Torbay Lifeboat respond to man in the water call

Torbay Lifeboat responded to a man in the water call in the early hours of Sunday morning

“An interesting shout in the early hours of this morning,” said Roger Good, acting Coxswain, Sunday 3rd August. “Good teamwork between the SAR (Search and Rescue) emergency services and our two lifeboat crew, with a fair bit of taxiing about to achieve the saving of a wet and very cold casualty”.

Following a 999 call to the police regarding a man who had jumped into the sea on the north side of the Bay, the police requested assistance from Solent Coastguard, who in turn called us to request launch of our lifeboat. Our duty Launch Authority officer (LA) Ron Campion, and acting Coxswain, Roger Good, decided to dispatch both lifeboats based on the information received. Our volunteer crew were duly paged and both the All-weather Lifeboat (ALB) and In-shore Lifeboat (ILB) launched at 2:30am.

We were initially informed that the male adult (‘casualty’) had jumped off Daddyhole Plain into the waters below, but our lifeboat crews were subsequently re-directed to Imperial ledge where they found the casualty shivering in the dark on the edge of the water dressed only in his boxers.

He was thoroughly soaked and very cold. He wasn’t sure how he had entered the water. But, he had self-recovered, had regained his composure, and made his own way out of the water. His wallet and phone were found on rocks above him. He had been heard shouting for help from the water, which we assume had led to the 999 call.

Coastguards (CGs) and paramedic officers, who had also been called by the police, were in attendance when we arrived at the top of the cliff but could only look down because it was not possible to reach him in the darkness from above.

So, two of our three ILB crew made their way ashore illuminated only by our two lifeboats’ searchlights. Once there, they calmly explained to the casualty that they were there to escort him to safety. They then led him across the rocks to an opening where there was a path to the top and handed him over to the CGs and paramedics.

Our ALB who had been in radio contact with the police, collected two officers from Torquay harbour, but they were not needed. Meanwhile, our two ILB crew at the top of the cliff were given a lift to Torquay Harbour by the CGs (thank you! ) since the path was too dangerous to return by in the darkness. A friend of the casualty who was discovered at the top of the cliff, was suspected of having a broken ankle and was duly attended to on scene by the paramedics.

Our ILB helm, Ray Bower, picked up his two crew members from the harbour side and then both lifeboats returned to station where they were immediatly made ready for service, and the crews enjoyed a quick cup of tea before heading back home to bed.