Last night while on exercise the Irish Coast Guard boat based at Howth station was tasked to assist 3 kayakers lost in fog at an unknown position off the coast of Malahide.
The three had left the Howth peninsula under good conditions but while on the water southerly winds increased and a fog quickly descended making visibility of land impossible. They contacted the Coast Guard by Marine VHF radio requesting assistance as they were unsure of their location and were drifting. The crew on the Coast Guard boat responded, with limited visibility the group were located between Donabate and Lambay Island. All three were in good spirits and the Coast Guard boat assisted them back to Howth where a shore team transported them back to their starting point.
The response from the kayakers was textbook in the way to deal with a changing situation at sea, they had flares, VHF radio, lifejackets and extra layers of clothing; conditions at sea can change very quickly and the group remained calm and tight together, using their paddles to attract the attention of the Coast Guard boat. Had the Kayakers not had a VHF radio they wouldn’t have been able to contact the Coast Guard directly and with the weather becoming progressively worse the outcome could have been different. Mobile Phones can have very limited capability at sea and shouldn’t be relied on.
Incident 42/15
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