The paddleboarder Falmouth RNLI found a mile out at Swanpool

Swanpool looks tame enough from the beach. Offshore though, a wind blowing off the land can carry a paddleboard out faster than most people expect, and that is exactly what caught one paddleboarder out yesterday afternoon, sending Falmouth’s volunteer lifeboat crew racing to help.

The call to Swanpool

The crew’s pagers rang out at 2.39pm on Tuesday 8 September, after Falmouth Coastguard asked for help reaching a paddleboarder being blown offshore from Swanpool Beach. Falmouth RNLI‘s Atlantic 85 lifeboat, Robina Nixon Chard, launched at 2.49pm, just ten minutes after the call came in, and was on scene within six minutes.

A mile out, in force five winds

By the time the lifeboat reached them, the paddleboarder had drifted around a mile from the shore, with the offshore wind blowing at force five. RNLI South Cornwall lifeguards from Gyllyngvase Beach were already alongside, helping keep the situation under control until the lifeboat arrived.

The paddleboarder was shaken but unhurt, and was brought back to Swanpool. They had a lifejacket and a mobile phone with them, and had simply been caught out by conditions that turned quickly.

Take note of the wind before you head out

If you’re planning to launch a paddleboard, kayak or any other small craft from a Cornish beach, the RNLI‘s message from yesterday is a simple one: check the wind before you check anything else. An offshore breeze that feels gentle on the sand can carry you out faster than you can paddle back, and Swanpool is far from the only beach where that happens.

Full safety advice is on the RNLI’s water safety pages, and Falmouth’s own water safety team are on hand if you want to ask before you go.

📷Credit: RNLI/Simon Culliford