Air-sea rescue

JohnC6

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At 5.-000pm here..Tenerife..I watched and photographed an air-sea rescue very close by from the balcony of our room. There's a man-made pool here...Los Gigantes...and it's continuously topped up by waves crashing over the wall. These waves can be 8-10ft even in mild swells. Sometimes the gate at the top of the steps from the road is closed/locked when conditions are dangerous. There's a notice re the danger. Needless to say, people manage to get over it. What happens is that a large wave crashes over into pool and rushes to the back of it...about -15m. There's a photo of the pool in the attached articles...then the receding water,at speed ,rushes back out of the pool over the wall and into the ocean . As you can imagine, it has the potential to sweep bathers into the sea. That's what's just happened. There are some FB posts already stating that a child was winched out of the sea and a search is going on,by the helicopter and a coast guard vessel, for an adult..one of the child's parents , I assume.

There have been many drownings over the years and calls for the access to be permanently closed with no way of climbing over the gate. The authorities have recently given warning that they will charge for the rescue services. When guests arrive at our hotel , included in the 'welcome meeting' is a warning not to use that pool.


"........Figuereo referred to two recent incidents: one at Los Charcones in Yaiza, Lanzarote, and another along the coast of Santiago del Teide in Tenerife.[Los Gigantes]. In the latter case, the incident occurred in a natural pool that had been cordoned off and clearly signposted due to coastal weather alerts"

December 8th. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/09/tenerife-wave-swimmer-deaths-ocean-pool-spain

"Four people are dead and one is missing after a powerful wave dragged a group of swimmers out to sea while they were in a popular seawater pool along the rocky, western coastline of the Spanish island of Tenerife, Spanish authorities said on Monday"

January 27th. https://murciatoday.com/british-tou...ea-at-tenerife-natural-pool_1000187263-a.html

A British tourist, aged 63, has died after being swept into the sea by a powerful wave while swimming at the Los Gigantes natural swimming pool, also known as Crab Island Pool, in Spain's Tenerife. The incident occurred just before midday on Monday January 27, in the municipality of Santiago del Teide.
 
They will do these things. I once witnessed a rescue, from a long way away, boats coming from every direction to another boat in trouble, that was impressive. I also witnessed a lifeguard rescue from very close up, a long time ago, and that was just incredible.

I can date it, about 30 years ago, I was on Blackpool beach very near to the North pier with my youngest son, who was a toddler at the time. I'd just arrived with him. There was a swimmer about 150 metres out, making for the shore but clearly exhausted and very close to drowning.

I had my mobile with me, they were fairly rare back then, everyone was looking at him and I asked whether the coastguard were on their way, so that I could call them if nobody else had, several people said that they were coming, so there was nothing to do. Then a young woman ran on to the beach, attractive in her own way, I didn't know what a lifeguard was supposed to look like but she looked like the type that we might find very drunk on a night out in a place like Blackpool, how I misjudged her appearance! It soon became obvious that the rest of the crew were making their way to the beach in their Landrover, she's jumped out to get there a few seconds earlier. Within a few seconds she'd spoken into her radio, stripped down to her bikini, taken off her watch, asked someone to look after her things and was gone, running into the sea and then swimming towards the casualty at incredible speed. There was a strong rip current that must have helped her speed, but it was still incredible.

Just a few seconds later the landrover appeared, 2 more lifeguards went in immediately, they were secured with lifelines. It took a while to get the man to the beach, against the rip current, but all was well.

What really stuck in my mind is this, and people who have seen a woman's face just after she's given birth will know what I mean, that look of indescribable joy! The female lifeguard had it, that's what I call job satisfaction:)
 
Unfortunately, you can't legislate against stupid. Cf the 2 men who drowned after entering a very stormy sea at Budleigh Salterton on commercialmas day.
 
Unfortunately, you can't legislate against stupid. Cf the 2 men who drowned after entering a very stormy sea at Budleigh Salterton on commercialmas day.
Or the 3 people who thought it was a good idea to set off from Whitby harbour in rough seas in a boat that they'd bought the day before, putting the lifeboat crew at high risk . . .
Photo by kind permission of Doug Jackson
rough sea rescue.jpg
 
Didn't they go in to help someone else? People were stupid that day but I don't think it was those two guys


Having seen the sea conditions that morning, being anywhere near the sea was pretty damn foolish, let along going in for any reason.
 
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