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Surgeon who drowned off Cornwall was trying to help his sons, inquest hears Surgeon who drowned off Cornwall was trying to help his sons, inquest hears
(about 4 hours later)
A respected surgeon drowned off a popular Cornish surfing beach as he tried to rescue his two sons who themselves had gone to the aid of teenagers struggling in fierce currents, an inquest has heard. A respected surgeon drowned off a popular Cornish surfing beach after he swam into powerful waves to help his teenage sons try to save holidaymakers and day-trippers caught in the dangerous currents.
Stuart Calder, 52, got caught in a powerful rip current and was dragged out to sea as he attempted to save his sons Hugo and Milo after they went to help two teenage brothers. Stuart Calder, 52, dashed into the water to assist his sons, Hugo and Milo, who were attempting to rescue youngsters and adults by ferrying them to safety on their surf boards, an inquest heard on Monday.
Calder, who worked in Leeds, drowned alongside Rachel Dunn, 42, and her partner Kevin Reynolds, 44, in the incident at Mawgan Porth beach near Newquay, north Cornwall. Calder drowned alongside Rachel Dunn, 42, and her partner Kevin Reynolds, 44, in the tragedy at Mawgan Porth beach near Newquay, north Cornwall, during a half-term holiday.
The orthopaedic surgeon had gone into the sea to help his sons, who were trying to assist teenage brothers Gethin and William Robson after they got into difficulty while swimming. Hugo Calder, 18, described coming face to face with his father’s apparently lifeless body, trying to haul him on to his board but having to give up and scramble back to shore.
Cornwall coroner’s court heard that members of the public who were on the beach – many on holiday as it was a school half-term break – risked their lives to go into the water to help those in trouble. He told the inquest: “The current was too strong and the waves meant I couldn’t keep hold of my dad. We had to leave him in order to get back to the shore.”
But some experienced surfers told the hearing that the current was too strong that day and the water should have been closed off. In a written statement, Hugo, who is on a gap year before university, said he and his family knew the beach well and described himself as an experienced surfer.
Lifeguards were not patrolling the beach when the incident took place in October last year. The beach is only patrolled between March and September. He said: “On arrival I was not aware of any unusual weather conditions and I was not aware of any warning signs.” He and his younger brother Milo, 15, went surfing while their father remained on the beach in his wetsuit as he had a sore back.
The RNLI search and rescue charity, coastguard, police, ambulance service, air ambulance and a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter were all involved in the rescue. Hugo said that the pair had surfed for 20 minutes when a girl asked him to help her get back to shore. “I got her on to my board. I was able to hold her and I got her to the shallow water.”
Calder and Dunn were rescued by people on the beach while Reynolds was pulled from the sea by a helicopter crew. People on the beach carried out CPR on Calder and Dunn until paramedics arrived. He said he turned back to the waves and saw Milo helping another teenager, Gethin Robson, and pointing to where Gethin’s brother, William, was also struggling. Hugo reached William, who grabbed his board and they started heading towards the shore.
All three were unconscious and were airlifted to the Royal Cornwall hospital in Treliske but later pronounced dead. Postmortem examinations found all three had drowned. Next Hugo saw Kevin Reynolds in trouble. “I noticed a man further out to sea who was shouting for help. He managed to get to us and hold on to the board. There were now three of us on the board.”
Holidaymaker Brendan Prince, an experienced lifeguard and surfer, told the hearing how he did not go into the sea that day because he felt it was too dangerous. By this time Hugo’s father was also in the water. “I saw my dad and he was trying to swim towards me,” said Hugo. “He was fighting the waves and looked panicky and was shouting for help.
He described seeing about a dozen people in the water but noted there were “no serious surfers” in the sea or any lifeguards on duty. “I left the two other people holding on to my board and swam towards him. I reached him and we both managed to get back to my board. There were now four of us holding on to the board and it was becoming more difficult.
“If you grow up knowing these conditions they are blindingly obvious,” he said. “But if you don’t you can be taken by them.” “We tried to swim back to the shore but we were getting thrown around and hit by the waves and the board was sinking a bit. We caught up with Milo and I moved over to his board so there would be three on each. I shouted to everyone to hold on.”
Asked by Cornwall coroner Emma Carlyon about lifeguard cover, Prince replied: “If there was a lifeguard service on duty they would not have allowed people into the water. I personally feel on that day the beach would have been red flagged.” But when he looked back he saw all three had fallen off his board. “All of a sudden my board flew past with no one on it. I felt something terrible had happened. The next thing I remember was that my dad’s lifeless body was near to me in the water. I tried to get hold of the body and get him on to Milo’s board but he kept falling off.”
Daniel Hatfield, a volunteer coastguard who was on duty on the day, agreed with Prince’s assessment. “The conditions were not favourable to surfing and possibly lifeguards would have red flagged the beach,” he said. The inquest heard that lifeguards only operated on the beach from March to September. The tragedy took place during half-term in October last year. Hugo added: “I think it would be worthwhile in the future having lifeguards on the beach at busy times to help people who get into difficulty.”
Commenting on the lack of lifeguard cover during a school half-term holiday, Hatfield said: “I think that is something you would have to ask the RNLI. I am not aware of their resources.” William Robson described seeing Rachel Dunn with a bodyboard looking “oblivious to her surroundings”. Kevin Reynolds shouted: “Swim, Rachel!”, but she did not respond.
At the time of the accident in October last year the RNLI released video footage of a lifeboat crew from Newquay searching the area where the incident happened. No one is shown in the water, but it showed the rough conditions and towering waves in which the victims were caught. Robson said he was thrown under the water and when he surfaced could not see the shore or the surfboard. “I felt as if I was in the middle of the ocean, I was terrified. Then Rachel was washed on to my shoulder. I didn’t know if she was alive or dead. I saw Stuart face down, and swam over to see if I could help him. He didn’t respond in any way.” Reynolds was pulled from the sea by a helicopter crew.
The inquest continues. Calder, who worked in Leeds, Dunn and Reynolds – from St Austell in Cornwall – were airlifted to hospital but could not be saved.
Brendan Prince, an experienced lifeguard and surfer, told the hearing in Truro, Cornwall, how he did not go into the sea that day because he felt it was too dangerous.
Prince said: “If there was a lifeguard service on duty they would not have allowed people into the water. I personally feel on that day the beach would have been red flagged.”
Daniel Hatfield, a volunteer coastguard member who was on duty on the day, added: “The conditions were not favourable to surfing and possibly lifeguards would have red flagged the beach.”
Dr Emma Carlyon, the senior coroner for Cornwall, concluded that the deaths of all three had been accidental.