A kite surfer has escaped being swept out to sea after getting into difficulty at Yaverland this lunchtime (Sunday).
Members of the public made frantic 999 calls to the Coastguard at around 11:40 after seeing the male being swept along the coast towards Red Cliff and Culver Cliff.
Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team have responded to the emergency but thankfully the extreme sports enthusiast has been able to scramble along the water’s edge and back to the safety of Yaverland slipway.
Martin Groom, Station Officer for Bembridge CRT, said that the conditions were just too much for the gentlemen, who is lucky to have walked away uninjured.
SO Groom is urging members of the public to stay well away from the coast today and is warning that just a single wave can knock an adult off their feet.
Coastguard rescue offices are now carrying out a small patrol of the area as other members of the public have been seen to be playing at the waters edge.
If you or someone else is in difficulty on the coast or at sea, or if you spot what you think may be unexploded ordnance, then dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Further safety information can be found at https://coastguardsafety.campaign.gov.uk/.
Get help faster by giving emergency services your exact location by using ///what3words.
what3words have divided the world into 3m squares and given each square a unique combination of three words, which means when you are in a remote area of the Isle of Wight you can get assistance much quicker without the need for local knowledge.
Fancy going out doing that on a day like this, then expect emergency services to save you ? Must want your head tested !
To be fair (and accurate) he didn’t expect them to rescue him. He never called the rescue services. He got out under his own steam. He was quite safe before they turned up.
Yeah and cost people to risk their lives and tax payers money the melt
I cannot believe that someone would go kite surfing at the peak of the storm.
Lifeboat crew and coast guards could have been at risk due to one man’s mind boggling stupidity.
Does he not read the papers or listen to the radio.
It was a windsurfer actually
Windsurfer or Kitesurfer – he was still an idiot!
kite surfer actually if you really want to be pedantic over it
plank!
So a bunch of brave rescuers turn out during a massive storm and risk their lives to potentially rescue someone who doesn’t know have the sense or ability to know that it’s stupid to windsurf in 80mph winds!! To risk your own life in the name of ‘extreme sports’ is one thing, but risking the lives of others is NOT fun, but it is ridiculously extreme!!
He was only risking his own life, he never asked anyone else to come out in this weather and he got himself home anyway. Who are you to say whether the conditions were within his abilities or not.
The sad reality is that often the emergency services are put at unnecessary risk by people sticking their noses in and calling them out when they are not needed.
Gotcha, so your suggestion is, if you see someone who may be at risk of imminent death by drowning, don’t call anyone because they might be quite happy with their situation.
Your defence of his actions is quite honourable in a way… The trouble is that he only just managed to get to shore,,.. His ‘flight’ was described as being dragged along the coast before he ‘scrambled ashore’.. Even experts said it was too much for the gentlemans abilities.. Just how near do death would you expect a family member to get before YOU call for help? Every airport in the world will call out the rescue services if a plane is, or appears to be in jeapordy, not wait to see if it crashes and burns before getting rescuers out of bed. You may feel free to let all wind/kite surfers to just die if they have problems… Caring people or family members will see a problem and call for help, NOT just wait and see if he/she lives or dies!
This is a completely idiotic and selfish thing to be doing. My brother is in the coastguard and why should he put his and other members lives at risk to save these idiots!
Idiot
I find it unbelievable that someone can be so stupid as to go Kite surfing when there is the worst storm happening now, and because of his actions he has put the lives at risk of those emergency services who voluntarily help people in distress.
Maybe he should try thinking about the effect his actions might have on other people.
Speechless!
Should be billed for the coastguard services….. numpty
But he didn’t order the coastguard services! Send the bill to the guy who called them out when they were not needed!
It was you wasn’t it
Unbelievable that someone would want to go out on the water with a weather warning and possible putting other lifes at risk to help him
What an idiot don’t care about putting his life in danger but he was putting the rescuers life in danger.
Name and shame
Name and shame…? Why…? What possible justification would you have for this…?
Stupid people like this should be billed for a call out.
This storm has been very well advertised.
Can’t the cretin be arrested and charged with creating a public nuisance or something similar!
Frankly a stupid and selfish act, obliviously no understanding or respect for the sea and it’s fury, glad he’s ok though, word with yourself Matie!!
