The school summer holidays mean that more people than ever are hitting Britain’s beaches or taking to the sea for some fun but the RNLI is warning everyone to remain vigilant and minimise the dangers posed by strong tides in coastal waters.
The latest warnings came from volunteers in the south west, where it is common for people to be caught out and cut off by the tides in and around the Bristol Channel.
In the last week, the lifeboat in Weston-super-Mare had to be launched after a woman, man and a dog were cut off and left stranded on rocks.
The day before, the RNLI volunteers from the town were called on to rescue people on board a small yacht that had become a victim of strong tides in Weston Bay.
The yacht had drifted a long way out to sea but, when the rescue volunteers reached the vessel, the occupants seemed unaware of how much danger the situation could have placed them in.
The RNLI wants to ensure that, whether people are planning to go out on the sea or spend some time at the coast, they take adequate safety precautions. These include checking tide times and ensuring that they are aware of weather and geographic conditions – even in areas they have never been before.
The importance of this was highlighted last week when people around the country were caught out by high spring tides, which typically rise much higher and faster than normal, catching people unawares.
In south Wales, two people had to be rescued by the inshore lifeboat after being cut off close to the lighthouse at Mumbles Head. Speaking of the recent spring tides, local coastguards especially urged anyone visiting places with ‘island’ featured in their titles to be extra vigilant about tide times and conditions.
