Cornwall holidaymakers need rip current warnings, says surfer

A learner surfer left shaken after performing two separate rescues is urging holiday accommodation providers to warn guests about rip currents.

Chris Farrant was "dragged out to sea" as he saved a man from drowning at Polurrian Cove and feared returning to the water there for more than a year.

On the day he did, on 5 September, he performed a second rescue at the cove.

Visit Cornwall said it agreed that "increased messaging" via accommodation providers could "save lives".

Mr Farrant, 40, who described himself as an "advanced beginner" said he felt "totally out of his comfort zone" carrying out both rescues.

On the first occasion in August 2022 he spotted a man aged around 60 in trouble stuck in a rip current who he believed "didn't have much longer left" to live.

After the man fell off Mr Farrant's surf board which he was clinging to and then "drifted further and further out", he managed to get him safely back to shore.

Mr Farrant said: "Afterwards you get all the 'what ifs' - it's essentially putting you in danger as well".

"It put me off surfing for quite some time, I didn't really go back in the water there for a bit just because of the anxiety it caused me".

On 5 September he finally felt able to go back in the water and began surfing only to see a young man "flailing about, calling for help" and "clearly struggling a lot".

Another victim of a rip current, he helped him back to shore as part of a group rescue with two other surfers.

"I don't really rate my lifesaving abilities," he said and described it as "luck" that he was able to save them.

He said he wanted accommodation providers to do more to warn visitors how dangerous the sea can be in Cornwall and what to do if you get dragged out in a rip current.

"The education of people really has got to be the first port of call," he said.

"I do think a certain responsibility falls on Airbnbs, hotels and things like that, to warn them at check-in".

Malcolm Bell from Visit Cornwall said: "We have been lobbying for years for a statutory accommodation scheme and this is another example where such a register is needed and could save lives".

He said it would "allow communication with every accommodation provider" with documents placed in each one, and that Visit Cornwall "would love to support increased messaging" for visitors.

The Polurrian Hotel, above the cove, said after recent incidents it had reviewed signage at the entrance to the cove warning of the dangers, which it "believes to be appropriate".

Grant Callaghan, general manager, said the hotel had "a number of measures in place to try and prevent visitors getting into difficulty" including information in its directory and leaflets on reception.

He added that they ran a "close collaboration with Mullion Surf Lifesaving Club to facilitate the seasonal lifeguard operation" there.

The RNLI said it provides a lifeguard service at the cove on weekends during peak season and continually reviews cover for individual beaches based on levels of risk.

It added that it always advised anyone wanting to use the water to visit a lifeguarded beach.

Mr Farrant said he planned to join the local surf life-saving club and seek first aid training, as he felt sure these emergencies would occur again.

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