Cape Town – A surfer had to be rescued after his surfboard leash snapped at the Thermos surf spot, between Granger Bay and the Green Point Lighthouse, on Sunday.
The NSRI Table Bay duty crew were activated at 4.35pm following witness reports of a surfer appearing to be in difficulty while swimming towards Granger Bay, Robyn Silverstone, the NSRI Table Bay duty controller, said in a statement on Monday.
An NSRI Bakoven rescue swimmer responded directly to the scene and NSRI Bakoven duty crew were placed on alert.
A fellow surfer came to his aid and he was able to swim to rocks at Granger Bay. In a lull between the incoming sets of waves, the distressed surfer managed to reach the Dolosse at the Radisson Blu Hotel, said Silverstone.
He was helped out of the water at the hotel, where the NSRI crew assisted him.
Silverstone said the surfer, a local man, was "cold and exhausted but after being rewarmed with a cup of hot chocolate provided to him by staff at Radisson Blu Hotel, he required no further assistance".
The lost surfboard was smashed after being washed up against the rocks and was not recovered, added Silverstone.
There is a ban on social surfing during the level 3 lockdown, but professional surfers are allowed to return to the water.
IOL