A primary school teacher recently contacted Angela Veldman, who is based at Courtmacsherry lifeboat station, to report how advice that Ms Veldman gave her and her pupils saved her from a possible disaster at sea.
Angela has given regular talks to schools in the West Cork area on water safety for over 10 years, and a few months after one of these talks, the grateful teacher contacted her to say how the ‘Float to Live’ advice helped her out of serious trouble.
‘The teacher had visited a beach with family when she got into serious trouble in the water. She had brought a body board with her and was near the shore and was paddling. When she went to put her feet down, the ground was gone, and she had no idea how far away it was. Not being a confident swimmer and now out of her depth she started panicking and realised to her horror that nobody on the shore was aware she was in danger,’ said Angela.
‘Remembering the water safety talk her class had received, she lay on her back and floated, slowly coming ashore. She had come across a narrow channel of water that was about 15 feet deep and which ran in a line from the shore out. While the locals knew about it and knew to avoid it, she was completely unaware. The experience was extremely frightening, but she remained calm and recalled the water safety talk she had received. I really feel that we have to keep talking about water safety and what to do when you get into difficulty in the water. You never know when simply sharing a piece of advice could save a life,’ added Angela.
The RNLI launched its ‘Float to Live’ campaign during National Water Safety Awareness Week earlier in May, urging people to remember that piece of advice which could help save their life if they are struggling in the water.
Linda-Gene Byrne, RNLI water safety lead, reminded people to ‘ignore the instinct’ to panic, and instead, remember to float.
‘Tilt your head back, with your ears submerged. Relax and try to breathe normally. Move your hands and legs to help you stay afloat if you need to. We all float differently, so if your legs sink a bit don’t worry. By doing this, you give yourself the chance to rest and recover your breathing. Once you’ve regained control of your breathing, you can call for help or swim to safety.’
