Portaferry RNLI’s volunteer crew were paged at 1.10pm on Sunday afternoon (25 August) at the request of Belfast Coastguard following a report that three kayaks had been spotted, possibly in difficulty, by a member of the public walking their dog.
The inshore lifeboat helmed by Chris Adair, and with Rosslyn Watret, Molly Crowe and Paddy Lowry onboard, launched immediately and headed in the direction of last sighting. Conditions at the time had a Force 6 strong south-westerly breeze with a choppy sea state.
On the shore of Salt Island, the crew found an inflatable kayak with one adult and one child onboard. It emerged that the group had been enjoying a camping trip out on one of the islands when they were caught out by the weather as they returned ashore.
The first two kayakers were transferred onboard the lifeboat and brought to the Killyleagh Yacht Club pontoon before the lifeboat crew returned to continue the search.
Meanwhile, the wind and tide had carried the remaining two adults and two children further east to the Sound of Wee Wife near the Launches, at the back of Salt Island.
However, with the tide dropping, the water was now too shallow for the lifeboat to be brought close enough to lift these additional casualties.
The lifeboat repositioned and with the guidance of the crew, the remaining casualties launched their inflatable kayak and Canadian canoe and allowed themselves to be carried further into Strangford Lough and away from shallow waters where the lifeboat crew were waiting to pick them up.
Once ashore, all six were transferred into the care of Newcastle Coastguard team.
Speaking later, Portaferry RNLI helm Chris Adair said: “This call-out was made more challenging given the conditions we faced but we were delighted to get all six kayakers ashore safely and we wish them well.
“We commend the member of the public for raising the alarm; his quick thinking really made a difference today. We would always ask the public to make that call immediately if they think someone is in difficulty. We would rather launch the lifeboat and find everyone is OK than not launch at all.
“We would always recommend checking the weather and tides before planning a trip. Both the weather and water can be unpredictable and we would recommend making sure you prepare yourself with a means of calling for help if something unplanned happens.
“As demonstrated today, if you are in trouble or see someone who may be in difficulty on the water, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.”
