Windsurfer calls on Anglia Water for better safety measures after fearing for his life in Rutland Water accident

An experienced windsurfer has called for tighter safety measures at a popular watersports venue after an incident which left him fearing for his life.

Paul Mills, who has been windsurfing for more than 40 years, feared he was going to drown after coming off his board at Rutland Water.

The 58-year-old financial adviser dislocated his shoulder in the fall, leaving him unable to swim to the safety of his board, but his pleas for rescue went unseen.

Please note - the video below contains swearing

“There were moments where I thought ‘I don’t want to go out like this’,” Paul recalled.

“I’ve been in tricky situations, and I know I do a sport that’s dangerous, but that’s why we take every single precaution we can.

“But at that point I thought ‘this is not how I want to go out - I've got so much I want to do in retirement, this is crazy, where are the boats?’”

Paul, who also has a coastal skipper’s licence to cruise yachts, is alarmed that his capsize was not spotted and no emergency boats came to help.

Now he wants to know what happened and what safety measures are in place to prevent it happening again.

“I’d been out there two-and-a-half hours and I think I saw one boat, when I was going back in, helping someone else out,” he said.

“My board was floating a 100 metres away from me with no-one sat on it. A lookout would have seen that and then be looking to see where the person is.

“I’ve had injuries in the past but within minutes I’ve been fished out of the water by the emergency boat.

“For me that is something serious waiting to happen. This is something deadly.”

He added: “I was lucky on that day.

“Believe you me, six weeks on I am counting my blessings every day because of that.

“It’s not put me off windsurfing, but I will only go if I know I’ve got an emergency boat to keep an eye on me all the time. That should be a given.”

Paul windsurfed twice a week at Carsington Water, near Ashbourne, as well as the coast, but tried Rutland Water after moving from Derbyshire to Hickling, near Melton Mowbray, around a year ago.

But trouble struck during just his third visit to the reservoir on August 24.

“The wind suddenly gusted up and I thought ‘have I caught something?’ because I could feel the back of the board bouncing.

“Suddenly I was bounced off my board, away from my harness, and the board kept going.

“You’ve got your wetsuit and buoyancy aid on so you’re OK, but you quickly realise you've got to get after your board because that’s your main flotation and you need to be out of the water.”

Paul believes he could have been caught out by a dangerous undercurrent, but said he received no advice of areas to avoid or made aware of safety protocols on any of his visits.

Then the situation became more serious.

“I went to swim after the board and my arm wouldn’t work,” he said.

“I’d dislocated my shoulder and was in agony. I tried to sidecrawl towards the board but because it was very windy and the waves started to come over, I knew I couldn’t get to it.

“Then I looked at the shore and realised it was too far away and wondered ‘how am I going to get out of this?’.

“You’re taught all of the safety things and to do the signs to shore so that they can see you’re in difficulty - but no-one came.

“There was 10 minutes where I was bobbing around in the water and went into panic attack. I was really struggling.”

Rescue when it came, did so by chance.

“Thank God I heard a motorboat coming up near me and two guys, in their late 60s or early 70s, were fishing.

“These guys were saints. I could hardly speak, I’d got no air in my lungs and I said ‘please help me, please help me’.

“They couldn’t lift me in, but I hooked my ankle over the boat and, with them dragging me, managed to roll into the boat. I was in shock.

“I don’t think they realised how dangerous that situation was.”

He added: “If that had been in the winter months, hypothermia would have set in very, very quickly. Luckily it was summer and the water was quite warm.”

So far, the lack of response from Rutland Watersports Centre and Anglian Water Parks, which owns the reservoir, has caused further upset.

Paul says the centre did not respond until the incident was posted on social media.

“I’ve had one five-minute phone call saying they will look into it and get back to me but they haven’t.

“I’ve sent several emails and phone calls to find out what’s happening and nothing.

“All I’m looking for is acknowledgement.

“Someone’s going to die and that’s what scares the hell out of me. They've not got it right.”

Paul was wearing a camera on his helmet so the incident was captured on video.

Paul’s wife Lisa has also contacted the Adventures Activities Licensing Scheme, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), which has a teaching centre at the reservoir, as well as Peterborough Council’s environmental health department and Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP for Rutland.

Windsurfers and all water sports users can buy an annual permit or pay per session, as Paul did.

Everyone is asked to register at the watersports centre, based on Bull Brig Lane, Whitwell, before accessing the water and told that buoyancy aids and life jackets must be worn at all times.

“We take the health and safety of all our park visitors and water users incredibly seriously and have carried out an investigation into the incident in question,” said an Anglian Water spokesperson.

“We are confident all our necessary safety and rescue procedures were available, followed correctly and exceeded the recommendations from RYA guidance.

“However, we are reviewing the safety advice given to water users on good practices, including wearing appropriate safety gear for their sport and participating in activities with a buddy where possible.”