The crew of the Walmer Lifeboat is behind new calls for walkers to check tide times before heading out for a stroll along the beach. The warning comes after volunteers had to rescue a couple who had been cut off between Dover and St Margaret’s Bay in Kent.
Crew members aboard the Duggie Rodbard ‘D’ Class lifeboat rescued the pair at just after 3pm on Saturday, April 25. They had been attempting to get to St Margaret’s Bay but found that their route had been blocked by the sea.
The couple were left needing to be rescued from a chalk outcrop. Both were given life jackets by the lifeboat crew and the helmsman managed to manoeuvre the boat close enough to the raised outcrop to let one of the stranded people, who could not swim, to get onto the vessel without them having to go into water that was out of their depth. The second person was guided out and had to go into deeper water but was quickly taken on-board the lifeboat.
Dave Mitchell, the helmsman of the Walmer Lifeboat, called on people to plan carefully for journeys such as the one undertaken by the couple. He said it was essential to check tide times as people could quickly be put in danger by the incoming sea – an essential piece of advice for people walking near tidal waterways anywhere in the world.
He added that, in the case of the weekend rescue, this couple was able to find refuge on the raised outcrop but there was the potential for others in the area to be left trapped by an incoming tide at the foot of a sheer cliff. These cliffs also present a danger in themselves, being prone to falls and landslips, Mr Mitchell said.
