Crew member swims through heavy surf and scales cliff to survivor Simon Chadwick, a member of Bude lifeboat crew, has received a letter of thanks from the Chairman of the Institution following his first service call in the station's D class lifeboat. During the service he swam ashore through heavy surf and then scaled a crumbling cliff to a stranded survivor.The service began at 0940 on 30 June this year when Falmouth's honorary secretary heard from the coastguard that the yacht Mary E had been reported aground on the beach at Crackington by the fishing vessel Helen Clare. An immediate launch was requested.

Just six minutes later, the station's D class inflatable lifeboat was launched. Although the wind was only Force 2. a 10ft westerly ground sea was running and the day was overcast with mist.

After clearing the surf off Barrel Rock the lifeboat headed south west at best speed to arrive at the scene at 1000. She found the fishing vessel Helen Clare standing off the casualty, Mary E, which was hard aground on rocks on Pencarrow Point, at the north side of Crackington Haven. The yacht was being pounded by the surf and a person could be seen 80ft to 100ft up the cliff, which was some 200ft high at this point.

Surf Lifeboat helmsman Martin Woodrow was wary of trying to land through the surf onto rocks, so crew member Simon Chadwick volunteered to swim ashore to investigate.

He was taken as close to the shore as the helmsman dared go and then swam the remaining distance through the surf. Having checked the yacht for survivors and finding none aboard he continued to the beach, then climbed the cliff to the person who was some 80ft up.

This was the skipper and sole occupant of the yacht, a 70-year-old man who was exhausted and unable to move up or down the crumbling cliff face.

A helicopter had arrived at the scene by now and was preparing to winch the survivor aboard. Crew member Chadwick had the presence of mind to shield the survivor with his own body from the flying debris in the down-draught from the helicopter's rotor blades and then to help him into the strop.

Once the survivor had been winched up the helicopter took him to Barnstaple hospital as his condition had swiftly deteriorated and heart failure was suspected. His condition was later found to be due to delayed shockfrom his ordeal.

Crew member Chadwick then returned to the yacht and, having recovered the survivor's personal effects and valuables, signalled for the helmsman to pick him up.

Helmsman Woodrow made two attempts to come in to the beach before signalling in return that he considered it too dangerous.

Chadwick then swam through the surf to board the lifeboat which returned to her station at 1120. She was refuelled, rehoused and ready for service at 1210.

In his letter thanking crew member Chadwick for his actions, Chairman Michael Vernon noted that he had 'displayed personal courage and presence of mind on only your first service as a member of the lifeboat crew by preventing the remainder of the crew being exposed to danger and assisting in the safe rescue of the skipper of the yacht'.

The RNLI's chief of operations Commodore George Cooper has written to helmsman Woodrow to congratulate him on his 'decision not to take the lifeboat into the surf which would thus have endangered the lives of the remaining crew members.'.