Portaferry RNLI launched for the third time in two days on Wednesday evening (20 July) to retrieve a kayak that had drifted off Slanes Bay on Northern Ireland’s Arts Peninsula.
A member of the public raised the alarm shortly before 7.30pm after observing two children abandon a kayak when they got out of their depth in the water and decided to return to shore.
Portaferry RNLI’s volunteer crew — including new member Jesse Brown on her first callout — launched the inshore lifeboat promptly and made their way to Slanes Bay amid good weather conditions.
The kayak was located one mile off Slanes Bay at 8.05pm and the crew took it on board to prevent it becoming a risk to others on the water. The lifeboat then proceeded bay to nearby Cloughy beach and transferred the kayak into the care of the Portaferry Coastguard rescue team.
Commenting on the callout, Portaferry RNLI helm Chris Adair said: “Thankfully we were able to assist in bringing the kayak safely back to shore without it posing a danger to others.”
The previous evening, the Portaferry lifeboat launched to the aid of three casualties across two callouts in the space of two hours.
The first of these was two assist a female sea swimmer who had got into difficulty close to Killough Pier, west of Ardglass in Co Down.
As the lifeboat was en route via the Strangford Narrows, word came through that a local RIB has provided assistance and brought the swimmer ashore to the care of waiting emergency services. The crew were stood down and returned to Strangford to carry out their weekly exercise.
While out on exercise, the volunteer crew received reports from concerned kayakers of two paddleboarders struggling against the tide off Kilard Point after drifting a mile out from Kilclief Beach.
Once on scene, the volunteer crew helped the casualties aboard the lifeboat and brought them ashore to Strangford Pier.
Josh Boyd, Portaferry RNLI helm said: ‘“Clear information made it very straightforward for us to locate the two paddleboarders in the nick of time. With tide pulling the two further away from the shore, it was absolutely the correct thing for the kayakers to do in calling for help.”
As the weather gets warmer and more people travel to the coast, Portaferry RNLI reminds anyone planning a trip to sea or an activity on the water to always carry a means of calling for help, always wear a lifejacket and other appropriate protection and always check the weather and tides before going to sea.
Should you get into difficulty or see someone else in trouble, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.
