The Coastguard’s message for Cornwall’s coast this hot weekend

The hot weather is running into the weekend, and in Cornwall that means one thing. The beaches fill up. Before you load the car and go, the people who get the call when a sunny day at the coast turns have put out a short list they would like everyone to read first. It is not there to spoil the fun. It is the handful of things that make the difference between a good day and a bad one.

Why the reminder lands now

Warm weather pulls people towards the water, and in the far west that pull is hard to argue with. The Land’s End Coastguard Rescue Team knows the draw better than most. One of its members is in the photo going round with this advice, stood on the cliff above Porthcurno and looking down on the kind of beach that fills fast in this weather. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency put the reminder out as the heat built, and it comes down to a few simple habits that keep you, and the people you came with, out of trouble.

Sort it out before you leave the house

A good deal of coast safety happens before you have even seen the sea. Three things sit at the top of the list.

• Check the weather forecast and the tide times before you set off. A beach that looks huge when you arrive can shrink quickly once the tide turns.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.
• Take a fully charged mobile phone, and keep it in a waterproof pouch so one splash or a dropped bag does not leave you without it.

The sea, and the cold that catches people out

Here is the one that surprises people. The air can be baking and the sea off Cornwall will still be cold enough to catch your breath. Going in too fast can bring on cold water shock, which makes you gasp without meaning to and can leave you gulping water. The advice is to enter the sea slowly and give your body a moment to adjust before you commit to it.

The rest of the water advice is straightforward.

• Swim at a lifeguarded beach, and follow the beach guidance and the flags.
• Leave the inflatables at home. A lilo or a giant unicorn is easily carried out to sea by the wind and the current.
• Give watersports a miss when the wind is blowing off the land and out to sea, which can push you further out than you can paddle back from.

Cliffs, mud and the ground underfoot

Cornwall’s cliffs are part of what makes the coast worth the trip, and they are also where the ground gives way. Keep away from unstable cliff edges, and from the base of cliffs, where a fall of rock can come without warning.

Mud is the other one to watch. If you get stuck, do not fight it. Lean back to spread your weight across the surface, and call for help rather than trying to haul yourself free.

If a day out turns

If you or someone near you gets into trouble at the coast, do not wait to see whether it sorts itself out. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

That is the line worth keeping in your head on a busy beach. And it is worth remembering that on a lot of the Cornish coast the phone signal is thin, which is the other reason a charged phone and a quick word to someone at home are on the list at all.

📷Lands End CRT member looking out over Porthcurno beach.