Rookie lifeguard Bill Mullane took action to prevent 13 bodyboarders drifting in to trouble.
Despite a calm onshore wind, Cayton Bay RNLI lifeguards stayed alert, monitoring two large families swimming at the beach on Sunday 11 July. With the weather appearing calm, the families entered the water on the south end of the beach to bodyboard.
At 11:50am, rookie lifeguard Bill Mullane noticed the family had swam to the outer reef over 300m offshore. He radioed his fellow Cayton Bay lifeguards to inform them that the families had drifted outside of the lifeguarded zone.
Bill swam out on the rescue board, where he found the group happy and content. Although the onshore wind ensured there was no danger of the families drifting further out to sea, the the charity's Cayton Bay team acted to prevent any incidents from occurring; the families were in deep water, which could cause fatigue.
Once Bill reached the group of 13, he informed them of the danger of swimming outside the red and yellow flags. With ten of the casualties being under the age of 17, Bill made a game of the rescue. He encouraged the families to form a human chain, with the leader holding onto Bill and the rescue board.
The RNLI team successfully returned the two families to shore, where they received medical checks. With a majority of the casualties being children, the Cayton Bay lifeguards ensured that all were accounted for before giving the group some safety advice.
Cayton Bay’s Senior RNLI Lifeguard Dom Morris praised his team’s preventative actions:
‘Bill entered the water to prevent any incidents from happening, as the family had swum outside of the red and yellow flags. This meant we couldn’t monitor them.
'To stay safe at one of our lifeguarded beaches, you need to swim between the red and yellow flags. That way, one of our lifeguards will be about to help you if you get into any trouble in the zone.’
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