Kite surfer saves woman in dramatic West Cork sea rescue

In rough conditions, the kite surfer located the woman 100 metres from the rocks and carried her to shore with his kite. 

Kite Surfer, Dylan Green carried out the important rescue yesterday evening. Picture: RNLI

A kite surfer has used all his skill to save a woman who got into difficulty swimming at Broadstrand on the Seven Heads Peninsula in West Cork.

Dylan Green, an experienced kite operator, was surfing at Broadstand for the first time when swimmers alerted him that a woman was in danger yesterday evening. 

In rough conditions, the kite surfer located the woman 100 metres from the rocks and carried the casualty to shore with his kite. 

So quick was his response, the Ballindee man reached the woman ahead of the Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat which first received the call at 5.20pm and was on the scene within 15 minutes. 

Once ashore, the woman was treated and assessed by locals and medical personnel until the arrival of an ambulance.  She was able to return home that night. 

Describing the rescue and the challenging conditions, Brian O' Dwyer, the Courtmacsherry RNLI voluntary lifeboat operation manager said the efforts of the kite surfer were amazing to see. 

“It was amazing to witness myself, the great skill of the kite surfer this evening, who prevented a very serious incident from happening,” he said. 

Mr O'Dwyer thanked the members of the public who alerted the coast guard and emergency services as "every minute is so important to persons in difficulty".

The Courtmacsherry All Weather Trent Class RNLI Lifeboat was crewed by coxswain Mark Gannon, mechanic Chris Guy and crewmembers Tadgh McCarthy, Mark John Gannon, Evin O Sullivan, Ken Cashman and Dave Philips.