Two paddleboard shouts in two days for Looe RNLI crews

Strong offshore winds have a habit of turning a quiet afternoon on the water into a rescue, and last week they kept the Looe RNLI crews busy. The volunteers launched the charity’s inshore lifeboats on two days running to paddleboard incidents, one off Hannafore Point and one off Seaton beach. The second shout ended with an unexpected pick-up at the harbour entrance, and it doubled as a milestone for one crew member.

A false alarm off Hannafore Point

The first call came in on Thursday 30 July. Crew launch pagers sounded at 3.22pm after Falmouth Coastguard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre took a 999 call from someone worried about two paddleboarders around 500 yards off Hannafore Point. One had fallen off and looked to be in difficulty.

Within seven minutes the volunteer crew had launched the charity’s D Class inshore lifeboat Ollie Naismith II to investigate. Out in the bay they found two separate groups of paddleboarders, all of them safe and enjoying the afternoon. The crew reported back to Falmouth MRCC and were stood down to return to station.

Back on shore, the volunteers said the first informant had done exactly the right thing in calling the coastguard with their concerns. It was a false alarm with good intent, and the crew would always rather launch to find nobody in difficulty than stay ashore and later learn someone had needed help.

📷Launching the charity’s relief Atlantic 85, B-946, Spirit of Cooperation - Photo credits: RNLI / Sheila Marrison

Seaton, Banjo Pier and an exhausted swimmer

The following afternoon, Friday 31 July 2026, the pagers sounded again at 4.12pm. RNLI lifeguards patrolling Seaton had seen a paddleboarder being blown out to sea by strong offshore winds. Worried the paddleboarder would be carried too far offshore for a lifeguard to reach, they asked Falmouth MRCC for help from Looe’s inshore lifeboat.

The crew launched the charity’s relief Atlantic 85 Spirit of Cooperation and arrived to find the paddleboarder had already made it back closer to shore, where a lifeguard on a rescue board was helping them in. The crew waited until the pair were safely back on the beach before being stood down.

As the lifeboat approached the harbour entrance, shouts went up from members of the public on the Banjo Pier. They were pointing at an exhausted swimmer clinging to the side of the pier. The crew picked him up and took him back to the landing pontoon.

Helm Clive Palfrey praised the team work at Seaton with the lifeguards, and noted how fitting a joint incident was on Lifeguard Appreciation Day, with the RNLI marking 25 years of lifeguarding around the UK coastline. “The swimmer was completely exhausted attempting to swim back to the beach against the outgoing tide, as tidal and river currents are always stronger around the pier and river mouth,” Clive said.

📷James Chudleigh - Photo credits: RNLI / Ian Foster

A first for James Chudleigh

The Friday shout carried extra meaning for former boat crew member James Chudleigh. James now volunteers as shore crew and only qualified as a Launch Authority the week before. It was his second duty day in the role.

“It felt like his first day on the crew again, responding to a shout all those years ago, as he now found himself authorising the launch of the charity’s Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat,” James said.

📷Crew on the Atlantic 85, B-946, Spirit of Cooperation locating the exhausted swimmer - Photo credits: RNLI / Sheila Marrison

Paddleboarders keep getting caught out by offshore winds

This was the third shout in a week for Looe RNLI to paddleboarders in difficulty. Over the past few weeks, lifeboat crews and lifeguards around the coast have been called out again and again to paddleboarders caught out by the same strong offshore winds.

If you are heading out on a paddleboard or any inflatable craft, the advice from the RNLI and Paddle UK is simple: never launch in offshore winds. Winds blowing from the land out to sea can push lightweight craft into deep water faster than you can paddle, and that quickly wears you out.

If you are already on the water and cannot paddle back, do not stand on the board, because standing turns you into a sail. Drop to your knees, or lie flat on your stomach. If you have the energy, prone paddling with your arms, like a surfer, is the most effective way to make progress against the wind, and it lowers your profile so the wind catches less of you.

Wear your buoyancy aid at all times, use a leash, and always carry a means of calling for help kept close to hand. If you get into trouble, call 999 and ask for the coastguard. More paddleboarding safety advice is on the RNLI website.

📷Crew on the Atlantic 85, B-946, Spirit of Cooperation locating the exhausted swimmer - Photo credits: RNLI / SJM Drone Imaging