Falmouth lifeboat’s sixth callout in 48 hours: Maenporth swimmer

Six times in two days. That is how often the pagers have gone off for Falmouth’s volunteer lifeboat crews, and the latest shout came less than four hours after the last one had finished.

A swimmer in difficulty at Maenporth

The crew’s pagers sounded at 2.40pm on Monday 13 July, with the station’s all weather lifeboat still tasked elsewhere. Falmouth Coastguard had taken calls about a swimmer in difficulty at Maenporth Beach, and had been told that a second person had gone into the water carrying a float to try and help.

The inshore lifeboat, Robina Nixon Chard, launched five minutes later and made for the beach in weakening south easterly force 3 to 4 winds. Falmouth Coastguard Rescue Team was also sent.

Casualty ashore before the lifeboat arrived

By the time the lifeboat reached the scene at 3.10pm, the casualty had made it to the shore and was being looked after by the Coastguard team. The lifeboat was back at the station by 3.25pm.

Never underestimate the weather

That is the message from the station after a run of six services in 48 hours. Conditions were easing at Maenporth by the time the crew launched, and the swimmer still got into trouble.

📷Credit: RNLI