While attending the Blessing of the Boats at La Rocque Harbour Sunday afternoon, our Duty Person received a call from Jersey Coastguard requesting that Albert Pinel divert immediately to Long Beach following reports of a wing foiler in difficulty and struggling to make their way back to shore.

With a crew already on board, the Albert Pinel was quickly made ready, slipped its mooring, and proceeded east from La Rocque Harbour.

With strong north-easterly winds gusting to 37 knots and short, steep seas, conditions were challenging. Shortly before arriving on scene, further information was received confirming that the casualty had made it safely ashore. However, with several wing foilers and kite surfers still operating in the area, the crew carried out a final sweep to ensure no one else required assistance before standing down and returning to La Rocque Harbour.

Although no assistance was ultimately required, we believe this was a call made with good intent. We’d always encourage anyone who is concerned that someone may be in difficulty at sea to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. We’d much rather respond to a well-intentioned report than risk someone not getting the help they need.