Rescuers heap praise on cool kayakers

RESCUE . . . one of the kayakers is helped on board the lifeboat. Picture by Oban Lifeboat Station

THIS is the moment a local kayaker was hauled to safety after a holiday in Scotland almost turned to disaster.

As reported in yesterday’s Chronicle, lifeboat crews were scrambled on Saturday after two kayakers, middle-aged men from Failsworth and Sale, were swept into a notorious whirlpool off the west coast.

They were dragged off course into the waters of Corryvrechan, a collection of whirlpools south of the island of Scarba, off Argyll.

One of the men plunged into the water when his kayak overturned.

Thankfully, they were well-prepared and one of the men called emergency services.

Meanwhile, they managed to scramble ashore an island as a Royal Navy search and rescue Sea King helicopter and crews from Oban Lifeboat Station were sent to their aid.

Corryvrechan is the third largest whirlpool in the world with fierce underwater currents making it one of the most dangerous places to navigate in the British Isles.

Oban lifeboat coxswain Ronnie Mackillop said: “One guy had capsized his kayak and ended up in the water. His friend called for assistance by radio. The coastguard got a call from the kayak saying they had managed to get themselves ashore but did not know where they were.

“The helicopter found them and the winch man went down and established there were no injuries or medical problems but they needed assistance to get back to their launch site.

“They were all right. One of them had been in the water and would have had a shock to the system but they were in fine spirits. They were very well prepared and had the right equipment and acted in a responsible fashion when they got into trouble.”

The kayakers had set off from Loch Melfort to a small group of islands called the Garvellachs. They had been returning when tidal streams pushed them south.

They mistakenly gave their location as the Grey Dogs, an equally dangerous tidal race to the north of Scarba, so it took nearly 30 minutes to find them.

They were taken back to their starting point by lifeboat.

The lifeboat crew had been conducting a family open day when their pagers alerted them to the drama.

Families had to quickly get off the lifeboat so it could be launched.