Lifeboat crew battle waves to rescue surfer
RESCUERS battled rough waves to save a surfer after he got trapped perilously close to cliffs.
The surfer got caught in a rip current and was swept past a narrow headland, becoming trapped beneath the tall cliffs as the tide came in near Porthcawl.
He made his way to the beach but was trapped by the high surrounding cliffs so had no way of getting back to the main beach.
Luckily, he was spotted by onlookers from the shore who raised the alarm by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard at 3.12pm on Wednesday last week.
Dramatic footage taken by Porthcawl’s RNLI’s volunteer crew, who attended along with the Llantwit Major Coastguard team and Coastguard
Rescue Helicopter, shows their boat travel through “challenging” conditions with 1-2m-high breaking waves.
Porthcawl Lifeboat helm Chris Missen explained that once the surfer spotted the lifeboat he re-entered the water and started to paddle out through the surf.
He added: “As we headed to the location, visibility was fairly poor with sea fog. However, as we arrived on scene, the crew spotted the surfer almost immediately beneath the cliffs. I managed to position the lifeboat in the surf zone so that the crew could pull the surfer from the water.
“Once we got him safely on board, the surfer told us how he’d been caught in a rip current and swept around the headland.”
The video shows the crew’s small boat smashing into the huge waves as they make their way towards the surfer, who is seen battling the strong surf.
The crew have been commended for the rescue by Aileen Jones MBE, RNLI deputy launch authority.
She said: “The crew did a great job in difficult conditions. There was a heavy swell and the tide was still incoming meaning it was time-critical, as the surfer was trapped beneath the cliffs.”
Ms Jones added that the RNLI has great information about rip currents and advice for surfers to stay safe during the winter months on its website.