Surf rescue at Sumner

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 7

Surf rescue at Sumner

A swimmer and two surf board riders had to be rescued by the Sumner lifeboat when they were caught in heavy surf and a strong seaward rip off Scarborough Head last evening. A third board rider was also in difficulty, but managed to make shore unaided, said Mr Walter Baguley of the Sumner Lifeboat Institution.

Mr Baguley said that the swimmer, a man aged 32, had got into difficulty in the 6m broken surf and was being swept out to sea. The three board riders, two aged 16, and one aged 28, went to help him, but also got into trouble, two losing their boards. Onlookers then called for help, and a jet lifeboat was launched at 8.05 p.m.

It picked up the swimmer and the two riders who had lost their boards, which were also retrieved. The third rider made it ashore himself. All were safely ashore by 8.30 p.m., said Mr Baguley. “It’s a very difficult sea with a heavy northeasterly running, and a very strong undertow,” he said.