The volunteer crew of Rhyl’s All-weather lifeboat were paged at 6.15pm on 22nd July, to launch to search for a kayaker who was lost and tired, off the South-East corner of Rhyl Flats Windfarm, about 3 miles off the coast of North-East Wales.
The man had launched from the beach at Kinmel bay at 3.30pm that day, to paddle to the windfarm, which he succeeded in doing. However, the return journey proved difficult against the tide, and the man soon felt cold and tired, capsizing his craft once. His friend on the shore saw the man in trouble, and confirmed that was the case by mobile phone with the kayaker.
The coastguard at Holyhead immediately paged the lifeboat crew, and the All-Weather lifeboat “Lil Cunningham” was under way some 12 minutes later. The coxswain made a course for the South-East corner of the windfarm, and then went West along the southerly edge, and the man was spotted some 3.5 miles off Pensarn. He was brought on to the lifeboat, showing signs of hypothermia, but was given first aid on the trip back to Rhyl, and he soon recovered. He was handed over to ambulance paramedics on arrival at Rhyl, and after about 30 minutes, was well enough to be driven back to his campsite.
Coxswain Martin Jones, of Rhyl lifeboat, says “The man was very lucky to survive for over 5 hours at sea in just a tee-shirt and shorts, and he was not equipped with a lifejacket, flares, or a proper VHF radio. He has now been given some safety advice. The only consolation was his friend on shore was watching him, but we strongly advise anyone going offshore to contact the coastguards before going out”.
The lifeboat returned at 7.45pm, and was ready for service again at 8.30pm.
