HE’S ALIVE!
Mother’s joy as her surfer son is rescued after 32 hours adrift in freezing seas
A SCOTTISH surfer survived an astonishing 32 hours lost at sea – thanks to his high-tech wetsuit and fitness level helping him fight off hypothermia.
Matthew Bryce was found clinging to his surfboard 13 miles off the coast after being swept into the North Channel while in treacherous waters off the Kintyre peninsula.
The 22-year-old spent almost a day and a half drifting in the bitterly cold sea before being rescued by a coastguard helicopter search crew who spotted him waving his board in the air.
Rescuers said he was lucky to have survived – his body temperature had dropped so low that he was ‘a couple of hours’ away from succumbing to severe hypothermia.
His thick neoprene wetsuit, fitness level and ‘presence of mind’ in staying on his board have been credited for saving his life.
Mr Bryce had been due to join his family for dinner in Inveraray, Argyll, on Sunday. They raised the alarm the next day. He was rescued after a major operation involving a state-of-the-art search and rescue helicopter and lifeboats from six ports scouring the ocean between Scotland and Northern Ireland for more than five hours.
More than 50 Maritime and Coastguard Agency staff and lifeboat volunteers took part. Mr Bryce, an IT engineer from Glasgow, was flown directly to Belfast. Speaking from his bed in the city’s Ulster Hospital, he said: ‘I am so grateful I am now receiving treatment in hospital.
‘I cannot thank those enough who rescued and cared for me, they are all heroes.’
Mr Bryce was last seen at 9am on Sunday setting off to surf at Westport Beach near Machrihanish, Argyll – waters described as ‘scary’ by seasoned surfers.
It is believed he suffered cramp, which left him unable to fight the wind and currents that swept him miles out to sea.
Coastguards said that because of the amount of time Mr Bryce had spent in the water before the alert was raised on Monday, they had to rely on wind and tidal data to focus the search.
They could narrow it down only to an area of 269 square miles between Islay and Rathlin Island, off County Antrim.
Lifeboats from Red Bay, Northern Ireland, joined those from the Kintyre peninsula, Islay and Gigha, while a search and rescue helicopter was dispatched from Prestwick, Ayrshire.
After more than five hours, the aircraft’s crew saw a glint on the water – Mr Bryce’s board.
Coastguard search and rescue Captain Andrew Pilliner said: ‘He showed great presence of mind, bearing in mind he’d been in the water for 32 hours.
‘He managed to slip backwards off his surfboard and waved it up in the air. When we’re searching over sea and land, any movement, any contrast of colour – that is what the human eye is drawn to. That’s what allowed us to find him.’
By 7.45pm, he had been winched into the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter and was at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast 15 minutes later. Mr Bryce’s surfboard was also recovered and taken to Campbeltown.
Lawrence Cummings, Belfast Coastguard maritime operations specialist, said that if the search had gone on much longer many lifeboat crews would have been stood down.
He added: ‘It was a colossal effort. I’ve been doing this since 2004 and I have never seen a person rescued from that far out in the water.’
Rescuers said Mr Bryce’s body temperature had dropped to 32C (89F) by the time he was pulled from the water. If this had dropped another four degrees, he would have entered the ‘severe’ stage of hypothermia.
His 5millimetre thick neoprene suit, with hood and two sets of gloves, was key to his survival.
Mr Bryce’s parents, John and Isabella, left their home in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, yesterday morning with overnight bags.
Mrs Bryce, 54, said: ‘We are relieved that Matthew is safe. He’s alive but very tired.’
Her husband, 53, said: ‘The past 48 hours have been an absolute roller coaster of emotions for our family and we are so grateful that Matthew has been found safe and well. To get that call from the police last night to say he was alive was unbelievable – better than a lottery win.
‘He is obviously exhausted after his ordeal but he is in good spirits and happy to be alive.
‘Our family cannot thank the coastguard, RNLI volunteers and police officers involved in finding Matthew enough.
‘I would also like to thank our friends and family as well as the hundreds of people who offered their support on social media.’
Experienced surfers described the coast near Machrihanish as ‘dangerous’. Surfer Marti Larg, from Tiree, whose 12-year-old son Ben is Scotland’s under-18 surfing champion, said: ‘There are a lot of rip currents, so it can be a dangerous beach. The waves there can get three times over head height, it’s scary. He must have been absolutely terrified, I am amazed he is alive.’
David Cox, coxswain of Campbeltown RNLI lifeboat, said: ‘It’s very tidal there. A combination of the wind and current has been strong enough to take him out.’
Mr Bryce’s employers, legal services firm Murgitroyd, said: ‘We’re delighted he was found safe and well and would like to thank the coastguards.’
‘Rescuers are all heroes’ ‘He’s happy to be alive’