The UK Coastguard had received an emergency call from a member of the public who had concerns for a swimmer.
The first informant had seen the swimmer enter the water but had not seen him for 45 minutes and his clothes were still on the beach. The inshore Lifeboat launched at 5.06 p.m. and was quickly on scene as the position was 300 metres west of the Lifeboat station.
As the inshore Lifeboat arrived on scene they could see the first informant waving so they approached the beach to speak to them and, at the same time, Selsey Coastguard Rescue team arrived on scene. The first informant pointed to the swimmer who looked perfectly happy swimming and showing no signs of distress. With that information passed to the UK Coastguard all units were stood down. False alarm with good intent.
CREW: Rob Archibald (Helmsman), Dan Langford, and Neil Martin (Trainee).