He was seen dipping beneath the water after leaving his board when he was caught out by a ‘flash’ rip that had formed shortly before high tide on Wednesday.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeguard supervisor Nathan Elms – a champion surfer – was training in the water on a rescue craft, a large surfboard, as the tide came in.
Shortly before 5 pm a colleague signalled to him and pointed to the distressed bodyboarder, who is thought to be in his late 20s.
