A Hastings surfer scrambled ashore after being dragged file miles by a current after snapping his leash during Storm Ciara.
The unnamed man appeared to get into difficulties in the shorebreak at Rock-a-Nore, Hastings after snapping his leash and losing his board coming in. He is seen to swim out of the shorey and try and swim away from the rip, but got stuck in a current.
Coastguards, a helicopter and two lifeboats were all called into action but couldn’t find him. The surfer then drifted five miles to Pett Level to the east of Hastings before managing to get ashore. He was then taken to local hospital.
The video show she surfers entering the water and getting into trouble.
This is the surfer when he lost his board and it went from bad to worse for him. He even refused help from standers by. He could have prevented this whole scene with the rescuers. pic.twitter.com/8JgZXEjO7Y
— Richard Connolly (@RichardConnolly) February 9, 2020
When the lifeboat tried to return to Hastings, a large wave almost capsized the vessel.
The surfer has copped a lot of grief on social media. We can’t judge what surf conditions were like when he got in, but the incident looked like it was caused by a leash snap which can happen to anyone, and certainly he had enough about him to survive the situation. What we would say however is don’t surf alone in challenging conditions.
Many thanks to the RNLI and search and rescue teams as always
