster.
56:01So it was not too bad luckily for them that day.
56:05After her traumatic introduction to paddle boarding,
56:15Caitlin is not quite ready to go back to the beach just yet.
56:19This is the closest I've been to water since the day of the rescue.
56:23Looking back, you just see how quickly things can change
56:27and how unexpected things can be,
56:30especially that you have no control of.
56:32So it's just made me really grateful to be here and be alive.
56:38If I could go back, we'd 100% wear a life jacket next time.
56:42We won't be going paddle boarding on an offshore wind again.
56:46Guys, jump on with me, mate. It's too far, mate. Jump on.
56:57How many quick draws have we got?
56:59All of your ones, I think.
57:01And after coming unstuck on their trip to Goose Rock,
57:04brothers Jack and Charlie are preparing for their next adventure
57:08with a little more caution.
57:10It hasn't put us off at all.
57:12It just taught us a lesson of put more planning in.
57:15We're not going to climb Goose Rock again.
57:17No, that is going to die with us.
57:20Yeah, it's done now.
57:22In hindsight, I would have checked the weather,
57:25wind directions, currents,
57:27all of these things would have made a massive difference to our day.
57:31But, yeah, it was one of them things that happens
57:33and, you know, you move on from
57:35and just hope you don't do anything like that again.
57:38Yeah.
57:39We're prepping for all of it, aren't we?
57:40We could abseil that.
57:41Again, depends on the sea.
57:42Yeah.
57:43We would be checking that one out, wouldn't we?
57:45That's it.
57:46My family would be talking about this event for my entire life, I'm sure.
57:49Yeah.
57:50My major fear on launching was that if we don't get there in time,
57:58we could have three fatalities.
58:02From what I could see, she was lifeless.
58:04Hello, can you hear me?
58:05You got the whirlpools, you got the standing waves.
58:10It is ferocious.
58:12You're just thinking all the time, like,
58:14how am I getting over this?
58:16How am I getting over this?
58:17No.
58:18Come on.
58:19Okay.
58:20Transcription by CastingWords
Recommended
58:53
|
Up next
1:11
41:49
1:22:35
1:04:47
1:11:41
1:00:13
1:00:28
52:56
58:22
1:26:15
43:44
40:34
18:51
56:44
58:12
1:09:44
1:06:37
1:04:04
1:00:14