Coastguard: Every Second Counts

In the middle of the day, a motor-powered yacht is in serious trouble along the South Coast. Sinking fast, the two casualties on board call for help and the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Lydd is tasked and have to use all their expertise as they take part in a nail-biting rescue.

A fixed-wing aircraft is flying over UK waters. During the flight, using the advanced technology on board the team observes a vessel operating in a potentially unsafe manner. The footage is sent back to teams at the MCA for review, to see if action is required.

A tanker is to be re-inspected by MCA surveyors in Teesport. The vessel had failed its inspection and was detained and has been docked for 15 days. If the surveyors don't see any previous deficiencies rectified or improvement made, the tanker will not be released.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Fareham receive a 999 call from a passer-by who can hear someone in distress under Boscombe Pier, Bournemouth. The Maritime Operations Officer has to keep the caller calm and retrieve as much info as they can, while other team members send various assets to the scene.

In Prestwick, Scotland, the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter is tasked to a cardiac arrest in the Lake District, but during the flight they are stood down. As the weather worsens, with severe lightning, heavy rain and poor visibility, the crew are sent to another incident. The severe weather makes the mission even more challenging.

Off the Mull of Kintyre, an around-the-UK rowing boat challenge goes disastrously wrong as horrendous weather puts five rowers' lives in jeopardy. The Search and Rescue Helicopter crew at Prestwick are tasked with locating and saving the stranded and isolated rowers despite pitch black visibility, as the boat edges closer to an area of treacherous rocks.

Over on the west coast of Wales, MCA surveyors make an unannounced visit to a harbour. Two vessels that have been previously inspected are assessed again to check that they are safe, and that deficiencies have been addressed. If not, they will be detained and not allowed to go to sea.

On the south coast, a Coastguard Rescue Team is called to an incident onboard a commercial shipping vessel. A crewman is injured and in severe pain but located in an awkward part of the ship. With a suspected broken femur, and the situation becoming increasingly worse, the paramedics require the help of the Coastguard for a successful extraction.

In Sussex,at the iconic Seven Sisters cliffs, a family's sightseeing holiday quickly turns into a fight for survival when they become trapped between coves as the tide comes in and the weather takes a turns for the worse. The Coastguard Helicopter from Lydd is tasked with one of the most challenging rescues possible against the chalky white cliffs.

In the first episode, Totland Bay in the Isle of Wight is the scene of a dangerous boating accident which has left three passengers with serious injuries. Lead investigator Mark Cam of the MCA's Regulatory Compliance Investigations Team (RCIT) examines the incident and to investigate why this near fatal disaster happened. What ensues is a near 18-month investigation with RCIT seeking criminal charges toward the skipper and ultimately, justice for the unfortunate passengers on board.

An 85-year-old woman calls the emergency services as she hangs on for dear life, while treacherous waves crash against her in Llanaber, North Wales. As she clings onto the rocks of the beach's sea defenses, panicked that she can't hold on for much longer, the phone line is disconnected. With little time to waste, the Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) tasks Barmouth Coastguard Rescue Team, as well as Rescue Helicopter 936 from Caernarfon, to search along the coastline. Rescue 936 find it difficult to locate the casualty and MRCC aren't able to make contact, as time is of the essence during this nerve shredding search.

At Bassets Cove in Cornwall, passers-by call for help as they've noticed a couple who have been stranded on a rock cut off by the tide, on the formidable Cornish coastline. Portreath and St. Agnes Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) as well as St. Ives Lifeboat are tasked to the location but no one can get a visual of the couple. It seems the powerful swell has knocked them off the rock and propelled them into a cave. With a risk to life for all involved and sea conditions getting worse, two Coastguard Rescue Helicopter teams along with the CRTs will be involved in one of the most dramatic and dangerous missions in recent memory.

A distress call from a satellite phone comes in from the uninhabitable granite islet Rockall. The casualty was out raising money for charity when the weather turned for the worse and became a threat to his life. Approximately 240 nautical miles away in Stornoway, Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 948 is the only option with the capability to help save the casualty, even though the tasking is just outside their operational remit. So time and fuel are the key factors to everyone's survival.

MCA Surveyor Chris receives two complaints about a foreign registered ship, currently docked in Teesport. Initial reports state a dangerous gangway that is an unsafe means of access for crew members. This can lead to serious injury and in some cases, loss of life. On arrival to inspect the vessel, Chris not only spots the hazardous gangway but a host of other issues which could mean detention of the vessel.

In Aberdaron, north Wales, an onlooker spots a dog down the side of a cliff, with no sign of the owner. Aeronautical Rescue are alerted by the Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre as they fear the owner of the animal may have fallen down the cliff. Rescue Helicopter 936, as well as Aberdaron Coastguard Rescue Team are both tasked with a search for a possible missing person and to rescue the marooned dog.

Five people are stranded down Trevone round hole in Cornwall with Newquay and Padstow Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRTs) tasked to help the isolated casualties. The 80 foot blow hole is linked to the sea and can easily flood when the tide comes in, so the CRTs waste no time in setting up their kit for a technical rope rescue as they'll need to send a cliff technician down the hole to save the casualties.