#RNLI - Youghal RNLI launched yesterday afternoon (5 August) to a report of an object in the water off Redbarn Strand at Youghal - and picked up a stranded kayaker instead.
The volunteer crew was requested to launch their inshore lifeboat at 2.30pm when a member of the public raised the alarm after spotting something in the water.
The lifeboat, helmed by David Slattery with crew members Martin Morris and Joe Moore on board, located the object minutes after launch. It turned out to be a large human hamster ball that apparently had blown into the water from the strand.
While the crew were taking the ball on board, they spotted a lone male kayaker 50 yards away who had lost his paddle and proceeded to his aid.
The kayaker told the lifeboat crew that he had lost his paddle and was drifting for some time. He was very tired after attempting to paddle with his hands and did not have a spare paddle or any form of communication or flares.
Weather conditions at the time were sunny with a moderate to fresh northerly breeze and a one-metre swell.
The lifeboat took the man and his kayak on board and proceeded back to the Youghal lifeboat station, where they checked if he was in need of any medical attention.
Youghal RNLI lifeboat press officer Noreen Varney said: “It was a very fortunate set of circumstances for the kayaker to be rescued from what originally was a non-related incident.”