Lost woman rescued after boarding moored boat

A woman was rescued from the outer reaches of a Norfolk harbour last week after managing to board a moored boat and contact the coastguard through its radio. 

Using Channel 16 she contacted the coastguard and reported that she had been cut off by the tide on Blakeney Point, Norfolk. 

Wells station officer John Crosthwaite says: “We understand that this lady was walking the coastline of Britain and was attempting to take a shortcut through the harbour, but without a map she was lost and disorientated. 

She wasn’t able to give her exact location but a fixed wing coastguard aircraft, which was carrying out a safety overwatch nearby, was sent to search for her along with an RNLI lifeboat from Wells and Wells Coastguard Rescue team in their all-terrain vehicle. 

The woman was spotted waving from the deck of the small boat. With very little water in the channel an RNLI crew member was sent on foot, guided by the crew of the fixed wing aircraft nearly 1200 feet above them and a coastguard from a nearby vantage point.

The RNLI crew member helped the woman off the boat and guided her across the salt marsh to the Old Lifeboat Station where they were met by the team of coastguards, who took her back to the mainland. 

Crosthwaite adds: “It was lucky that she was able to contact the coastguard. Her mobile phone was waterlogged and she had no other way of reaching us. 

“It’s a good reminder of how important it is to take care at the coast, to use a map and to make sure you have a way of contacting us if you need us.”