‘ He risked his life to get us out’

When two young people found themselves trapped in a cave facing a surging, rising tide, would anyone be able to find them – and get them to safety?

The afternoon of 5 August started as a fun adventure for teenagers Matthew Forsythe and Rhys Sufferin. They were holidaying in the Castlerock Downhill area of Northern Ireland, and set off to explore the rock pools. But by 3.45pm their parents had grown concerned.

They began to look for their sons, working their way westwards along the shoreline. At 5.19pm, with their progress cut off by the tide and the boys nowhere in sight, they dialled 999 and asked for the Coastguard. High water was 2½ hours away.

Belfast Coastguard asked Portrush RNLI to search for the boys. The crew members launched both lifeboats – the inshore D class and all-weather Severn – at 5.30pm. There was no way of knowing whether the boys had climbed the cliffs, entered a cave, or were even in the sea.

With such a large search area to cover, the Coastguard also tasked its own teams from Coleraine and Ballycastle, local police officers and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter. ‘We just automatically thought: “We’re never going to see them again!”’ recalls Rhys’s mother Gillian. ‘It was just pure devastation.’

After scouring the shoreline without success, the two lifeboat crews decided to focus their efforts on a large cave. But getting inside would be hazardous. All-weather lifeboat Coxswain William McAuley and inshore lifeboat Helmsman Gerard Bradley agreed a plan. The allweather lifeboat crew duly launched their daughter Y boat as back-up to the D class, which Gerard prepared to reverse towards the cave using the anchor (veering down).

At the same time, a Coastguard cliff team member was suspended above the mouth of the cave in an attempt to spot the boys. As he was lowered, he heard them calling for help from the back of the cave. While the boys’ location was now certain, how they could be rescued was far from clear.

Trapped at the back of the flooded cave, they could only be accessed via the water – and the passage was too narrow for any lifeboat. Inshore lifeboat Crew Member Karl O’Neill volunteered to attempt to swim inside. But, after entering the water, he struggled to make headway in the powerful swell and backwash from the cave. He tired quickly and his fellow crew members pulled him back aboard the inshore lifeboat.

All was not lost, though. Anthony Chambers, the Portrush all-weather lifeboat Mechanic, suggested he access the cave via an area of partially submerged rocks, to minimise the swimming, and that he adapt his lifejacket, to make him less buoyant and more stable. William agreed and Anthony donned a thermal undersuit and drysuit. With a helmet and lifejacket over his arm, Anthony entered the water from the stern of the inshore lifeboat, carefully avoiding the propellor. Half crawling, half swimming, he managed to reach the mouth of the cave.

Inside, Anthony pinned himself to the cave wall, releasing his grip with each wave in the hope that he’d be propelled inward. It took him 5 minutes to travel 7m into the cave, to the point where it bent to the left. Then, swimming with another surge, Anthony was pushed onto the far wall of the cave, where he held on tight. When he opened his eyes, he could make out two frightened faces in the dark. Matthew and Rhys were 5m away still, chest-high in water and shivering.

Reaching the pair and reassuring them, Anthony fitted the helmet and lifejacket to Rhys and told him to hang on, promising Matthew that he’d be back shortly. By timing his movements with the cave’s backwash, Anthony led Rhys out of the cave and into the confused seas outside. The inshore lifeboat was waiting nearby and the coastguard suspended overhead still.

Gerard could only get close enough to throw a heaving line, which Anthony grabbed, making sure not to lose the boy in the process. The lifeboat pulled the pair to safer water, Rhys was hauled aboard and Anthony – who was still in the water – was handed another lifejacket and helmet. The helmsman then towed his fellow volunteer back for the second foray.

At 7.45pm, Anthony reentered the cave. Meanwhile, the inshore lifeboat crew transferred Rhys to the all-weather lifeboat, where he was wrapped in blankets. Gerard then powered the D class back to the cave. Inside, Anthony retraced his route through the cave and successfully brought out Matthew. It was 7.54pm.

This time, Gerard managed to get close enough to go alongside the pair. They were pulled aboard and transferred to the allweather lifeboat. The Coast Guard helicopter crew swiftly winched up the boys and flew them to Coleraine Hospital, where they were treated for shock and hypothermia. Meanwhile, Anthony’s crew mates checked him over. He was completely exhausted and had vomited but was recovering from his ordeal quickly.

‘It was brave of Anthony to go in and get us,’ remarks Rhys. ‘He risked his life to get us out,’ adds Matthew. ‘It was pretty scary, and dark. We thought no one would come and we wouldn’t get out.’ Gillian was full of gratitude: ‘I could not thank those people enough,’ she says. ‘They all put their lives at risk to save our boys. What they do on a voluntary basis is unbelievable.’

The bravery and skill of all involved is to be recognised at the RNLI's Annual Presentation of Awards in May. (See page 15 and 53 for details and how to get tickets.)