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'Lucky' kayaker rescued by Staithes and Runswick RNLI and fishing boat crew

Lifeboats News Release

A lone kayaker who capsized in the North Sea at midday today (Sunday) was described by an RNLI spokesman as ‘extremely lucky’ to have been rescued.

Lifeboat speeding at sea

RNLI/Colin Harrison

Staithes & Runswick RNLI's Atlantic 85 to the rescue
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The kayaker from Leeds, believed to be a man in his forties, had been in the sea for 40 minutes when he was spotted by a fishing boat about a mile out at sea off Skinningrove, between Staithes and Saltburn.

He had been unable to get back on to his kayak and was clinging on to it when he was plucked out of the water by the fishing boat crew.

Staithes and Runswick RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew was quickly on the scene to transfer him back to the Staithes boathouse where he was given warm clothing and treated for hypothermia until an ambulance arrived to take him to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Sean Baxter, Deputy Launch Operations Manager with Staithes RNLI, said: ‘All credit to the fishing boat crew for spotting him. He was extremely lucky to be rescued. The North Sea is unusually cold for the time of year because of the preceding bad weather in the last few months and time is of the essence when someone has been in the sea that long. Rescues like this underline what the RNLI is all about.’

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.

About the author

Grant McKee
Lifeboat Press Officer, Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station

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