A BURNHAM sailing enthusiast was rescued after her boat was capsized by a ‘freak wave’ during a regatta race.
Sue Walker had been competing against around a dozen other boats with husband Andy when their 16ft vessel was struck and she was tipped over the side.
She was in the water near Stert Island for about ten minutes but fellow Burnham Sailing Club members came to her aid.
Sue said: “It happened so quickly. We saw a wave behind us but we couldn’t really do anything about it. It tipped the boat and my weight was on that side, and over I went.
“I’m a strong swimmer, so I wasn’t frightened and stayed surprisingly calm. We were doing well with the race and thought we were in for a chance – but that was cut short.
“There were no injuries, except to my pride, perhaps. It was comforting to know there were other people around and everybody rallied around – but I didn’t want to spoil their race.
“The lesson is these things happen and you have to be prepared.”
Burnham RNLI was alerted at 1.34pm, following the incident on Saturday, but stood down five minutes later.
Club president Dave Humphrey said: “I was on the committee boat and the race was going well but, unfortunately, due to the weather, the boat was tipped over. Other boats were nearby and Sue was picked up within ten minutes, so all’s well that ends well.”
Mrs Walker has not been deterred from sailing and took part in a race the following day, where they came ninth out of 11 competitors.
I guess the lesson to be learned from this story is the comment by Mrs. Walker: “The lesson is these things happen and you have to be prepared.” It is easy to say than done. But one just can not over emphasize such a life lesson by any means!
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