A GROUP of five kayakers – at least one of whom was in the water – were rescued by RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) volunteers on Anglesey on Monday (June 24).

Both of Holyhead RNLI’s lifeboats, plus volunteers from Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station and Coastguard teams were involved in the rescue operation.

Pagers sounded at 2.15pm, with HM Coastguard reporting that the kayakers had been spotted getting into difficulty, north of North Stack.

As crew members approached the original location given, they reported that nothing had been found and the kayakers must have been caught by the blustery conditions and strong tides and been taken further out to sea or along the coast.

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The launch of a second, all-weather, lifeboat was requested, and volunteer crew launched immediately, and headed towards the widening search area to assist the inshore lifeboat.

One of the kayakers, paddling alone, was then spotted.

He was found to be well, so was advised to head towards the nearby sheltered area of Gogarth Bay, where he would be recovered, while the inshore crew looked for the remaining four casualties, including the one known to be in the water.

The inshore crew then used a white flare to assist, and enroute to meeting up with the inshore lifeboat, a crew member on the all-weather lifeboat spotted the lone kayaker in the water at a different location, who was then rescued.

Meanwhile, the Holyhead inshore crew set about looking for the rest of the casualties, finding two further along, near the South Stack coastline.

They were advised to head to the nearby beach at Abraham’s Bosom, and were escorted by Trearddur Bay RNLI, who by now had arrived on scene, to ensure their safe arrival back at shore.

They were also met by volunteer cliff rescue teams to be assessed.

With two kayakers still missing, including the one who was known to have been in the water, the general search widened, until they were eventually spotted by the Holyhead crew.

The kayaker who had been in the water was suffering with exhaustion, the effects of the cold water and the ingestion of water.

Holyhead RNLI coxswain, Mark Wade, said: “This was not an easy search, as the sea conditions, along with bright sunshine, made it very difficult to spot any of the kayakers in the water, and the fact they were in three separate groups made this even more difficult.

“They were all well-equipped, but had been caught by the strong tides.

“It was fortunate that we managed to locate all five casualties, and bring them all back safely.

“This call could have ended with a different outcome, but thanks to the excellent team effort by our crew, our flank station (Trearddur Bay), and the cliff rescue volunteers, all ended well.”