St Davids inshore RNLI lifeboat assists kayaker lost in fog

At 9.30am shortly before launching the D-class, the lifeboat station was contacted by the Ramsey Island Manager to say he had a kayaker on the island who had become separated from his party.

The kayaker had paddled across Ramsey Sound with the intention of surfing The Bitches reef. Unfortunately, he had become disorientated in thick fog and soon found himself lost. When he found land he assumed he had returned to the mainland and decided to haul his kayak out and climb up the cliffs to find someone to call the coastguard and let them know he was safe and well.

He was actually on Ramsey Island and luckily bumped into the warden who called the Coastguard to make them aware of his situation. As it was established that there was no risk in his current situation, the crew launched at their planned exercise time at 10.15am and he was collected.

They then searched for his kayak that was left on rocks 400m north of the harbour before he was returned to the mainland at 11.00am before the crew continued their exercise.

A spokesperson for St Davids RNLI said:

'This highlights the importance of having a means to call for help at all times, and the danger of kayaking in fog without any form of GPS. The kayaker was fortunate to have made it to land and find help in this situation.'

When kayaking always have a means to call for help, appropriate kit and lifejacket.

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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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