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V alentia RNLI rescued the two men who were drifting out to sea off Cuas Crom beach in Cahersiveen
Two men had a lucky escape just off Cuas Crom beach in Cahersiveen on Monday afternoon after they floated out to sea in an inflatable camping mattress.
T he alarm was raised by a member of the public who noted the two men out at sea and realised the danger they were in as they came closer and closer to the harbour mouth.
A local boat took to the water to go the aid of the two men who did not realise just how far they had drifted. The RNLI was also tasked and they reached the two men and brought them ashore.
The mattress was light and not suitable to used in the water. Thankfully it was a calm day and Cuas Crom is located within a sheltered harbour but the further the two men drifted the closer they came to open sea where they would no longer have harbour shelter and it would have been far more dangerous. The distance they had drifted would have made it very difficult to return to shore.
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A spokesperson for Valentia RNLI said the two men, who were holidaying in South Kerry, were ‘very lucky’.
"They didn’t realise how far out they had gone. It was a good day yesterday but it could have changed. They were very lucky.”
Valentia Coast Guard requested Valentia RNLI’s volunteer crew to launch the all-weather lifeboat and to go to the aid of two adults adrift off Cuas Crom, Over the Water, in Cahersiveen. They were found to be safe and well and the crew brought them back to Cuas Crom pier.
The incident led the RNLI to issue advises not to use inflatables in the sea.
‘While inflatables can be great fun, we would advise that you don’t take them to the beach as they are not designed for open water, and it can take very little breeze for you to be swept out to sea-much quicker than you can swim or paddle back to the shore.”
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