Neil Westmorland and son Daniel saved by off-duty RNLI crewman Cameron Bond when they were thrown from their boat while fishing off the Redcar coast
View gallery Neil and Daniel Westmorland rescued by RNLI
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A father and son who survived for 40 minutes in the sea after being thrown from their fishing boat say they owe their lives to lifeboat crewmen.
Neil Westmorland and his son Daniel were thrown from their boat, the Ann West, while fishing three miles off the coast of Redcar after a freak engine accident on Saturday.
But they were saved by off-duty RNLI crewman Cameron Bond who responded to a Mayday call - after their boat, which was circling near them for 40 minutes, ran out of petrol and Daniel, 27, was able to get back on board.
Neil, 53, said: “I thought that we were going to die. If it wasn’t for the RNLI, we wouldn’t be here today to tell the story. It was terrifying. They deserve so much credit for what they did.”
Neil and Daniel, of Darlington, were three miles offshore when their boat’s outboard engine - which was being used for the first time after Neil replaced the old one two months ago - broke down.
As they were changing into waders to gut their catch, neither had on a lifejacket. And while they attempted to fix the engine, it restarted - in gear and set to full speed - immediately hurling both men into the sea.
Neil said: “I saw Daniel go straight over and I cartwheeled off into the water. I’m not a very good swimmer, so I didn’t know how long I could last. I just tried to do a doggy paddle, and when I got tired just kick my legs to keep afloat.
“We got split up and that was the worst part. I thought my son might have drowned.
“But then I heard his voice shout and that spurred me on to keep going.”
The fishing boat circled in front of the two men for 40 minutes until it ran out of fuel and Daniel was able to climb back in to send out a Mayday distress call at around 12.30pm.
Dad-of-three Neil had been carried nearly a quarter of a mile away by the tide.
But things could have been worse, said Neil, who works in property maintenance.
“We sometimes go out with a friend who is the same age as me. If there’d been three of us we’d have been done for I think,” he said.
“We’d set off from Redcar to Staithes on Saturday morning, but when we got there we realised we’d forgotten our tackle box. We came back to Redcar to get that before going back out. If we hadn’t, there’d have been more petrol in the engine and Daniel would never have got back on board.”
While the Redcar RNLI lifeboat was tasked after the Mayday, a nearby fishing boat, Nimrod II, also responded - with RNLI volunteer Cameron Bond and his son Jordan on board.
Cameron found Neil in the water, and said: “When we pulled the man from the sea he was shaking violently and he couldn’t speak.
“I knew from my RNLI training that I had to get the guy back to the beach as fast as I could so the crew from the lifeboat station could give him first aid.”
The lifeboat crew then found Daniel, a web developer, on the boat and after first aid the pair were taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by ambulance.
Luckily, the father and son left hospital just hours later with no serious injuries.
Neil, who has fished from Redcar for seven years, said: “I can’t say thank you enough to the RNLI, Coastwatch in Redcar, and all the ambulance and hospital staff.
“We know how lucky we are.”
Dave Cocks from Redcar RNLI, said: “The two men have had an extremely lucky escape.
“It was extremely fortunate that one of our own lifeboat crew members was at sea fishing when the Mayday went out.
“He was quickly on scene to rescue the man from the water, otherwise it could have been tragic.”
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