06-05-2025
St Davids lifeboat rescues kayakers in Abereiddi Bay
St Davids RNLI were called out by HM Coastguard at 12.28pm on Saturday, May 3 following a report from a member of the public of kayakers in trouble out at sea, and a call from one of the kayakers.
The charity's all-weather lifeboat, Norah Wortley, was launched and headed to the scene.
Upon their arrival, the crew found two people in the water, one in a partially sunken kayak, and one in a kayak and holding on to the sinking boat.
A strong wind was forcing the kayakers towards shore, so the coxswain manoeuvred the lifeboat to keep away from the rocks whilst the volunteer crew helped all four casualties onto the lifeboat.
Once aboard, the kayakers were immediately assessed, with the possibility of secondary drowning a risk as two had ingested water whilst struggling in the swell.
When the lifeboat returned to the station, the assessment continued before volunteers were confident the kayakers were safe to leave.
Judd Kohler, RNLI St Davids deputy coxswain, said: 'The four kayakers got caught out by the conditions but were well prepared with the correct safety equipment, and did the right thing in calling for help.
'Thankfully one of our volunteer crew, Dr Roger Schofield, is a medical doctor and he carried out a thorough assessment of the casualties.'
