Concluding another busy day for the volunteers of Exmouth RNLI, the pagers sounded again at around 19:30hrs on Saturday 1 August. H.M. Coastguard had received a report of a canoe and 2 swimmers in difficulty at Budleigh Salterton.
Our inshore, D- class lifeboat, George Bearman II, was soon afloat and making its way to the given location, arriving on scene at about 7.45pm. The four persons aboard the canoe – 1 adult and 3 children – plus 2 swimmers were quickly located on the beach, safe and well. Reassured that the reported casualties were all fine, the Exmouth RNLI inshore lifeboat crew returned to the station to prepare the lifeboat for the next tasking.
On this occasion, the shout was what we class a false alarm with good intent. The outcome could have been very different as the moderate breeze at the time was blowing offshore – a change to the wind direction earlier in the day which was onshore. We would always advise checking the tides and the wind direction before going on or in the water, particularly as our local beaches are not lifeguarded after 6pm in the evening. And, of course, if you are enjoying the water between the hours of 10am and 6pm, please choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the flags.