Upturned Kayak Sparks Barrow RNLI Search Off Piel Island
Barrow RNLI launched its inshore lifeboat after an upturned kayak was spotted drifting off the south side of Piel Island, raising concerns that people could have been in difficulty at sea.
HM Coastguard in Holyhead received the report at around 11.50am on Wednesday, August 12. The caller said they had earlier seen a yellow kayak in the area carrying two people, but later noticed an overturned yellow kayak in the water with nobody apparently nearby.
The report prompted the launch of Barrow RNLI's inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, at 12.15pm. Adam Cleasby was at the helm, accompanied by crew members Nic Johnson and Tom Ruecroft.
The lifeboat located the overturned kayak near the southern side of Piel Island and established that it was a single person craft, separate from the two person kayak reported earlier.
With no immediate indication that anyone was missing from the recovered kayak, the crew towed the craft towards Roa Island. The decision was made to remove it from the waterway so that it would not become a potential hazard to other vessels operating in the area.
The owner of the kayak was subsequently located and reunited with the craft, bringing the incident to a safe conclusion.The lifeboat was stood down at 12.51pm and returned to its boathouse after the search and recovery operation had been completed.
The incident highlights the importance of reporting abandoned or overturned vessels, particularly in coastal waters where an unattended kayak can quickly raise concerns about the safety of its occupants.
For the Barrow RNLI crew, the call involved a rapid assessment of the situation, locating the kayak and establishing whether it was connected to the two people reportedly seen in the area earlier.
Although the operation ended without a rescue being required, recovering the kayak also helped remove a possible obstruction from the water and provided reassurance that the craft's owner had been accounted for.
The incident comes during a period of increased activity along Cumbria's coastline, with warm summer weather attracting more people to the area's waters for recreational activities.
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