Aran Islands RNLI came to the aid of three kayakers who failed to return to shore yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 10th September). The alarm was raised when they were reported overdue.
The volunteer crew were initially requested to launch their all-weather lifeboat at 2 pm for a medical evacuation from Inis Mór to Ros a Mhíl. However, while the crew had assembled in the Cill Rónain lifeboat station, a member of the public approached the station and alerted the crew that two people were overdue from their kayaking trip around the bay and they had lost communication with them and also with a member of the team who had gone to help them.
The kayakers had been able to radio the kayak rental to let them know that they had been blown ashore. A member of the kayak team went to retrieve them, however with the strong wind, was unable to bring them back to Cill Rónain harbour.
The lifeboat proceeded to launch a search in the bay for the kayakers. The weather was fair, with slight seas, a north westerly, force six wind, and clear skies.
The crew onboard the lifeboat spotted the people in the kayaks a half mile from Cill Rónain pier. They struggled to paddle against the wind and were blown ashore onto the rocks.
The volunteer crew safely transferred all three people and their kayaks onboard and were transferred back to Cill Rónain harbour. Although tired, all were in good spirits and happy to be back on land.
Once the lifeboat was back in Cill Rónain, the lifeboat was stood down and Rescue 115 was tasked to take over the medical evacuation.
Speaking following the call out, Aonghus Ó hIarnáin, Aran Islands RNLI Coxswain said: ‘This was a good outcome that could have been a different story. When kayaking, remember to always bring the correct equipment and tell someone else where you’re going and when you’ll be back. This is exactly what happened today, the kayakers carried a means of communication and were able to alert someone to the fact they were in difficulty. With a person on shore knowing they were overdue, this allowed for the alarm to be raised promptly and for us to go to their aid. Should you get into difficulty or see someone in trouble, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.’
Aran Islands RNLI Rescues Three Kayakers Caught by Offshore Wind off Kilronan Pier
About The Author
Afloat.ie Team
Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.
Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.
We've got a favour to ask
More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.
Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.
So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.