Slight navigational miscalculation...

[Area 10]

German tourist goes paddleboarding in fleece and shorts, and ends up being rescued in the middle of the English Channel, 7 miles from shore.

Inshore air here is around 12C (54F) and water is around 16C (61F). It will be colder offshore, obviously. There has been a F4-5 rather chilly Northerly (offshore) wind blowing for the last few days. The English Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world (it separates England from France) and you wouldn't normally cross it without a boat escort.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37615286

If he was spotted at dawn, it makes you wonder when he had set off.

At least he was wearing a hat

Nice to have a happy outcome, and he'll have a story to tell. Maybe he's a zoner?

[supuk]

most people are saying its a he was probably a immigrant, unlikely to have paddled 14 or so miles over night into a headwind.. across the channel... on a inflatable... with a massive bag on board!  more likely dropped close to were he was found by a boat and planned to paddle the last bit. If he had set of from the uk there are easier and cheaper ways to get back to France or Germany i don't think it was just some one "lost at sea"

[Area 10]

The BBC news report says:

"A Home Office spokesman said the man had become disorientated on his paddleboard.
He said: "The man was a German tourist in distress, but who was in the country legally."
He added: "He was not an illegal immigrant."

Why would the government lie?

Isn't it more likely that he is a dimwit who just got blown offshore? If it's an inflatable, then maybe the bag is the bag the board comes in?

But it's an interesting take on the Brexit-style paranoia about immigrants to think that now our shores are being invaded by flotillas of illegal immigrants on paddłeboards.

Hope he was wearing a leash or we'll never hear the end of this

[supuk]

The story I read was aprently from the boat that found him and reported him saying he seamed un distressed and all ok they said it didn't look like he had been on the water very long and could still smell aftershave lol who knows doesn't sound quite right to me

[Area 10]

Well, who knows the truth? Unfortunately people will spread information that reflect their concerns and political affiliations.

If this man was wearing only shorts, a fleece, and a cap and was 7 miles off shore in a moderate breeze blowing him to France in this weather, then he'd have to be totally nuts not to be concerned.

Or perhaps he was indeed disorientated so didn't realise the seriousness of his situation. Or there may even have been a medical issue behind his confusion - which might also be why we do not know his name.

In the absence of a more reliable source, I'm going with the BBC and the UK government's version of events rather than the "illegal immigrant (perhaps a deadly terrorist?) posing as a newly-shaven German tourist, dropped off by people-smugglers in the middle of the channel and carrying his worldy possessions with him on a paddleboard, is unconcerned when a British Naval ship finds him 7 miles off the coast of the UK wearing typical German tourist garb, planning his invasion of British waters" account.

[yugi]

He could have been smuggling something else than himself. And dumped it when approached.

If he was out all night he'd be frozen. It is too early in the morning and too under dressed to make any sort of normal outing Even a dumbass.

Anyway. The stuff I see people doing in the mountians just makes me surprised how few deaths there are. Beginners luck is an awesome tool!

[Area 10]

Ok, so now he's a cologne-wearing illegal immigrant drug smuggler who had just dumped his load? Smuggling drugs (or anything else) by paddleboard across the English Channel is about the most unlikely way you'd ever smuggle anything. It's dangerous. Unless you were an elite paddler you'd never make it.

If he had outwear and had managed to stay out of the water, he could have survived all night. Or maybe he just went for a sunrise paddle, took a wrong turn in the gloom, and paddled with the wind offshore. Or got drunk the night before and then suddenly a midnight paddle seemed like a good idea, and was picked up 6 hours later 7 miles offshore hung over and feeling like an idiot, still unsure of where he was.

But of course he could instead be an elite SUPer who is paying for his boards by smuggling in Hugo Boss aftershave from France, and rather than the media making huge money by running with a story about paddleboard smugglers which would make headlines all over the world, they decided instead to suppress the story and bury it with some cover-up by MI5 about lost German tourists. Yep, that's the most likely explanation of events.

[TallDude]

That far out on an inflatable?  The guy is crazy. Was it a name brand board or some Chinese pop out drop stitch crap. These BBC reporter's have to get their details straight.

[Bulky]

A couple reports (like this one) say he took off from France at midnight.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/10/paddleboarder-wearing-only-hat-fleece-and-shorts-picked-up-off-uk-coast

Still absolute lunacy if that's the case--to attempt a crossing like that on an inflatable in the dark without escort.  But not unheard of.  Santa Cruz Island is about 26mi off the beach where I launch and on clear days looks huge and "not that far away".  I'd say at least once every year or so there's a rescue of someone who rented a kayak off the beach and figured they'd just paddle over there.

