At 5pm on the wild afternoon of 15 February, during Storm Dennis, residents of St Mary’s Island spotted a naked man “sheltering in a tent” on a small rowing boat, anchored just a few metres from the shore. Apparently he was afraid to lift the anchor in case the dinghy was blown away in the extreme conditions. After a rescue operation involving the Coastguard, the RNLI all weather lifeboat, firefighters, police and ambulance crews, the man was brought ashore at 7.30pm.