Constantly reading the conditions in sea and sky, lifeguards can prevent many incidents before they even begin. But when a rip current pulled a bodyboarder out to sea, one Devon team proved they were ready to give their all

Low tide, Croyde Beach. 4pm. As the sea retreated, a messy 2m surf was pounding onto the sandbar. Familiar rips had developed at both ends of the beach and were keeping Senior Lifeguard Freddie Hedger and his team busy, patrolling the water and shepherding learner surfers back between the flags.
Noticing a bodyboard float back to shore without its owner, Freddie looked further out to sea and spotted a surfer and a bodyboarder in serious trouble. He signalled to Lifeguard Sean Deasy, who made his way to the pair using the rescue watercraft (RWC), closely followed by Freddie on a rescue board. As Sean arrived, the surfer, who had initially stopped to help the bodyboarder, was clearly struggling and frightened. The bodyboarder – 26-yearold Mary Harkin – was barely conscious. Sean tried to grab her, but on the RWC he couldn’t get through the large surf, which was now dumping heavily onto the nearby sandbar. Freddie arrived soon after and decided to ditch his rescue board to try to get through the surf and get to Mary. By now, she was face down and unconscious. He fought through and got hold of her, lifting her airway clear of the water, and working hard to protect her from the onslaught of waves that were overpowering them both.

Lifeboat Winter 2017–18 Surfer Fraser Gibb, who got himself to shore, reflects: ‘It’s hard to describe
just how grateful I am that he managed to get out there. I was in awe of his swimming ability as the conditions had changed quickly and it was extremely difficult to control myself, let alone keep someone else afloat. If Freddie hadn’t swum out there like he did, not giving up until he had her, it would have been a very different story.’

Sean tried three times to pick the
pair up, but the driving surf made it
very difficult to get them safely onto
the RWC’s sled. Eventually, Freddie
managed to grab a handle, using his
other hand to hold Mary’s head, and
Sean dragged them 10m to slightly