Idiots in the Menai Strait - beaumaris lifeboat

[HUMBER P4VWL]

1 rescue boat for 140 people???!
There were 4 Ribs and two jet skis for a dozen swimming across the other day.

[HUMBER P4VWL]

[Chris Caton]

guess the 140 kayakers were happy with one rescue boat, doubt they were forced to take part

[Pikey Dave]

Why did they actually need ANY rescue boats, think about it

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Well they were racing to Conway but didn't make it. Some were under tow who were struggling and some were straggling. Then all put in at Bangor. If they're out in weather where people can't cope and need a tow, surely you need more help..... As they ultimately did.

[Starovich]

BBC

[Poly]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

Well they were racing to Conway but didn't make it. Some were under tow who were struggling and some were straggling. Then all put in at Bangor. If they're out in weather where people can't cope and need a tow, surely you need more help..... As they ultimately did.

If I understood the attachments correctly then external assistance wasn't actually required at all? Everyday people go out to sea in kayaks on their own or in small groups rarely coming to any harm. Presumably anyone who set out today was a reasonably experienced kayaker in which case they are usually well versed in a variety of self rescue techniques. Whilst the probability of someone needing help increases with the number of people, the likelihood of them getting into "real bother" must fall with the more help that is nearby. Just as with "ribnet" cruises in company its not uncommon to hear of someone needing a tow, but rare that anyone has a mayday.

Perhaps would be sensible to have told the CG their plans and been monitoring Ch16 which might have avoided resource being deployed in the first place. Perhaps you might expect the watch manager to know whats going on in his area enough that a major (multiday) event doesn't go under his radar anyway ;-)

There is a slightly different version of events here: Menai Strait: 140 adventure kayakers guided to safety in high winds - Daily Post

[Poly]

The headlines invariable sound more dramatic than the real story...

...the GP14 Worlds turned into a major incident...

but as details emerge the drama got less and less: 80 boats became 67, then only 10 capsized, and only 2 taken to hospital with "minor injuries"!

[Peter_C]

So were they on kayaks or canoes? Cause the picture they show in Poly's link is of a canoe and you wouldn't catch me out on the open ocean in one. On the other hand I have taken kayaks out in the ocean many times (Own two) and played in the surf for fun with them. With 140 people they should have been able to self rescue pretty much anyone too.

[Chris Caton]

reading the various reports does seem like the real problem was that the organisers hadn't told the CG prior to the event what was going on

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

So were they on kayaks or canoes? Cause the picture they show in Poly's link is of a canoe and you wouldn't catch me out on the open ocean in one. On the other hand I have taken kayaks out in the ocean many times (Own two) and played in the surf for fun with them. With 140 people they should have been able to self rescue pretty much anyone too.

Its a long multi-day event. The info on the website is slightly vague but it sounds like there was a canoe leg(s) and kayak leg(s) on different days along with other land disciplines. [So potentially the Canoe pic is from a previous day]. There are people who take Canoes (rather than Kayaks) out to sea, and whilst the location (and weather) were far from ideal - its certainly not "the open ocean".

The event organiser is quite clear about the minimum level of demonstrable skills that the participants needed to have. At nearly £3k to enter, and 600 miles there probably weren't too many total beginners in the mix either!

[Adamn]

I imagine the other concern might of been the weather! There was a strong WNW wind at the weekend and extremely high tides. I don't know the area but I would assume you get a heck of a tide race through that area.
The highest tide is tonight by the way!!! Next year the tides are the highest for 26yrs! Let's hope no storms accompany them.