Paddleboarder who 'nearly drowned' praises RNLI

A paddleboarder whose family had to be rescued on Cornwall's Helford River has warned others to "respect the water" after a sunny day out turned into one of the most frightening experiences of his life.

Rich Pearson, from Falmouth, was among a group of eight who got into difficulty on Sunday after being caught by strong easterly winds returning from the Shipwrights Arms pub on the western side of the river.

His wife Lucy and their three-year-old daughter Bea were rescued after being blown downstream, while Pearson and others managed to swim ashore.

Pearson said "For about 15 minutes, it probably was close to the most scared I've been in my life" and he thanked the "heroes at the RNLI".

Pearson explained that the group had paddled the route many times before and had experience on the water, but said they had made "a mistake - quite a big one".

He said he had wrongly assumed conditions on the river would offer more shelter from the wind, and a series of "very basic assumptions" and complacency on a familiar route had led to the situation.

Lucy and Bea, who were wearing buoyancy aids and a leash, were helped by a couple on a nearby boat after they were blown off course. A man on shore, Adrian Whitehead, spotted them struggling and called 999, prompting a response from HM Coastguard and the RNLI.

Pearson said: "They were saved by the very important kindness of strangers."

In a post on social media after the rescue, Pearson thanked the RNLI and those who came to the family's aid, writing: "The phrase 'complacency kills' has never felt so real."

Falmouth Coastguard watch manager Eddie Robinson said several paddleboarders had run into trouble during the recent spell of easterly winds because conditions were behaving differently from what many people expected.

He urged people heading onto the water to carefully consider weather conditions, adding that strong winds could quickly carry paddleboarders much further from shore than anticipated.

Despite the ordeal, Pearson said he hoped others would learn from his experience: "We're humans and we're imperfect and we made a mistake and we hold up our hands and say it.

"If there's anything that we can use of this experience that other people can learn from, that's the important thing."

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