'You are never not a Coastguard' - how some quick thinking saved the day for a struggling swimmer
On a sunny evening in April, two Coastguard Rescue Officers in Felixstowe, Suffolk, were enjoying working on their boats down at the local sailing club. They weren’t on call, but saw a man struggling in the water and instantly all their instincts as Coastguards took over. Philip Pearce (pictured below) takes up the story:
‘It was the start of the sailing season. My fellow CRO, Alasdair Nicol and I spend many sunny evenings fixing boats and getting them ready for action. Tuesday 19th April was no different.
‘We were walking between the dinghy park and local sailing club when we spotted a man swimming in the river. It’s very rare to see someone swimming in that location, especially at that time of the year and – oddly - fully clothed.
‘Straightaway, we realised what we had stumbled into – it was clear that something wasn’t right, immediately obvious he was in trouble and needed help.
‘Even though we weren’t technically on call, we didn’t hesitate. Our training and instincts took over and I rushed to the nearest vantage point, whilst Alasdair called 999.
‘We know the mouth of the River Deben well, both as regular sailors, but also as a popular location for Coastguard training for dealing with and getting to know the strong current and rock groynes.
‘With a strong tide and no Coastguard rescue equipment available for a safe water rescue from the shoreline, we had no choice but to call on our training, experience and local knowledge.
‘As the man was being dragged by the tide downriver, I was able to climb far along the rock groyne into the water whilst keeping my footing on the rocks below to a waist depth. From there, I was able to reach out to the man and pull him into my grasp and then worked hard to get him back along the waterline of the groynes.
‘By this time he was showing the effects of being in the water for a little while as he’d probably between there for between seven and eight minutes. He was very cold.
Working with Alasdair, a fellow Coastguard, we administered first aid, got him into a thermal protective aid and took his wet clothes off him.
'We talked to him, reassuring him and trying to find out as much as we could, as well as keeping him comfortable. I have to admit to an immense sense of relief as we heard a melody of sirens from the Coastguard mobile unit and ambulance service heading our way.
'From there on, we worked with our colleagues from the East of England Ambulance Service to get him into a waiting vehicle to go to hospital. He’d swallowed a lot of salt water and had mild hypothermia.
'The local papers called us heroes, but we were just in the right place at the right time, with the right training. There’s a reason why we ask you not to have a go yourself but call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.’
‘You’re never not a Coastguard. Our training and our instincts took over and the man was very lucky.'
‘It was the start of the sailing season. My fellow CRO, Alasdair Nicol and I spend many sunny evenings fixing boats and getting them ready for action. Tuesday 19th April was no different.
‘Straightaway, we realised what we had stumbled into – it was clear that something wasn’t right, immediately obvious he was in trouble and needed help.
‘Even though we weren’t technically on call, we didn’t hesitate. Our training and instincts took over and I rushed to the nearest vantage point, whilst Alasdair called 999.
‘We know the mouth of the River Deben well, both as regular sailors, but also as a popular location for Coastguard training for dealing with and getting to know the strong current and rock groynes.
‘With a strong tide and no Coastguard rescue equipment available for a safe water rescue from the shoreline, we had no choice but to call on our training, experience and local knowledge.
Rescue
'Seeing the casualty splash about in panic as cold shock set in and whilst the tide took effect, I quickly scrambled across the rock groynes, positioning myself to perform a snatch rescue as the casualty passed by drifting with the tide.‘As the man was being dragged by the tide downriver, I was able to climb far along the rock groyne into the water whilst keeping my footing on the rocks below to a waist depth. From there, I was able to reach out to the man and pull him into my grasp and then worked hard to get him back along the waterline of the groynes.
‘By this time he was showing the effects of being in the water for a little while as he’d probably between there for between seven and eight minutes. He was very cold.
Working with Alasdair, a fellow Coastguard, we administered first aid, got him into a thermal protective aid and took his wet clothes off him.
'We talked to him, reassuring him and trying to find out as much as we could, as well as keeping him comfortable. I have to admit to an immense sense of relief as we heard a melody of sirens from the Coastguard mobile unit and ambulance service heading our way. 'From there on, we worked with our colleagues from the East of England Ambulance Service to get him into a waiting vehicle to go to hospital. He’d swallowed a lot of salt water and had mild hypothermia.
'The local papers called us heroes, but we were just in the right place at the right time, with the right training. There’s a reason why we ask you not to have a go yourself but call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.’
‘You’re never not a Coastguard. Our training and our instincts took over and the man was very lucky.'
