At 7.31pm on Tuesday 2 August 2022, the crew of Exmouth inshore lifeboat D-805 George Bearman II attended to a 999 call reporting two paddleboarders stranded on a sandbank 300 metres off Brandy Head, Budleigh Salterton.

The volunteer lifesavers launched at 7.39pm and sped to the locality, quickly locating the two stranded individuals.

The lifesaving charity's crew conducted a safety assessment and then took both casualties, who had inflatable paddleboards, on to the lifeboat and to the beach near the River Otter.

At the request of the RNLI crew the Exmouth HM Coastguard Rescue Team also attended to safely assist the casualties from the beach to Lime Kiln Car Park, Budleigh Salterton. Neither were injured or required medical attention and the Exmouth RNLI lifesavers stood down at 8.20pm.

Exmouth RNLI volunteer lifesavers who took part in the assignment were:

Inshore Lifeboat: Helm Guy Munnings, Nick Wright, James Searle. 

Other volunteers involved were Deputy Launch Authority Mike Acred.

Shore Crew: Jason Luff, Jake Richards, Rory Carrig, John Dinsdale and Steve Woodbridge.

RNLI safety advice regarding paddleboarding can be found here: https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/stand-up-paddle-boarding

If you find yourself in an emergency situation or spot someone else in trouble, you should always call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.