Ok, but it was a Coast Guard operation. Not RNLI.
RTFA.

Top advise there Tomy.

I always thought the SOP was you went out in a group of at least three, one to stay with a person in distress, the other to seek distance. It’s the same with diving, you should always have a buddy. Those who don’t abide by this risk their own lives and the lives of those trying to assist.

@Paula – you’re right – the kayaking mantra is “less than three shall never be”

The “sure I’ll be grand” approach doesn’t just put the person themselves at risk. In this case the coastguard did the job (and hats off to them of course) but in other situations or on another day, another person could have come upon this and helped, putting themselves at risk (this is to give the coastguard the credit of their training of course).

Even on a recreational basis, people who kayak whitewater in Ireland (and beyond) can come across some significant technical challenges where safety should be paramount. You don’t need to be paddling at any kind of competitive level for it to be important.

Hopefully anyone who sees this story will just ask around and see if they can get a friend of a friend to help them out to be aware.

Going to assume the red thumbs are accidents on smartphones….