An off-duty RNLI lifeguard was in the right place at the right time when two surfers were trapped in a perilous position on St Ouen’s Beach, Jersey

Ed Stevens was leaving the car park at St Ouen’s Beach after an evening of surfing on 5 July 2012, when he noticed a commotion at the top of the steps that lead down to the beach.

Two surfers had been caught out by the fast-rising tide, and were in an extremely dangerous position. As the tide rapidly came in, surging and dumping waves were rushing into the sea wall, and a strong backwash was rebounding into the incoming surf, creating a powerful 3–4m high peak of white water and spray. The surfers were trapped right in the middle.

With the tide almost completely covering the beach, the pair were cut off from their only exit point – the steps. Exhausted from swimming against the backwash they were entirely at the mercy of the waves.

Off-duty Lifeguard Supervisor Ed knew he couldn’t just jump into the water with a rescue tube, or he would be in the same position as the surfers. But the rescue watercraft (RWC) was locked away for the night around half a mile away. Ed recalled: ‘I could tell from the conditions present that anyone in the water, close to that wall, was in a bad place.’

Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered at the top of the steps, some watching, some filming on their phones, and others trying to help. Acting quickly, Ed instructed the surfers’ friend to make sure no one went into the water, and to throw in the public rescue equipment – a lifering kept at the top of the sea wall, before he set off to launch the RWC.

When he arrived at the beach lifeguard unit, two other off-duty lifeguards, Pete Lang and Jake Bracken, were already getting the RWC ready for launch. Ed says: ‘It was very good teamwork. Even when you’re off duty, it all kicks in. We were on the water in 5 minutes.’

Ed now had the task of keeping control of the RWC in the unruly surf, but he wasn’t too concerned: ‘I was mindful of the situation, but the RWC is designed for surf conditions and we train with her weekly,’ he explains.

However, he couldn’t risk getting too close to the peak of white water. Ed adds: ‘We would have been smashed against the wall, damaging the kit and then there would have been four people in the water who couldn’t get out.’

A 30m rope trailing from the lifering presented an added hazard. If sucked into the RWC’s impeller, it could cause the engine to stall. Instead, he decided to head between the sets of waves and drop Jake Bracken off as close as possible to the surfers, enabling Jake to swim them out individually. Ed would then shuttle them back to the safety of the slipway. ‘I’ve been lifeguarding for 10 years, so I drew on my previous experience and training. I was confident we could do a good job and get them out.’

Meanwhile, Pete Lang returned to the top of the steps to ensure no members of the public entered the water.

Ed picked his moment, skilfully following a wave and depositing Jake just 30m from the surfers, before moving back to a safe position where he could survey the conditions. Both surfers were tired from swimming against the backwash, but one seemed particularly distressed.

‘He was on his last legs. He had that look in his eyes – exhaustion.’ Jake picked him up first, and Ed headed back in, pulling him onto the rescue sled. There was only time for a quick thank you at the slipway before Ed rushed back in to pick up the remaining surfer, repeating the process.

Back at the slipway, the two surfers thanked the lifeguards again and made a quick exit.

Ed sums up his feelings at the end of the rescue: ‘Being realistic, and having seen similar incidents in my 10 years as a lifeguard, if we hadn’t been there that night, it wouldn’t have been a good outcome. Members of the public would probably have entered the water to try to help. In those conditions, no one else could have done that rescue. The RWC is a fantastic piece of equipment, and lifeguards really were essential to the outcome.’

Shortly after the rescue, RNLI Operations Director Michael Vlasto commended their teamwork, commitment and professionalism.

Ed was delighted with the acknowledgement. ‘All the lifeguards know Michael Vlasto and the important role he plays within the RNLI, so we were proud to be recognised. We play it down a bit as lifeguards – rescues like this one go on all around the UK – but we got a good result, and that’s what we wanted.’