Kayakers urged to use life jackets, not buoyancy aids

A MARINE casualty investigation into the death of a 56-year-old Frenchman off the Cork coast has recommended that kayakers should use life jackets instead of buoyancy aids when canoeing offshore.

In May 2010 Didier Heneault, from France but living in Kinsale, took to the water with his wife Margaret at the League close to Raheen.

The kayakers reached Horse Island where they passed through a rock tunnel.

They rested there watching birds and then continued, hitting choppy water. Mrs Heneault noticed her husband was in the water. His kayak was about 10 metres away from him.

She went back, righted his kayak and brought it to him before calling to him to hold onto a rope at the front of his kayak. In sheltered water Mr Heneault made one attempt to get into his kayak but as he tried it capsized.

Mrs Heneault re-righted it and told him to use her boat as support to aid himself when getting back into his kayak.

When he took hold of the front of her kayak she paddled back to more sheltered water, but by that time he could only barely hold on to her kayak and began to slip under water.

She then untied one of the ropes from her kayak and passed it under his arms in order to keep him afloat.

She began to scream and shout for help but Mr Heneault weakened and after about 10 minutes he became unresponsive.

Later two kayakers, Barry Whelan and Traolach Layton heard Mrs Heneault’s calls for help and over the next hour they managed to get him to shore.

Mr Layton used his phone to call for help.

Approximately 10 minutes after they came ashore, the Baltimore Inshore Lifeboat and Toe Head Coastguard Unit together administered first aid.

Mr Heneault was transferred to Cork University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.