Teenager honoured for saving grandfather's life after 70-year-old fell overboard

 

The quick thinking of a 13-year-old boy who saved his grandfather's life after he fell overboard has been rewarded with a certificate of thanks from the RNLI.

Henry made a Mayday call over the VHF radio after his 70-year-old grandfather fell off the five metre sailing boat leaving the boy alone on board when the pair were taking part in a race in St Austell Bay.

In honour of his actions Henry was surprised with a certificate of thanks from the RNLI, presented by Fowey RNLI crew.

The incident happened on Saturday, September 23, 70-year-old David Richards and his grandson 13-year-old Henry were taking part in an afternoon sailing race in St Austell Bay. During the race, David fell overboard, leaving 13-year-old Henry alone on the five-metre sailing boat.

Henry managed to stay calm and collapsed the yacht’s spinnaker before using the VHF radio to make a Mayday call. Falmouth Coastguard immediately requested both Fowey RNLI lifeboats to be launched, and a Coastguard helicopter was also sent to the scene.

Fowey RNLI volunteers aboard the all-weather lifeboat retrieved David from the water, and a volunteer crew member boarded the boat with Henry and helped sail it back into Fowey harbour.

David was taken to hospital by ambulance to be checked over and was released later that evening.

David, from Fowey, explained the incident from his perspective: ‘The wind that had been expected to come in increasing force later in the day, actually came in earlier that day. We were falling further and further behind in the race, and I thought we should put the spinnaker up. As soon as we got it flying, we immediately got into difficulty.

"There was a gust of wind that knocked the boat down and I didn’t have my feet in the boat’s toe straps, so I just slid into the water between the boom and the boat.

‘Once Henry was on the boat on his own, I could see that he wasn’t in control of the boat, but he got the spinnaker down in an emergency fashion. It meant that the boat was much more stable.

‘What went through my mind initially was that I couldn’t get back to the boat because it was running away from me. I lay on my back in the water and thought: Henry, use the radio, Henry, use the radio and he did. He hit the Channel 16 button to put it onto the emergency frequency and then gave his Mayday call. He used the radio as if he was a pro.

‘What Henry did makes me very proud. He kept his head. He did everything he should have done. He got the boat under control and radioed for help. He couldn’t have done anything better.

‘Henry is such a level-headed and intelligent boy, what he did shouldn’t surprise me. I’m exceptionally grateful that he had the presence of mind to do what he did.’