Jet-skier rescued off Corriegills shore
A jet-skier had a lucky escape last week when he had to be rescued from the coast off Corriegills by a passing vessel and Arran RNLI.
The emergency will be ingrained in the memory of the unlucky victim and by a member of the Arran crew as his first call-out.
The incident happened last Wednesday when the RNLI was alerted to a broken down jet-ski with someone potentially in the water.
The RNLI crew made its way to Corriegills shore to find the jet-ski driver but on arrival found he had been helped out of the water by another boat.
The lifeboat crew took the jet-ski under tow and transferred the driver to their boat, making sure he was stable, and then arranged to meet the coastguard at the slipway in Brodick.
The jet-skier’s parents were at the slipway to meet them and they took him into their care whilst the crew helped get the jet-ski out of the water.
Helm Mark Nelson said: ‘It was a glorious sunny evening, visibility was good and we found the casualty straight away, but he had been in the water for around 40 minutes and was starting to feel the cold when we got to him.
‘It goes to show that even though he was prepared to be out on the water and wearing a wetsuit and bouyancy aid, the sea is still cold, especially when you’ve been in it for any length of time.’
It was also a memorable evening for Richard Godfrey, who joined the RNLI crew last year during Covid restrictions, and was out on his first ‘shout’ .
He said: ‘It was great to start putting the training into use for the first time. The rest of the crew were supportive as always and certainly kept me busy with jobs during the rescue.
‘It was great to see the casualty was prepared to be out at sea and that despite the incident he remained in high spirits. The best feeling was being able to help someone whom you could relate to. I know how I would feel if I lost my craft like that and it could happen to anyone who uses our waters. Getting him back to shore and the jet-ski out of the water was a real sense of achievement. I was delighted to see how others had responded and come to his aid before we arrived and had done such an excellent job. Ironically one of the rescuers turned out to be the daughter of one of the Arran RNLI crew. ‘For me the experience of making a positive difference whilst being supported by a great crew on my first shout made the wait and training worthwhile.’
The jet-skier was unharmed and he thanked crew members for their hard work and for saving his sinking jet-ski.