Orange object in Portreath Harbour sparks Coastguard call-out

A flash of orange in the water at Portreath Harbour was enough for one passer-by to pick up the phone. It could have been a lifejacket. And a lifejacket in the water can mean a person in the water.

The call that sent the team to the harbour

Portreath Coastguard Rescue Team were tasked at about 3.15pm on Saturday afternoon (3 October), after a member of the public reported objects in the water inside the harbour. One of them was described as orange and flat, and was believed possibly to be a lifejacket.

The team went to the area around the base of the lighthouse hill and carried out checks of the harbour.

Where the objects had come from

The answer turned out to be a boat. The items had come from an upturned vessel that had been moored within the harbour.

Team members retrieved some of the items, checked the surrounding area and gathered more objects from around the harbour mouth.

The team said: “Thankfully, there was no one in danger and no persons were reported missing or in the water.”

They had stood down by 3.45pm, half an hour after the call came in. It was the team’s 62nd incident, according to their own log.

Why the Coastguard wants these calls

Nobody needed rescuing. But the team described the report as “a great example of why reporting anything suspicious or potentially connected to someone in the water is so important”.

Their advice to anyone who sees something that could indicate a person is in difficulty is to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

“If in doubt, call it out.”

📷Coastguard vehicles at Portreath. Credit: H. M. Coastguard Portreath Rescue Team