At 17:58 on Thursday 07 October, whilst on routine exercise, the St Peter Port all weather lifeboat (Spirit of Guernsey) was diverted to an injured open water swimmer by Guernsey VTS & Guernsey Coastguard. The swimmer had sustained a serious laceration to their left leg whilst attempting to board an accompanying safety vessel which at the time was west of Brecqhou Island.
The St Peter Port RNLI Lifeboat arrived on scene at 18:09 and transferred a crew member to the safety vessel to assess the casualty's condition.
Due to the serious nature of the injury and the close proximity to Guernsey, it was decided to leave the casualty onboard the safety vessel which made best speed back to St Peter Port arriving in the harbour at 18:17 where it was met by St Johns Ambulance staff.
Once stabilised, the casualty was transferred to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital by road Ambulance for further treatment.
The St Peter Port Lifeboat was back on station by 18:25.
This case marked the 2000th incident that Guernsey Coastguard has co-ordinated since it came into being in 2011.