A LONE kayaker had to be rescued off the coast of Howth this morning.
THE Irish Coast Guard emergency operations received a call shortly before 11am about a kayaker paddling off Howth. A concerned member of the public had noted that the kayaker was on the water with no life jacket and rang the Coast Guard on 999.
The kayaker had proceeded around the back of Ireland’s Eye and was soon out of visibility from the caller on land. While the kayaker didn’t appear in difficulty, safety concerns were raised.
The Irish Coast Guard unit in Howth and Howth RNLI Inshore lifeboat were tasked by the Coast Guard operations centre. A Coast Guard mobile unit proceeded to the end of the pier while the lifeboat launched on service to the back of Ireland’s Eye.
The lifeboat located a female on an open deck kayak struggling in the water to return to shore.
If she had fallen into the water, she would have had no means of staying afloat as she had no life jacket and only had a phone to call for help. There can be very limited, if any, phone signal once you go on the water, according to the Coast Guard.
The kayaker hadn’t checked the weather, which was unsuitable for the craft she was using.
A Coast Guard spokesperson said: “The lessons learnt are that you need to have an emergency plan if going on the water – VHF radio, flares, whistle, weather information. Equally, if not more important, you need a life jacket – there is no excuse for not having one.”
He added: “Thankfully there was a successful ending and the kayaker was brought back ashore by the lifeboat. Praise has to be given to the concerned member of public whose call out of concern for a potential incident could have averted a much more serious situation from arising.”
If you see a person or group who you think may get into trouble on the water, don’t delay or assume someone else will do it. Make that call to the Coast Guard on 112 or 999. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.