By Dan Walsh
Monday was a busy day for Courtown RNLI. They rescued father and son paddleboarders in strong offshore winds and later the same day recovered an inflatable towable following 112 /999 calls to the Coast Guard.
A member of the public spotted two paddleboarders clinging to a buoy in strong offshore winds just off Ardamine beach and the crew of three volunteers launched at 1pm in gusty offshore conditions and were quickly on the scene.
They located the father and son paddleboarders clinging to a buoy and feeling cold and exhausted. They were taken ashore where anxious family members were waiting.
The paddleboarders were part of a family group visiting from Spain and thanked Courtown RNLI volunteers for responding so quickly.
Courtown Lifeboat helm Yvette Deacon said; “They were lucky to come across the buoy. The wind was blowing them out to sea very quickly. Before going on the water, always check the weather, make sure you have the correct equipment and always call 112/999 as soon as possible and ask for the Coast Guard if you think somebody is in trouble.’
Courtown RNLI Inshore Lifeboat returned to station at 2pm and later the same day launched following another call to the Coast Guard after a member of the public spotted a large Inflatable Towable being blown out to sea very rapidly. It was unclear if there were any people on the inflatable.
Courtown RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Frank, launched at 6.30pm and was quickly on scene where it was established that there was nobody on board the inflatable. It appeared to have been blown off Ardamine beach and was quickly blown out to sea in the strong and gusty offshore wind. They took the inflatable under tow and returned to the harbour at 7pm.
Courtown Lifeboat helm Brian McEvoy said; “You have to be very careful with inflatables in offshore winds, you can be blown out to sea much more quickly than you think. The member of the public did the right thing, if in doubt call 112/999 and ask for the Coast Guard.”
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