‘Our volunteer crew responded quickly after concerns were raised for a possible missing paddleboarder’
The Bridlington RNLI inshore-lifeboat (ILB) ‘Ernie Wellings’ on a previous exercise.(Image: RNLI/Mike Milner)
Volunteers with Bridlington RNLI were diverted during a training exercise following reports of a possible missing paddleboarder. Bridlington RNLI’s inshore lifeboat was called upon by HM Coastguard at 3.40pm on Saturday (November 7) after concerns were raised.
A volunteer crew of three was on board the inshore-lifeboat ‘Ernie Wellings’, taking part in a pre-planned training exercise with the all-weather lifeboat ‘Antony Patrick Jones’ and the HM Coastguard Helicopter. The crew was diverted to investigate a possible missing paddleboarder near Belvedere.
The lifeboat set off at best speed to the last known location of the paddleboarder. When they got there, however, the volunteer crew found an object in the water but established that it wasn’t connected to the incident.
The team liaised with Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team, and the paddleboarder was subsequently found safe and well further along the shoreline. With no further assistance required, the volunteer RNLI lifeboat was stood down at 3.55pm, recovered, refuelled and washed down and was back on service shortly afterwards.
Bridlington RNLI Volunteer Launch Authority, Anna Needham, said: “Our volunteer crew responded quickly after concerns were raised for a possible missing paddleboarder. Thankfully, after working alongside Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team, the individual was located safe and well and no further assistance was required.”
The callout came two weeks after Storm Boelo, when the RNLI team joined forces with lifeboats from Scarborough to battle high winds at sea after receiving a distress beacon. The call came in from a distress beacon, which is devised to alert search and rescue services when a vessel or person is in danger at sea.
Once activated, the beacon sends out a signal to the global search and rescue network, indicating that emergency services should attend. The crews launched just after 9am on October 24, battling difficult conditions with 50mph-plus winds and waves up to four metres high.
The HM Coastguard helicopter was the first to arrive at the scene, yet after a comprehensive search of the scene no vessel, debris or other signs of distress were found, so the stood search operation was stood down.
At the time, Bridlington RNLI volunteer launch authority Josh Colley said: “Whenever an emergency beacon is activated, we treat it as a genuine distress situation and launch immediately to provide assistance. Thankfully, on this occasion, nothing was found and all crews were able to return safely to their stations.”
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