Paddleboarder rescues three men on giant inflatable duck

A paddleboarder has been credited as a ‘real lifesaver’ after assisting three men on a giant inflatable duck as it drifted out into the Bristol Channel on Tuesday (6 June 2023).

According to an eyewitness, three men pumped up an inflatable duck on the beach at Westward Ho!, Devon, and took it into the sea, accompanied by a fourth person on an inflatable kayak.

After just five minutes, the trio had drifted out approximately 75 meters and the person in the canoe was trying unsuccessfully to push them back to shore. When the duck was 200 metres off shore, the coastguard was called.

A member of the public went out on his paddleboard to try to bring the men back to shore. Struggling against the current, the man managed to tow the inflatable closer to shore, where the men jumped out and swam to the beach. The inflatable was immediately blown back out to sea. 

Having been out on a routine training exercise, Appledore RNLI inshore lifeboat arrived just as the men made it safely back to shore. Crew member Des Elsemore swam in to check that all was well with the group. He says: “The quick thinking of this member of the public with a paddleboard prevented a nasty situation turning much worse. He was the real lifesaver of the day.”

In 2018, a man on an inflatable unicorn became stranded at sea after he was blown hundreds of metres from the shore off Hayling Island, Hampshire.