Navy helicopter rescues capsized kayaker off the Cornish coast
The crew picked up the man's mayday call during a training exercise
Last updated 25th Jan 2022
A Royal Navy helicopter has rescued a kayaker in distress off the coast of Cornwall.
The man capsized while paddling off the Lizard, before making an urgent mayday call on his radio.
The call was picked up by a crew on a training exercise in Falmouth, who happened to be practicing search and rescue.
They immediately flew towards the search area, close to cliffs about one mile south of Coverack.
Falmouth Coastguard was already coordinating the rescue and the Lizard Lifeboat was also launched.
The drama started to unfold at around 12.45pm on Monday and the helicopter crew managed to winch the casualty to safety.
Pilot Lieutenant Commander Olly Hill was in charge of the Navy helicopter from 824 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Culdrose.
He said: "We were literally just about to start the training when we picked up a garbled mayday message.
"We all paused and just listened, and we heard the message again. It was hard to understand but we heard the man say Coverack - we were only five minutes away".
In the rear of the aircraft was trainee observer Lieutenant Robert Templeton, who was already kitted out to go down the winch line for his training exercise.
He was the first to spot the kayaker clinging to the side of his upturned craft as the chopper circled the search area, close to the rocky shoreline.
He was lowered on a line by the instructor while the helicopter hovered above the exhausted kayaker and said: "This was actually the first time I’ve ever done this.
"We didn’t really adapt anything, and we carried on just as though it were a training exercise rather than real-life.
"It was a team effort and we all worked together to make sure it had a successful outcome".
Lt Templeton was lowered into the water beside the man and the pair were soon winched safely back up to the helicopter.
The kayaker was cold and shocked but otherwise appeared unhurt.
Matt Rogers, Team Leader at the Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre at Falmouth, said: "The Royal Navy helicopter was training nearby in Falmouth Bay when they heard the distress call and made immediate contact to respond. Their quick actions meant they located the casualty within minutes of arriving on scene.
"The helicopter transported the casualty to RNAS Culdrose, where naval medics and Coastguard Rescue Teams attended to him.
"It is a great example of how we operate as one big team when it comes to search and rescue - the navy crew were happy to lend their services, and we were happy to receive them".
The military handed over civilian search and rescue duties to HM Coastguard in 2016, but the Royal Navy continues to train its crews in these skills in case of emergencies at sea.