The woman had been drinking and at approximately 2.45am decided to swim out to the anchored fishing vessel, Delta Dawn, as her boyfriend was onboard. Once at the vessel she couldn’t get on deck and was too weak to swim back to shore. The crew were all asleep and did not hear her cries for help until two hours later.
The crew of Delta Dawn recovered the casualty and did a great job of changing her into dry clothes and wrapping her in a duvet to warm slowly from the effects of hypothermia.
Due to her condition Falmouth Coastguard requested the presence of Port Isaac RNLI to assess her clinical state and administer any medical help if required. Port Isaac Inshore Lifeboat Pride of Port Isaac (Goeth Porthusek) launched with her volunteer crew and made its way to fishing vessel Delta Dawn.
After a triage in line with RNLI casualty critical care cards she was deemed to be recovering from the effects of her ordeal and therefore just required continued gentle warming and 15 minute observations whilst making their way back to Padstow Harbour.
At the harbour the casualty was handed over to the care of friends and advice given on what to look out for if there were any changes in her condition. The casualty was given safety advice about entering the water at night and whilst intoxicated. The volunteer crew were stood down and returned to the lifeboat station.
A spokesperson from the RNLI team said: “Around 190 people lose their lives at the UK and Irish coasts each year, and over half never even planned to enter the water. Cold water shock is triggered in water temperatures lower than 15 degrees — the average temperature of UK and Irish waters is 12 degrees.
“So even in the summer, the water temperature is cold enough to cause cold water shock, which can steal the air from your lungs and leave you helpless in seconds. As part of the RNLI Respect the Water campaign it is our goal to halve the number of accidental coastal deaths by 2024.”
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