Given all the major things overlooked, I'm less concerned about what he was wearing.  Kinda figures.  That said, I warm up so quickly when paddling that I'm typically in a rash guard and board shorts if it's anything over 50F.

More curious by the quote that ends the article: 
"There is quite a lot of this going on, but it is a polarising issue so the government does not want it known.”

International intrigue?  Polarising issues?  Being a SUPer just got way more badass.

[supuk]

this was one of the ones i read that seamed to be believable

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/german-man-channel-uk-paddleboard-dover-france-a7354811.html

[Area 10]

this was one of the ones i read that seamed to be believable

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/german-man-channel-uk-paddleboard-dover-france-a7354811.html

Ok, that article has changed my mind about this.

If he was smelling of Lynx aftershave he clearly had criminal intent

[Area 10]

A couple reports (like this one) say he took off from France at midnight.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/10/paddleboarder-wearing-only-hat-fleece-and-shorts-picked-up-off-uk-coast

Still absolute lunacy if that's the case--to attempt a crossing like that on an inflatable in the dark without escort.  But not unheard of.  Santa Cruz Island is about 26mi off the beach where I launch and on clear days looks huge and "not that far away".  I'd say at least once every year or so there's a rescue of someone who rented a kayak off the beach and figured they'd just paddle over there.

Given all the major things overlooked, I'm less concerned about what he was wearing.  Kinda figures.  That said, I warm up so quickly when paddling that I'm typically in a rash guard and board shorts if it's anything over 50F.

More curious by the quote that ends the article: 
"There is quite a lot of this going on, but it is a polarising issue so the government does not want it known.”

International intrigue?  Polarising issues?  Being a SUPer just got way more badass.

There's a lot of anxiety in the UK at the moment about illegal immigrants, economic migrants, and refugees coming to the UK via France. It is probably what led to the UK voting to leave the EU a couple of months ago, leading to all sorts of economic and political problems for both us and the EU, and our Prime Minister was forced to resign.

So there's a general sense amongst the population that we are "under siege" from foreigners, and this story is playing to that narrative. It is possible I suppose that the UK government would lie about this in the current climate. But actually the story of another illegal immigrant being caught would actually suit the government's narrative, so this doesn't seem terribly likely. But who knows? This whole "Brexit" saga has been nuts for us, and is equivalent for us of the remarkable situation you've got with Trump vs Clinton, in that the normal rules of politics seem to have been suspended. It's hard to know what to believe: The normal commitment to telling the truth seems to have been suspended.

Is that a RRD paddleboard?

[Bulky]

If he was smelling of Lynx aftershave he clearly had criminal intent

What?  You guys don't carry aftershave with you when you paddle?  I insist on smelling good and apply some every few miles.

There's a lot of anxiety in the UK at the moment about illegal immigrants, economic migrants, and refugees coming to the UK via France. It is probably what led to the UK voting to leave the EU a couple of months ago, leading to all sorts of economic and political problems for both us and the EU, and our Prime Minister was forced to resign.

So there's a general sense amongst the population that we are "under siege" from foreigners, and this story is playing to that narrative. It is possible I suppose that the UK government would lie about this in the current climate. But actually the story of another illegal immigrant being caught would actually suit the government's narrative, so this doesn't seem terribly likely. But who knows? This whole "Brexit" saga has been nuts for us, and is equivalent for us of the remarkable situation you've got with Trump vs Clinton, in that the normal rules of politics seem to have been suspended. It's hard to know what to believe: The normal commitment to telling the truth seems to have been suspended.

Thanks, A10, nice to know we haven't completely cornered the market on Zenophobic paranoia.  Best keep a lid on this lest we get a bunch of Canadians making their way here on ULIs.

[Area 10]

Well, you know who we have to blame for all this English Channel paddleboarding malarky, don't you??

Blame Laird, of course

https://boards.co.uk/news/1758-london-to-paris-laird-hamilton-style.html

[pdxmike]

I'd guess this is a counter-attack by the Falkland Islands.  The guy probably is just arriving, and made up the thing about coming from France.  And anyone would be disoriented after paddling for several years across the Atlantic. I bet if they check his playlist on his cell phone Walkman, there won't be anything newer than Olivia Newton-John.