New Brighton Lifeboat crew rescue struggling kite surfer near Harrison Drive

Sep 14 2011 by Lorna Hughes, Wallasey News

LIFEGUARDS and New Brighton lifeboat crew members teamed up to rescue a kite surfer on a windy day off the coast of Wirral.

At 1.10pm on Saturday, the Liverpool Coastguard alerted New Brighton RNLI to the man, who was struggling north of Harrison Drive.

The New Brighton inshore lifeboat Charles Dibdin was joined by the Wirral Lifeguards’ jet ski, which helped in a search of the area.

Lifeboat helmsman Paul Mountford said: “On arrival at the scene, we found the kite surfer had been waving his white surfboard above his head.

“We got him onboard the lifeboat and checked him out. Although very tired, he was basically OK. It turned out that his first kite had failed and he swam to shore to get another one to recover the first.

“That failed as well but the tide was now on the ebb and although a strong swimmer he found himself being swept out to sea.

“We recovered the two kites and returned him to the beach at Harrison Drive.

“The important thing with any aquatic activity is to let someone know your intentions so that if something goes wrong assistance can be called quickly.”