Newquay lifeboat’s double shout: windsurfer then Fistral rescue

One minute the volunteers were tying up after a routine training run. The next, they were back in the boat and heading out again, this time for real. Wednesday 19 August turned into a two-shout afternoon for Newquay RNLI Lifeboat Station, with a foil windsurfer in difficulty off Towan Headland followed, hours later, by five people struggling in the water at Fistral.

A foil windsurfer off Towan Headland

The first call came at 2.29pm, when Newquay’s volunteer crew were paged to assist a foil windsurfer off Towan Headland. The station’s D-Class inshore lifeboat launched and made contact with the casualty soon after.

Once the crew had confirmed the windsurfer was safe and uninjured, they were told the casualty felt confident enough to make their own way back to shore. Rather than bring them straight in, the lifeboat stayed close, keeping watch as the windsurfer headed towards safety, before turning back for Newquay Lifeboat Station.

Five casualties at Fistral

The second shout came later that same afternoon, and the timing could hardly have been tighter. The D-Class had just returned from a scheduled training session and was being recovered by RNLI shore crew when the station was tasked again, this time to five casualties in difficulty in the water at Little Fistral beach.

With the boat still on the shore and the crew already suited up, the D-Class was back in the water within 60 seconds. The RNLI’s Atlantic 85 B-Class lifeboat followed shortly after as more crew arrived, and both boats made for Fistral together.

Four of the five casualties were located and brought aboard the D-Class, with the Atlantic 85 providing support alongside. The fifth was helped ashore by members of the public and did not need further assistance. The four who came aboard were returned safely to the beach, where they were assessed by Newquay coastguard search & rescue team and the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Two shouts, one afternoon

Newquay RNLI thanked its volunteer boat crew and shore crew, Newquay coastguard search & rescue team, the members of the public who stepped in at Fistral, and South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust for their part in the afternoon.

The charity’s message to anyone spotting trouble in the water along the coast remains the same one it gives after every shout: dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

📷Credit: Stephen Duncombe