Two kayakers drifting out to sea rescued near Dalkey Island

A volunteer lifeboat came to the aid of two people who got into difficulty on a kayak this morning in Dublin.

A volunteer lifeboat crew this morning came to the aid of two people who got into difficulty on a kayak in Dublin.

Following an initial report from the Irish Coast Guard that two men were in difficulty on a kayak between Dalkey Island and Coliemore Harbour, the RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew were paged at 8.21am.

The two men used a mobile phone to raise the alarm when the kayak they were on began to drift out to sea.

The all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Mark McGibney and with four crew members onboard launched immediately and made its way to the scene. Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard shore unit also attended.

Weather conditions at the time were described as good with a calm sea, light wind and good visibility.

On arrival south of Dalkey Island, the lifeboat crew saw that a fishing trawler that had arrived on scene first had taken the kayak in tow.

The two kayakers, who were safe and well, were transferred onto the lifeboat and brought back to Dun Laoghaire where no further medical attention was required.

"The casualties did the right thing this morning and called for help once they knew they were in difficulty and that the vessel was drifting out to sea," said Stephen Wynne, Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat operations manager.

We would like to wish them well and thank the fishing crew that was first on scene for their assistance this morning.

"Dun Laoghaire RNLI remains on call and is fully operational during the Coronavirus pandemic. While there is no crew training or exercises taking place, our volunteers are here if people need us."

The RNLI and the Irish Coast Guard have asked people to avoid using the water for exercise while restrictions are in place. This is to minimise the risk to search and rescue volunteer crews, helicopter crew and other frontline emergency services, through being unintentionally exposed to the coronavirus.

The charity meanwhile, has today launched its annual Mayday fundraising appeal. The RNLI is asking people to consider fundraising at home to help save lives at sea.

rnli.org/Mayday