Drifting ‘boat’ off Perranporth turns out to be barrels

A dark shape was rolling in the swell off Perranporth on Monday evening, and from the shore there was no way to tell what it was or whether anyone was on board. By the time the tide had finished with it, the answer turned out to be a good deal stranger than a boat in trouble.

A vessel with nobody on board

The alert came in to the St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team, logged as Tasking #54, reporting a possible boat drifting in the area of Perranporth Bay, near Penhale. At that point nobody knew if the vessel was carrying anyone, or even what kind of craft it was.

Given where it was sitting at sea, the coastguard team requested the launch of the St Agnes RNLI Lifeboat to get a proper look and assist if needed.

📷Credit: St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team

What the lifeboat crew found

Guided in by the shore team, the lifeboat crew established that the mystery vessel was not a boat at all. It was some sort of pontoon or platform, likely used in the past for fishing, now adrift and unmanned.

With nobody aboard, the concern shifted to what the platform itself might do next. Left to drift, it posed a real hazard to other vessels and to the coastline, so the coastguard team and the lifeboat crew decided the safest course was to cut the anchor and let the tide bring it in.

📷Credit: St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team

Dragging it clear of the tide

Once it had washed onto the beach, crews from both teams hauled the platform past the high water mark by hand, clear of the next tide, and the local authority was informed so it could be arranged for disposal.

All teams were back at their respective stations and stood down at 2110hrs. What is left of the platform is now sitting above the tideline at Perranporth, waiting to be taken away, with nothing yet said about where it came from or how long it had been out there.

📷Credit: St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team