A Monthly Publication

 By Charles Butcher

Chinese lanterns and an inflatable dolphin have been giving Hunstanton Coastguard grief recently – and both incidents could have had serious consequences.    

              On 25 July the Coastguard team scrambled after a report of a hot air balloon going down into the sea off Old Hunstanton. At the Le Strange Arms Hotel, the Coastguards learned that at least one airborne Chinese lantern had been launched that evening, and suspected that this had given rise to the balloon report.

Nevertheless, they searched the beach between Hunstanton and Holme. Coastguard headquarters at Yarmouth received at least four other calls reporting balloons in trouble. Hunstanton lifeboat was launched, and a helicopter was on standby at one point.

So if you are going to launch an airborne lantern or mini hot air balloon, please tell MRCC Yarmouth (tel 01493 851 338).

On 31 July a report of an inflatable dinghy adrift off Old Hunstanton brought a Coastguard team and Hunstanton lifeboat to the beach. The lifeboat crew recovered an inflatable dolphin.

This was just one of the summer crop of inflatable boats and toys that give rise to emergency callouts every year. Not all of these end happily: on 30 June a man suffered a suspected heart attack at Old Hunstanton when he got into difficulties rescuing a dinghy containing two children.

“Please consider not using inflatables, and if you must use one, make sure it’s tied to something secure – preferably the leg of someone on shore!” says Coastguard Station Office Robert Frost. An offshore wind combined with a falling tide is especially dangerous, he says.

On 23 July a family became cut off by the tide after walking out from Brancaster beach. They were found by a warden and taken to a hut on Scolt Head.

Hunstanton RNLI hovercraft picked up the casualties, including a dog, but was hard put to make headway against a strong wind. Two people in the early stages of hypothermia were then transferred to the Coastguard vehicle, where they soon warmed up. No medical attention was required, and the family returned safely to their car.

The Brancaster channel and Scolt Head are dangerous places for people on foot, especially when there are young people in the party. If you must go exploring, check the tide times carefully and carry a mobile phone.