'I promise to wear a lifejacket now' vows fisherman as he today thanks rescuers
Allan Grant has praised the RNLI and Coastguard
Last updated 17th Oct 2024
A fisherman - whose dinghy overturned in the River Banwell - will today thank the Weston-super-Mare lifeboat and helicopter crews who saved his life.
Last week Allan Grant became trapped in the water for almost two hours
He was eventually found in the Bristol Channel and rescued, before being flown to hospital.
The RNLI Weston-super-Mare lifeboat crew were paged at 12:16pm, on Tuesday October 8, to reports of a person in the water off Sand Point in the Bristol Channel.
RNLI volunteer helm Andy Stone said: "Lifeboat Operations Manager, Chris Ware phoned me when the call came in as he knew I was out on my powerboat in the area. Due to the urgent circumstances, I went straight to Sand Point to start conducting a search’.
Allan had gone out that morning to conduct a routine check on his fishing boat, saying: "I was going out to check on my boat and collect something. A few weeks ago I’d lost my dinghy in a storm and had just replaced it with a smaller lighter one as I suffer with arthritis in my arms. When I reached the fishing boat, I grabbed the side and stood up in the dinghy but the new one was so light, the back tipped, water rushed in, it flipped over and I was gone.’
"I just managed to get hold of the ladder of the fishing boat and put my foot on the propellor to take some of my weight, but I panicked, and I couldn’t pull myself up into the boat. I kept shouting for help, but it wasn’t a very nice day so there wasn’t anyone around, then it looked as if it was going to rain. I didn’t think anyone was coming. I was terrified.
"I was in the water a long time, my fingers were white, I had to keep changing over my arms as I was getting tired."
Luckily a passer-by eventually saw Allan’s unmanned dinghy, spotting him in the water and immediately used their phone to call for help.
Allan said: "I was praying someone would come, then about 200-300 yards away I saw someone. I shouted but they carried on walking then I saw them running, maybe to get a phone. A bit later I could make them out between a gap in the bushes and heard them say 'someone's coming'…’.
Andy Stone, nicknamed Stoner to fellow crew, headed straight over to Sand Point from north of Birnbeck Pier in his private boat Salty Sea Dog as soon as the call came in. ‘I was talking to the Coastguard on radio safety Channel 16. They said the person was in the water by a blue boat next to a brown boat. Straight away I knew exactly where it was, confirming with the coastguard that it was Wood Spring Bay and making my way as quickly as I could’.
During this time the D Class lifeboat arrived at Sand Point finding Allan’s upturned dinghy in the bay two miles out from the River Banwell. The D Class crew were about to conduct an expanding square search from the upturned dinghy, when they heard Andy talking to the Coastguard.
Back at Allan’s boat, it had been almost two hours since his dinghy had capsized, Andy said: "On arrival at the scene I saw Allan clinging to the back of the boat. He looked very reassured to see a friendly face coming to help him. He was visibly cold and tired, I pulled him out of the water into my boat and let the D class lifeboat crew know I had him onboard. When he told me he’d been in the water nearly two hours I knew I needed to get him to the lifeboat as soon as possible where they could warm him up with a survivor blanket and assess his care."
Andy made his way out of the river to the D-class where the crew took Allan onboard, providing casualty care and transportation to the larger Atlantic lifeboat.
The Atlantic then sped out into the bay to meet the Coastguard rescue helicopter where a paramedic winched Allan onboard for a quick flight to hospital where he later made a full recovery.
Speaking after his rescue Allan said: "When I first saw Andy on his boat I was so relieved. I’m so grateful to all the people that helped me and the passer-by that raised the alarm. Since being rescued I’ve ordered myself a lifejacket and my wife has bought me a waterproof phone holder. I won’t be going back out to my boat without them."