I am walking the South West Coast Path, a 630 mile trek from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset.  This will take me 45 days, starting on April 19th and finishing on June 2nd.   Famously, by the time its completed, I will have climbed the equivalent of 4 x Mount Everest.......yes it's hilly!! 

On 4th August 2016, I was messing around in the waves, with my family, at Trebarwith Strand (see cover photo), on the North Cornwall coast.  It is a beautiful beach, and usually very quiet even in summer.  I suddenly found myself out of my depth and as I am not a strong swimmer, tried to swim back towards the beach.  However, I experienced a very strong current, a current that pushed against my legs which prevented me making any progress.  Unfortunately I didn't understand riptides, and didn't know what to do......I do now!!!  You might make sure you do before going to the coast next time!!

60 seconds later, having been under the water twice, I realised that I wasn't going to make it - OK this all happened in a very small number of seconds, but I can recall that vivid realisation that I was going to die, and it will stay with me until the actual end!  Especially as I could also see my daughter Lucy also struggling against the riptide - she swam to shore by herself as she is a strong swimmer.  

Then from behind me a body boarder thrust his board at me, and I was almost safe.  A few seconds later, the RNLI lifeguard was with me too, and took me safely to the beach.  I can never be grateful enough for what they both did, as without them I wouldn't be here today, and able to set off on this exciting 630 miles expedition over 45 days.  

Too many people are still drowning. More than ever we need the RNLI’s help. As a charity, the RNLI depends on our donations so it can go on saving lives and keeping us and our loved ones safe. RNLI lifesavers are our lifeline. They’re the lifeboat crews who provide 24-hour search and rescue right around the UK and Ireland. The lifeguards keeping watch on 240 of the busiest beaches in the UK and Channel Islands. And the RNLI safety teams and educators working tirelessly to stop people getting into trouble in the first place.Thank you.