Hastings Lifeboat and Bexhill Coastguard Respond to Wing-Foiler in Trouble Off Seafront

HM Coastguard Bexhill and the Hastings lifeboat were tasked to assist after members of the public raised the alarm about a wing‑foiler appearing to be in trouble off Bexhill‑on‑Sea. The line comes verbatim from the incident material and identifies both responding agencies and the location.

Witnesses on Bexhill seafront reported seeing the wing‑foiler struggling at sea for more than an hour, prompting multiple 999 calls from people on the seafront and the subsequent mobilisation of emergency crews. The duration of the observation - more than an hour - is recorded in multiple accounts of the event.

A lifeboat from Hastings and a team from HM Coastguard Bexhill attended the scene; one account records that the lifeboat was scrambled and later arrived on scene. On social media a local post said: "The lifeboat arrived on scene, at which point the foiler elected to swim ashore. They had been becalmed and were unable to make progress on" — that Facebook excerpt is included in the supplied material and is the only source to describe the foiler electing to swim ashore and to attribute the difficulty to being becalmed.

The incident is recorded as taking place on February 23, 2026 in the event metadata supplied with the reports. The available accounts do not include a precise time offshore, the distance the foiler was from shore, the foiler’s identity, or whether lifeboat or coastguard crew provided medical checks or further assistance once the person reached the beach.

No official statement from HM Coastguard Bexhill or Hastings RNLI is included in the supplied material; the Original Report documents that members of the public raised the alarm and that emergency crews were mobilised after "multiple 999 calls from people on" the seafront, with that fragment preserved in the record. The supplied material also contains an unrelated Bournemouth Echo excerpt noting a January 20 call to Poole Coastguard Rescue Team to Poole Harbour and Salterns Marina, which is not linked to the Bexhill incident in the available notes.

The consolidated facts from the reports place the response squarely with HM Coastguard Bexhill and Hastings RNLI, the subject as a wing‑foiler, and the catalyst for the response as sustained observation by people on Bexhill seafront and multiple emergency calls. Officials from HM Coastguard Bexhill and Hastings RNLI remain the agencies able to confirm incident reference numbers, exact timelines, and any follow‑up actions taken by crews.