Snorkeller waving for help off Maenporth rescued by Falmouth RNLI

From the beach it would have looked like a wave. A raised arm, out in the water off Maenporth, on a breezy Sunday afternoon. Several people watching from the shore read it correctly, and picked up the phone.

What followed took a little over half an hour from launch to safety, and ended with the man in the water being collected by a friend.

Multiple 999 calls

Falmouth Lifeboat launched its B class Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, Robina Nixon Chard, at 2.38pm on Sunday 18 October. HM Coastguard had received multiple 999 calls reporting a person in the water off Maenporth, waving for assistance.

The lifeboat reached the scene ten minutes later. Conditions were partly cloudy with good visibility, a force 4 north easterly wind and a slight sea.

A snorkeller in difficulty

The crew found the man and brought him on board. He had been snorkelling when he got into difficulties and needed medical assistance.

He was assessed by a lifeboat crew member qualified in casualty care, then taken back to the lifeboat station, arriving at 3.15pm. There he was passed into the care of the station’s lifeboat medical advisor.

No treatment was needed. With the casualty well, he was later discharged and picked up by a friend.

📷Falmouth RNLI's Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Robina Nixon Chard. Credit: RNLI/Simon Culliford