Posted16 avril 2022, 22:49
The big boat turned around during a cruise to help a windsurfing enthusiast in bad shape off the coast of Lake Geneva. He is not the only one to have had to be rescued this Saturday.
“According to the staff, this was unheard of! And given the wind, it was very delicate, it was impressive to see. Left for a simple cruise, Alex and his family lived a sacred animation during the meal on the boat “Lausanne”, of the CGN. When the ship had just left Vevey in the direction of Montreux this Saturday evening around 7:30 p.m., it turned around, causing misunderstanding among the passengers. Looking out the windows, they then understood why: a man and his windsurfing board were lost nearly 300 m from the coast.
“He was exhausted, so the boat went to pick him up,” this reader continues. There was a lot of wind and waves, so it was really complicated to recover it, moreover the board remained in the water and was recovered by another rescue boat later. When they brought him back on board, he was taken care of with a survival blanket and rehydrated. The staff handled it very well. Only then did the captain inform us via the loudspeaker. Members of the crew told us that they had never experienced such a thing. The rescue lasted regarding an hour, and the man was landed in Montreux, where he was taken care of by caregivers.
The rescue was the “entertainment” for the passengers of the CGN boat “Lausanne”.
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“Despite the wind and the waves, the crew was super professional,” reports a reader on board.
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A restless Saturday for rescuers
When contacted, the Vaud gendarmerie confirms that it is very unusual for a large CGN ship to divert its course for a rescue. “It’s to their credit,” said police spokesman Christian Bourquenoud. The rescuers were warned, but this boat was closer, and given the temperature of the water, their gesture was welcome. The unfortunate man was exhausted and might no longer get back on his board.
The Vaudois police also specify that this sunny but also very windy Saturday was the scene of many rescues linked to these particular conditions. In addition to this man rescued at the beginning of the evening in Vevey, another windsurfer had to be rescued by a private individual in Rolle, two sailboats found themselves in difficulty in Chardonne and Ouchy, and children who were testing their rubber dinghy drifted and also needed the intervention of Ouchy’s rescue.
“In such conditions, you have to be particularly careful and remain very attentive, and always bring a life jacket and a diving suit”, recalls Christian Bourquenoud. And to add that, if the usual rules advise to stay at 300m maximum from the coast, it is different on a day of strong wind. “It is then necessary to stay in sheltered areas, not far from the ports, and to keep the children particularly under surveillance. Small boats are very quickly swept away.”