Littlehampton lifeboat crew warns beach-goers to be wary

Advice given to swim from RNLI life-guarded beaches and to be careful in the coastal waters L18801H13

As the mercury rose and the heatwave continued, the town’s lifeboat volunteers were called out to a total of 11 rescues in the space of just four days, making it the busiest period over the past year.

RNLI spokeswoman Emma White, said: “This really just illustrates how dangerous the sea can be, particularly if you are on inflatables. Everyone thinks that the sea around Littlehampton is calm but it does have currents that can easy get swimmers or people on inflatables into trouble.”

The trouble started on Thursday (July 18), with the Littlehamnpton crew, based at the lifeboat station, in Fisherman’s Quay, being called at 7.01pm to rescue a windsurfer who had become separated from his board near the harbour entrance,

Minutes later, at 7.07pm, a second crew was called to recover a trapped dinghy wedged in the river. Thankfully, in both instances there were no casualties.

Friday (July 19) evening proved to be one of the busiest on record this year, with a flurry of three calls. At 7.30pm, Solent Coastguard requested a launch to a kite boarder and a swimmer who had got into difficulty near Climping.

A second crew launched at 7.52pm to rescue the occupants of a capsized kayak near Worthing Pier.

Saturday (July 20) was full of drama, too. At 4.04pm, a team was called out to support a 31ft yacht stuck in the harbour’s entrance. However, an emergency call came in about four distressed swimmers minutes later which they rushed to attend. Then, at 5.06pm the crew had to rescue two more swimmers.

A lifeboat eventually returned to move the grounded yacht safely back to the quay.

Other calls-outs over the weekend included one to save a man on a child’s inflatable, another to tow two broken-down leisure boats to Ford Marina, and a final one to rescue a swimmer who was being dragged out to sea by the tide.

Nick White, lifeboat operations manager said: “Sea safety is a message we can’t push more. Wear lifejackets at sea, have a means of communication, avoid inflatables, and swim from the RNLI life-guarded beaches.”