A MORAY SURFING trainer told of a dramatic rescue of two young girls who were in danger of being swept out to sea on an inflatable kayak last week.
Lossiemouth man Kev Anderson was teaching at Sandend on the Banffshire coast when he spotted the two girls being quickly blown out into the Moray Firth on a strong offshore wind.
Mr Anderson described how he had to act quickly – and warned people to take greater care when taking to the water, urging parents and guardians to ensure that they have a plan of action prepared should things go wrong.
Posting on his own Facebook page about the incident, Mr Anderson explained how on spotting the girls he took his own class out of the water and left them with their parents along with instructions on what to do should the emergency services need to be informed.
He said: “When I got out to the girls they were passed the harbour rocks but were not too concerned. I explained what the wind had done and asked them to show me whether they could paddle back to shore.
“They made a little bit of slow progress against the wind but if the wind picked up a little I do not think they would have made it back – so I tied my leg leash to the front of their inflatable and towed them back.
“These girls had limited ability, had nobody on the shore watching them, had no form of raising the alarm and had no idea of the wind conditions and the consequence.”
Mr Anderson said that anyone taking part in water sports had to follow simple measures that would ensure they remained safe and could enjoy the Moray coastline.
- Always know the weather forecast especially wind for the entire day.
- Never take inflatables into offshore wind.
- Always have a way of communicating to get help if something goes wrong. This could be someone watching from the shore where everyone knows how to communicate an emergency or VHF/satellite signal device.
- And finally – always know your limits.