I felt excited to be trying something new. But then the winds turned and I began to fear for my life… By Pamela Muirhead, 40
As I sat with a cuppa and scrolled through Facebook, a post from my friend Tara caught my eye.
It read: Win a FREE paddleboarding lesson!
Tara had set up a paddleboarding business and I was keen to support her, so I entered the competition.
A few days later, I received a phone call from Tara telling me I’d won.
‘That’s a nice surprise!’ I said.
‘Feel free to bring your kids along,’ she replied.
My children Tommy, 17, and April, 13, were up for the challenge.
When the day of our lesson arrived, I woke feeling excited.
‘The weather looks good,’ I told my husband.
‘Have a good time and be safe,’ he said, before he left for work.
I rallied the children and we set off on the two-hour car journey to the beach.
When we arrived, Tara was waiting on the shore.
We changed into wetsuits and life jackets, and Tara gave us a safety briefing.
It was my turn first, and I sat on the board with a paddle in my hands as Tara pushed me off into the water.
I felt a rush of nerves as I floated away from the shore. But the view was beautiful, and as I breathed in the fresh sea air, I felt excited to be trying something new.
‘You’re doing really well!’ Tara called out. ‘Now try and get on your knees.’
But as I tried to readjust my position, a gust of wind came out of nowhere.
I let out a scream as I was almost thrown off the board.
I looked out to sea and noticed the waves had suddenly become choppy.
‘Maybe I should come back?’ I called to Tara.
‘I think the weather’s turning,’ Tara replied. ‘Best turn back for now’.
But as I attempted to manoeuvre my board in the opposite direction, the wind became more forceful and I found myself floating even further out to sea.
‘Oh no,’ I said.
'Am I going to die?'
I stopped paddling, but that only caused me to drift away faster.
‘Help!’ I shouted, as I began paddling again.
But it was no use — the land was drifting further into the distance.
I looked on in horror as Tara, Tommy and April became tiny dots.
I wondered if I could swim to shore, but the sea was so rough and I wasn’t a confident swimmer.
My eyes widened as the reality of what was happening began to sink in.
Am I going to die? I wondered.
Then I realised I had to fight — my kids needed me.
And, besides, I hadn’t seen the last episode of Line of Duty.
I’m not missing that! I thought.
I began paddling with all my strength against the waves, but my hands were numb with the cold and from gripping my paddle so tightly.
After paddling for about 40 minutes, I felt exhausted and began to lose hope.
Then I heard a whirring noise and looked up to see a helicopter.
I thought: Hallelujah, I’m being saved!
The helicopter circled before flying down as close to the sea as possible. Then I spotted a man letting off a flare and realised he was signalling my location.
Moments later, I saw a bright-orange boat approaching and breathed a sigh of relief.
The boat stopped next to me, and three figures in yellow suits hoisted me aboard.
‘Thank you,’ I said, as they wrapped a blanket around me.
‘Let’s get you a cup of tea,’ one of my rescuers said.
I was shaking and every single muscle in my body ached from the strain of paddling for so long.
But I was safe.
‘Where are Tommy and April?’ I said. ‘They need to know I’m OK.’
I was reassured the coastguard had been informed and my children would meet us at the dock.
My rescuers explained that they were volunteers from the RNLI and had been called out to rescue me after receiving an alert.
My eyes filled with tears as I realised how lucky I’d been.
Back at the docks, I sat with the RNLI volunteers in the office. They explained that the wind speed was 45 mph and I’d done the right thing by staying on my board.
‘If you’d gone in the water, it could have been a totally different story,’ a volunteer said.
Eventually, the door swung open and in walked Tara and my children.
‘Well that was fun wasn’t it, Mum!’ April said, as she ran over to give me a hug.
Tara cried and said: ‘I tried to come in after you but the water was too deep.’
April told me how scared she’d been, but Tommy had tried to comfort and reassure her.
I told him: ‘I’m so proud of you.’
After recovering from my ordeal, I made the journey back from Girvan to our home in Beith, North Ayrshire.
When we arrived, my husband was relieved to see me.
‘I feared the worst when the kids rang me,’ he said.
In the days that followed, I read up on the RNLI and learnt that they relied on donations to fund their rescues.
I told my family: ‘I’m going to raise as much as I can for them.’
So, I roped in a group of friends to take part in a sponsored cycle on a seven-seater bike.
We raised over £1000 and I was able to present the team that saved my life with the cheque.
Now, I’m making it my mission to spread the word about the RNLI. They’re real-life superheroes and don’t get enough recognition.
*Tara’s name has been changed.