Falmouth Lifeboat Crew Responds to Two Helford River Incidents in 24 Hours

Falmouth Lifeboat’s relief inshore lifeboat was launched late Friday night after a kayaker fell into the Helford River. The lifeboat crew responded swiftly to the emergency, as detailed by the Falmouth Lifeboat Facebook post.

Immediate Response

At 10:10 pm on Friday, 11th October 2024, Falmouth Coastguard paged the lifeboat following reports of a person in the water near the Helford River. The relief inshore lifeboat, named ‘Julie Poolie’, was launched just nine minutes later and headed towards the scene. The crew arrived at 10:38 pm, where the situation had already been partially resolved.

Casualty Rescued by Passing Boat

Before the lifeboat’s arrival, the kayaker had been rescued by a passing boat after falling into the water while returning to their yacht. The lifeboat crew carried out an initial assessment of the kayaker and brought them ashore to meet with an ambulance and the Falmouth Coastguard Rescue Team at the Ferry Boat Inn.

Returning to Safety

After being assessed by paramedics, the kayaker was cleared and handed back to the lifeboat crew, who returned them to their moored yacht. The lifeboat was officially released by HM Coastguard at 11:56 pm and returned to the station by 12:19 am.

Paddleboard Incident on Saturday

On the following day, Saturday 12th October, the lifeboat crew was paged again at 4:16 pm for a potential incident involving paddleboarders in the Helford River. The paddleboarders’ boards had reportedly started to deflate, but the launch was cancelled after the casualties confirmed they were no longer in danger.

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