“It was like being in a washing machine. All we could do was fight enough to breathe”

A young couple from Peterborough credit an RNLI water survival technique with saving their lives after being swept out to sea by a rogue wave.

Katie Laurie and Will Peckham were enjoying a trip along the Welsh coast when the dramatic incident took place.

Enjoying a splash in the water, the pair were suddenly engulfed by a wave with a powerful rip current that dragged them 40 metres out to sea.

Peterborough couple Katie Laurie and Will Peckham . Photo: RNLI/Gerallt Jones

placeholder image — Peterborough couple Katie Laurie and Will Peckham . Photo: RNLI/Gerallt Jones

“We were there jumping over waves and there was a particularly large wave coming towards us,” recounts Will, 26. “We started getting dragged towards it. At first we started trying to outrun it, but we realised that was impossible, so we sort of rode with it. Then we began to realise things were wrong.

"We could see the shore getting further away and thought, well this isn’t good. We realised we couldn’t reach the bottom of the sea floor any more  because we’d been dragged quite further out, and that’s when we started realising we were in difficulty. There was a moment of ‘oh this could be it!”

A teary-eyed Kate, 25, added: "I remember telling you I loved you, I definitely thought were were going to die.”

Fighting against the waves, the couple were becoming exhausted when Katie suddenly remembered an RNLI poster she spotted at the beach entrance, and shouted to Will that he needed to float.

“After the wave went over us, we couldn’t get away, it was pulling us out and the shore was getting further away,” she said. “Being pushed under by the water wore me out – every time I got back up, the waves would push me down again. It was like being in a washing machine. All we could do was fight enough to breathe. 

 ”I was racking my brain for ways not to die, then I remembered I’d seen a sign with the ‘float to live’ advice.

"Whoever put that sign at the beach entrance is a hero. I was exhausted by the time we were rescued. I don't think I would have lasted without floating – the float to live technique really did help to save me.’   

RNLI water safety manager Tirion Dowsett said: “On that particular day the conditions took a turn for the worse. The sea is unpredictable, different things can happen. Katie and Will were really lucky to have seen the Float to Live advice, and to follow it. The fact they knew to get into the float position and keep themselves safe really helped them.”

A spokesperson for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) added: “Floating helped the couple regain their breath and keep their heads above water until they were rescued by RNLI lifeguards.”    

The incident took place in Borth, Wales, in 2022, but the couple are now sharing their story to highlight the RNLI’s ‘Float to Live’ campaign ahead of the summer.

The charity is urging people to 'Float to Live', as new research reveals that, while 85% of people in the UK plan to visit the coast this summer, more than three-quarters (76%) would not think to try and float as their first action if they found themselves struggling in water. They also revealed a shocking 486 people accidentally lost their lives at the UK coast between 2019-2023.

 Katie added: “I feel that the float technique was the difference between life and death. I think if I hadn’t remembered it I would have succumbed to exhaustion long before the lifeguards even got to us. As it is, it was a close call. I was definitely struggling to stay on the surface by the time they got to us. I think, without it, it would have been a different story."