Bravery awards won by RNLI volunteer heroes
VOLUNTEER lifeguard heroes who saved a man from certain death on a Cornish beach this summer have been honoured for their bravery.
Vittoria (Tori) Farmer and Alex Ashen have been awarded a Bronze Medal for Gallantry, and Theresa Morokutti received a framed Letter of Thanks, from the chairman of the RNLI for their bravery and skills in saving Jon Marshall’s life in June.
The holidaymaker from Yorkshire was on holiday in Cornwall at the time the rescue took place on Thursday, June 17, on Mawgan Porth beach. It was around 4.10pm, with an ebbing tide and big surf conditions, when RNLI lifeguards Tori and Alex were patrolling the water’s edge.
Alex and Tori noticed a swimmer drifting out into the middle of the breaking waves. They could see he was being hit by large, heavy waves and was losing his footing. The swimmer was being dragged further out to sea by the powerful water movement.
Jon recalled the moment, saying: “I’d just gone down there for no more than a paddle and then suddenly it was like trying to walk up a water flume, it happened that quickly. The current moved into where I was and I immediately knew I was in trouble.”
Alex grabbed his rescue board and began to paddle out towards Jon, while Tori contacted the lifeguard unit to request back-up safety cover. By this point, Jon, a former police officer, was struggling to keep his head above the water.
In response to Tori’s call for backup, fellow lifeguard Theresa drove the Rescue Water Craft (RWC) down to the shoreline, ready for action.
Alex and Tori managed to get to Jon, but by then the powerful rip current and crashing waves had depleted almost all his energy to keep himself above the water.
Encouraged by the lifeguards in the challenging conditions, Jon managed to get hold of one of the rescue boards.
Tori said: “It was definitely the most physically demanding rescue I’ve ever been involved in. One thing was for sure, we were never going to give up. We were not going to not bring him back home to his family. That was just not an option for us.”
Seeing the situation unfold from the shore, Theresa launched the RWC and managed to get alongside Jon. Alex and Tori helped Jon on to the sled at the back of the RWC, but he kept being knocked off by breaking waves.
The three RNLI volunteers managed to get him onboard and bring him back to shore, where he was treated for exhaustion by senior lifeguard Tom Houghton.
Jon added: “As a former police officer of 25 years, I’ve been in all sorts of high stress situations, but this was different. I’ve never felt as small as I was in that water. You’re completely insignificant compared to the size and the power of the waves.
“The waves were taking me under, I was rolling and getting back up, getting a breath and then my head was back under’. When I saw Alex, I had never been so pleased to see anyone in my life.”
Dickon Berriman, RNLI area lifesaving manager, said: “Tori and Alex willingly placed themselves in harm’s way to rescue a stranger. Had they not acted as they did, Jon would almost certainly have drowned.
“Theresa was absolutely instrumental in securing a safe and successful outcome for Jon and her colleagues. Her skill and surf sense, and her intuitive actions by launching the RWC to assist, saved a life.”