Jet ski rider with broken leg among four lifeboat call-outs within hours

A jet ski rider who suffered a broken leg was among those rescued by North Berwick lifeboat crews within a six-hour window.

The RNLI’s volunteers in North Berwick were called into action four times on Sunday as the warm weather brought water users face-to-face with difficult sea conditions caused by a 2m swell.

After finishing their weekly Sunday morning training session, crew members were approached by a member of the public at around 11.35am who alerted them to a jet ski rider who had broken their leg.

The casualty was part of a group of personal watercraft who had been enjoying the 2m swell on a trip around the islands off North Berwick.

North Berwick RNLI recover the lifeboat and jet ski RNLI/North Berwick

The casualty was thrown from their craft after coming off a wave on the north side of Craigleith Island.

Members of the group were able to recover the casualty onto a personal watercraft, where it became apparent that they had sustained a leg injury.

The casualty was brought ashore, and an ambulance was called.

The crew were then alerted by their pagers to a second incident at 12.22pm when a jet ski rolled in waves before colliding with rocks in the Fairway at the base of North Berwick’s harbour wall.

With 1.5m waves breaking in the fairway, the lifeboat was launched with crew assisting the rider, and the craft was returned to shore. The rider was shaken but very lucky not to have been injured, crews said.

As the crew were de-briefing the previous call out, Aberdeen Coastguard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre tasked them with a third incident.

North Berwick RNLI's volunteers search for a person in the water — North Berwick RNLI’s volunteers search for a person in the water RNLI/North Berwick

A mother was watching their child on a stand-up paddleboard who was having difficulty getting back to shore.

As the crew were about to launch the lifeboat, they were stood down as the casualty had made it back to shore.

The fourth incident of the day came at 5.06pm after a 999 call reported a swimmer caught in a rip current in Milsey Bay.

The lifeboat made its way through breaking waves to the scene of the incident, where the swimmer had been brought ashore by a paddleboarder.

The casualty was assessed ashore by the North Berwick Coastguard Rescue Team before being passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Duncan Barbour, water safety officer at North Berwick, said: “It’s really important when you set out on the water that you have the correct safety equipment.

“A waterproof means of contacting the Coastguard should things go wrong is vital, just as a buoyancy aid or life jacket is.

“You also need to check the conditions and local hazards and, crucially, understand whether they are suitable for your craft and your experience. Just because it’s sunny and there isn’t much wind on land, doesn’t mean it’s the same offshore.’

‘Waves can be incredibly powerful. A square meter of water weighs a tonne, if that’s moving at say 15 mph like the waves were today, then that’s a lot of force when it hits you.”