Paddleboarder swept out to sea off Wick coast rescued by lifeboat after being spotted by fishing vessel

Lifeboat crews were scrambled to help search for a missing paddleboarder near Reiss Beach, north of Wick.

Wick RNLI Lifeboat and Coastguard crews were called at 12.25pm today to search for a paddleboarder who had been taken out to sea.

The alarm was raised earlier by a family member whose partner could not make it back to the shore safely.

The seven-man lifeboat crew initially arrived at Reiss beach but the woman had been swept out of sight. The family passed on her general whereabouts to the crew.

Following an alert broadcast by Shetland Coastguard, local fishing vessel FV Reaper arrived on the scene to assist in the search.

Using the Reaper’s deck height to survey the water from a better line of sight the crew was able to locate the missing paddleboarder and alerted the lifeboat.

The lifeboat crew was able to pull the woman off the paddleboard and assess their condition before heading back to shore.

The missing woman was then reunited with her family.

Emergency services thanked the crew of the local vessel Reaper for their assistance during the search to the crews of other vessels, which were making ready to assist.

To find out more about guidance on paddling, visit the RNLI website.