WOMAN WHOSE LIFE WAS SAVED BY PHONE AND LIFEJACKET GIVES ADVICE TO OTHER SEAFARERS

A sailor who feared for her life after falling into the sea from a motor cruiser off the Isle of Wight earlier this year has spoken of her ordeal, stating that without her mobile phone rescuers would have found her dead body. It was on 23rd May that Solent Coastguard received an alert that a woman had gone overboard from a pleasure craft to the South of Ventnor. Coastguard Rescue 175 helicopter was scrambled from Lee-on-Solent, followed by Coastguard Rescue 163 from Lydd. Bembridge RNLI’s, Yarmouth RNLI’s and Sandown & Shanklin Independent’s lifeboats were also launched. Commodore Goodwill – a cross-Channel ferry – diverted to assist in the major search operation, which at its peak involved 3 lifeboats, 2 helicopters and a fixed-wing plane. 51-year-old Rachael Perrin, from Hayling Island, was sailing with her partner, Mike Burge, from Portsmouth to Cherbourg when, feeling seasick by the stern, she suddenly went over the side into the cold water. Recalling the moment, Rachael says:

“It was by far the most awful moment I have ever experienced. I was thinking, what the hell’s happened? And when I got to the surface I was panicking. I was shouting but there was no way Mike could hear me over the noise of the engine.”

It was her preparedness that put her on course to be rescued. With the automatically inflated lifejacket keeping her afloat with her head securely above the water, Rachael was able to call 999 for HM Coastguard on her mobile phone hanging in a waterproof case around her neck. With Rachael on the other end of the phone, HM Coastguard knew they had a real casualty in peril at sea. They threw every resource at the rescue, with Rachael guiding the helicopters into her position by relaying if the noise of the rotors was getting louder or quieter. She could also describe what she could see on land and what vessels were nearby.   Rachael adds:

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“If I did not have my phone, I think the length of time I would have been in the water means hypothermia would have killed me. The lifejacket kept me afloat but without my phone they would have found a dead body. “The fact that I could talk to someone who could give me a live update made the difference to stopping me freaking out. I knew they were looking for me and they would find me. That was hugely comforting. “When I was near the Isle of Wight I caught a very fast current and drifted miles and miles very fast, so that the Island looked like a rock far away. I found it terrifying being that far from land and not being in a boat. I knew it was far too far away to try and swim.

At 15:50 Rachael was eventually located around 6 miles South of St Catherine’s Point. She was winched aboard the Coastguard helicopter and flown directly to St Mary’s Hospital to receive further medical attention. She was cold, sick from seawater and exhausted – but went on to make a full recovery. Rachael is hoping that her experience will encourage seagoers to make sure they are ready for the worst, including wearing a lifejacket.

Rachael’s advice:

• Keep your mobile phone to hand in a waterproof case on a lanyard
• Always wear a lifejacket with the straps correctly fitted
• Have a location phone app or carry a registered Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)
• Check equipment is in date, such as lifejacket gas cannisters
• Agree a process to regularly check on crew members when at sea

Samuel George, Network Commander based at HM Coastguard’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Fareham, said:

“The happy result from this incident was due in large part to Rachael going properly equipped. “We always advise anyone going out on the water to wear a lifejacket or personal flotation device, and to carry a means of communication such as a mobile phone in a waterproof case and a registered personal locator beacon. “As this incident shows, it can make all the difference.”

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