The volunteer lifeboat crew at Selsey were paged at 11.42 a.m. on Saturday 26th July 2014. Solent Coastguard had received reports that 3 swimmers were a long way out and not making progress against the strong tide.
High water was at 12.12 p.m. and the weather was calm in bright sunshine. The local Selsey Coastguard team were asked to monitor the swimmers and, although they were not showing signs of distress, they were about ¾ of a mile off shore and making no headway so they requested that the Inshore Lifeboat be launched to check on them.
The 'D' class Lifeboat 'Betty and Thomas Moore' was launched at 11.51 a.m. and proceeded to the Park Copse area to the north-east of the station. The Coastguard Mobile Team conned the Lifeboat on to the position of the swimmers. They were surprised to see the Lifeboat but were grateful that people had seen them and were concerned for their safety.
The two men and one woman were actually training for a channel crossing in September and were happy for the Inshore Lifeboat to return to station. Before leaving, the Lifeboat crew offered the swimmers bottles of fresh water, which they accepted and were grateful for. The Coastguards were informed of their intentions and the Lifeboat was released to return to station, arriving back at 12.10 p.m.
CREW: Dave Lamdin (Helmsman), Andy Lee and Kristina Dolan (Trainee).