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| Britain |
| Surfer blown from Wales to England |
| 2006-04-14 |
| A windsurfer who went for a quick sail off the south Wales coast had the wind put up him when a gust blew him way off course and across dangerous shipping lanes. Adam Cowles, 24, was blown 68 kilometres from Swansea across the busy Bristol Channel to south-west England, dodging cargo ships as he breezed by. Stunned locals near Lynton, on the north Devon coast, rushed to the aid of the exhausted windsurfer after his three-hour, death-defying ordeal - by taking him straight down the pub. "I had decided to venture just a little further than usual after setting off from close to County Hall," Cowles told the South Wales Evening Post newspaper. "But I knew something was not quite right when I noticed it was just a speck in the far distance. I then went past a cargo ship. "I had a moment of inspiration. I just thought I would carry on and head towards Devon." He emerged from the sea at Woody Bay asking baffled passers-by where he was. "Even though I did not have any money, a couple took me off to a pub and bought me some beer. "There I was sitting in a pub, completely soaking and in my wetsuit but no-one batted an eyelid." Hardly in the mood for a return journey, he then had the tricky task of phoning his wife Sarah to come and collect him 450-kilometre round trip. The sea temperature was just nine degrees centigrade and one slip could have proved fatal. "Turning round would have meant going into the wind and dodging the ships at slow speed - and I didn't like the look of them," The Sun newspaper quoted him as saying. "I was too tired to hang on any more and was afraid of getting into even more trouble. "I was very cold and if I fell off I might not have survived." The local coastguard were not impressed. A spokesman said: "It was a completely foolish thing to do without proper planning. "If he had got into trouble we would have no idea whatsoever where to search." |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #16 Surfer blown from Wales to England I bet his wife almost got lockjaw. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-04-14 18:42 |
| #15 Looks like the Brits should contact Rep. Young or Sen. Stevens for a "bridge to nowhere" to bridge that gap for future windsurfers' wives, lol! |
| Posted by: BA 2006-04-14 15:04 |
| #14 Totally blown away |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-04-14 13:51 |
| #13 "Stunned locals near Lynton, on the north Devon coast, rushed to the aid of the exhausted windsurfer after his three-hour, death-defying ordeal - by taking him straight down the pub." Now there's people who know proper first aid! Perfect treatment for the condition. Spot on! |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-04-14 13:03 |
#12 Stunned locals near Lynton, on the north Devon coast, rushed to the aid of the exhausted windsurfer after his three-hour, death-defying ordeal - by taking him straight down the pub.Ya' gotta love the English! :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-04-14 12:55 |
| #11 "Aw gnarley!" |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-04-14 12:21 |
| #10 #1 - well put "6", and pithily correct. Couple this bloke with the former Royal paratrooper walking around the world, and things don't look so bad. I wonder which Sura covers necessity, mothers, and invention? |
| Posted by: Thrise Flasing4235 2006-04-14 11:57 |
| #9 Thanks for the laugh, JFK. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-04-14 10:39 |
| #8 "Surfer blown from Wales to England" Am I to assume this occurred while he drove cross-country in a '60s' era VW Van? |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-04-14 10:00 |
| #7 That is he cut across a channel and there are no bridges over the channel for about 100 miles. Here's the directions and a little map. |
| Posted by: Snenter Uneck2137 2006-04-14 09:43 |
| #6 He cut straight across the water. His wife had to drive along the coast. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-04-14 09:36 |
| #5 I once windsurfed from Australia to Cambodia. I know because it's seared, seared in my brain... |
| Posted by: John Fn Kerry 2006-04-14 08:55 |
| #4 It's complicated, BA. You'd best leave the calculations to the professionals. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-04-14 08:42 |
| #3 And, how the heck does that translate to a 400+ km round trip for his wife to pick him up, unless England has a lot fewer coastal roads than we do? I'm not sure...just truly asking. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-04-14 08:41 |
| #2 Wind Surfer 68 kilometres = 42.25 miles |
| Posted by: RD 2006-04-14 08:09 |
| #1 Even though I did not have any money, a couple took me off to a pub and bought me some beer. "There I was sitting in a pub, completely soaking and in my wetsuit but no-one batted an eyelid." We'll win. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-14 07:59 |