Isle of Wight whale rescue's first men to go into the sea

Paul Blackley, of Freshwater, was one of the first to respond to an urgent plea from Hayley Kennedy, who, on social media, posted the alert just after 7am this morning (Saturday, October 5).

Hayley's husband, Nick, of Totland, had discovered a young pilot whale, on a stretch of beach between Brook car park and Isle of Wight Pearl, near Brighstone, after being alerted by his dog, Diesel.

Read more: 

• Isle of Wight seaside recovery of dead whale near Brook
• Isle of Wight whale recovery hampered by high tide 

Nick Kennedy with his dog, Diesel. (Image: Hayley Kennedy) A call went in to Solent Coastguard, who sent out the Needles Coastguard Rescue Team, followed by a team of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group and the Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Team.

Nick, who spent time, chest height in water, supporting the whale, said he wouldn't have seen it unless Diesel had barked.

He said: "I was walking along and didn't see it. Then the dog started barking a lot, I turned around and copped eyes on it and thought it was dead.

Read more: Isle of Wight beach rescue attempt for stranded whale

"I walked up closer and noticed it was flicking its tail, lying on its back, and thought it's not getting upright, so decided to wade in, flipped it on its side and thought, what do I do — I can't leave it here like this and phone the police.

"I thought I was going to need help here, then another guy came along to help, and we stayed there until other people turned up.

Read more: Isle of Wight beach saw fin whale wash up 18 years ago

"I tried to keep it in deeper water, facing upright and into the waves, to help keep it alive. I saw something about that in a TV programme about beached whales in New Zealand.

"It was definitely in distress and had damage to it. It's breathing was really slow when we got there, but once we got it upright, it got itself into more of a pattern of breathing.

"A couple of times it did try to swim, but when we let go of it, it rolled onto its side, like it lost its balance." 

Paul Blackley in the sea with Sienna Anderson. Photo: Nick KennedyThe first picture taken of the stranded whale. (Image: Nick Kennedy) Paul, who has experience of rescuing beached pilot whales, after being involved in one in New Zealand in 1993, joined Nick to help him with Sienna Anderson.

Paul said: "I saw the post from an ex-colleague on WhatsApp early this morning, grabbed some buckets and towels and headed straight out there.

"It looked as if it had been beached for a while and its balance had gone. It didn't seem to be well.

"Every time it tried to swim, it rolled upside down and was struggling to right itself. It was desperately trying to breathe.

Read more: Isle of Wight beach rescue of stranded whale

"It was struggling to stay upright, so I was helping to keep it upright, with its blowhole at the top, so it wouldn't drown."

The whale was also bleeding, from abrasion on its underside, from beaching on the pebbles and rocks, said Paul. 

"I was with it in the sea for some time on my own. It probably weighed about two tons.

"It is a youngster and quite thin, so it's mother should be around.

"The vet was on its way from Sandown and it wanted to get back to shore, but we decided to keep it in the sea until the vet arrived, as we felt it would be more stressed if we brought it to shore.

"There were also a lot of people on the beach by this time. 

"I stayed there until the Needles and Ventnor coastguard rescue teams, and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue guys arrived."