With all the warnings in place you still get muppets like this going out on the sea risking not only his lives but the lives of emergency reponders, there should be a heavy penalty put in place for idiots like this makes my blood boil.
now make the prat pay for thecoastguard
Leave the idiot out there what right has he in putting lifeguards at risk hope he gets prosecuted
Please name and shame the idiot so someone can kick his arse.
You always get one don’t you !
Darwinism in effect. Should have left him out there and not put others at risk. Numpty!
It’s not Darwinism though is it! He got himself home safe and sound. It wasn’t him that put others at risk it was the guy with the phone!
It was a windsurfer not a kite surfer .
Windsurfer…… Kite surfer it doesn’t matter, the bell-end must have known the dangers of going out in a storm and the probable consequences of doing so. Name/Shame and bill the gonk for the time and effort given by the emergency services who risked their lives to rescue the IDIOT.
kite surfer…
The actions of people, in this case a kitesurfer during the current weather conditions is utter lunacy. It not only shows a complete disregard for their own safety but also that of the emergency services who are tasked to rescue the person involved.
Whoever this person is he or she should be made to cover the cost of the operation to rescue them. A number of organisations that provide rescue services along our coastline are charities and staffed by volunteers who risk their own lives to help others. On an idiots scale of 1-10 this idiot gets an 11.
He was ashore and safe when they got there and it wasn’t him that called them so…. what you billing him for again?
The headline should have said….
“self centered imbecile narrowly avoids being swept out to sea and is being billed for wasting the emergency services time and effort”
Pure muppetry
More bad Kite Surfing on the IOW
Can’t believe he would put other people’s lives at risk, just because he wanted to do something stupid, the warning signs where already in place, should have left him to save himself, I bet he wouldn’t have done it again in the next storm
Will be no shame, apologies, or guilt, just bragging on Facebook, with some video of the exploit.
Now it is the ‘look at me’ generation, we can do what we want, and YOU pick up the bill when it goes wrong, yet I will still carry on as before, because there is no ‘come back’.
And Woe betide society IF signs were not put up, if flags were not flying, if the rescue team failed in any slight way, as THEN they ‘sue’.
He DID “save himself” he was ashore when anyone got there!
What a complete idiot. He should’ve ashamed of himself putting the lives of others at risk be cause he’s such a cockwomble.
“Extreme sports enthusiast” – Sounds about right – .
I personally stand by the right of people to do dangerous and even stupid things .
Having said that would it be possible for the emergency services to keep a register of ” intended suicide attempts ” so anyone in the future can inform them of their plans to do such foolhardy things and accept the risks personally – allowing the emergency services to decide , if they see fit , not to risk their own lives to ” rescue ” such people without any legal liability .
Charge this idiot for the coast guard call out
There was another selfish dipstick in Shanklin today surfing, what is wrong with these kind of people? Have they watched to many superman movies or are there tiny brains undeveloped.
They don’t give a monkys for the welbeing of those brave people that have to rescue them, or the worry the families have to go through.
Time for psychiatric assessments to see what makes them tic, then a large bill to cover the cost…
What an absolute idiot. I hope they bill him for the cost of the service and he should be named and shamed for risking others life’s
These people of little brains.
someone was watching Point Break and thought yea man what a cool idea to get out in the perfect storm
pity our emergency services couldn’t just say its his choice to go out and risk his own sh*t so they don’t have to risk theirs
he will no doubt justify it by saying he didn’t need them as he got himself out of trouble
The issue is not whether or not the person concerned was able to cope with the conditions but how they would be perceived and how someone seeing them might react.
An onlooker would have no way of being able to determine if they were seeing some sort of superman or a suicidal idiot. Given the higher probability of the latter and clear risk to life Most reasonable people would probably err on the side of caution.
In short, an emergency call was almost inevitable in the circumstances
Possibly the gentleman could have forewarned the authorities in advance of his plan, his firm belief in has ability to cope with what were, if we are honest, terrible conditions and requested that they ignore any calls to come to his aid.
Though I suspect that, had he done so they would have have politely but firmly suggested that he choose another day to go out.
Barney C was it you
Rad thrill seeker! In defence we don’t call round the world sailors idiots for going through storms. It’s at the mans own will. For all you know he could be a world class athlete so why make a fuss getting angry over it. ‘Tax payers money’ if you want to complain about that so much then why don’t you complain about poorly rebuilt roads which aren’t built to standard having inadequate foundations. Just a thought.