Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Team and The Needles Coastguard Rescue Team were called into action for the second time today at just before 16:00 this afternoon (Saturday) to reports of an abandoned paddle board off Atherfield.
Immediately after rescuing an injured kayaker at Watcombe Bay, the 2 teams were tasked to investigate reports of an abandoned paddle board off of Atherfield.
Arriving on scene and talking to the first informant, Coastguard Officers located an object in the water approx 300-400m offshore drifting east towards Whale Chine. From the shore it appeared to be either a paddle board or upturned kayak.
Freshwater Independent Lifeboat was tasked to investigate further and found the object to be a large piece of driftwood, approx. 15ft long.
The lifeboat crew took it under tow to Grange Chine where they were met by both Ventnor CRT and The Needles CRT. Efforts were made to ensure the driftwood was above the high water mark to stop it going back in the water, this preventing further calls to HM Coastguard and eliminating the danger to shipping.
