Search for a man on a paddle board is successful - Paternoster

At 13h19, Tuesday, 6 September, NSRI Mykonos duty crew were activated following reports of a man on a kayak appearing to be overdue from a paddle.

NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) confirmed that no NSRI RSA SafeTrx cellphones were active in that area.

Local people who know the local 69-year-old man and locals, who saw the man departing to go for a paddle at around 10h00, were concerned that he had not returned.

Our NSRI rescue craft Spirit of East London II was towed to Paternoster while NSRI crew, who were in Paternoster at the time, and a local Paternoster NSRI lifeguard initiated a shoreline search and investigations.

Further calls were received from locals who suggested that the man may have paddled towards Tieties Baai and that the man did not have a cellphone with him.

Wind direction and speed as well as the ocean currents movements in that area were determined - to begin a search plan.

Friends of the man were assisting in a search.

At 14h33 locals came across the man washed up on rocks at a cove approximately 5 nautical miles North of Paternoster at Groot Paternoster Beach and reported him to be injured.

Our NSRI crew responded by road in that direction and West Coast Medical Rescue ambulance services were activated.

On arrival in the area our NSRI rescue vehicle transported paramedics to the scene.

Because of the barely accessible off-road conditions, the ambulance was left at the nearest accessible roadway and paramedics were ferried to the scene using the NSRI 4x4 rescue vehicle.

On arrival at the casualty, he was found to be in a serious condition suffering from hypothermia.

Paramedics initiated medical treatment and the man was transported in our NSRI rescue vehicle to the ambulance before being transported by ambulance to the hospital in a serious but stable condition.

It was reported that he capsized and he was in the water for over an hour before he washed ashore, and he had been unable to raise any alarm.

NSRI are informed that he was released from the hospital in good health on Wednesday morning.

NSRI are appealing to paddlers, boaters and sailors to download and use the free NSRI RSA SafeTrx cellphone application on a fully charged smartphone, wear brightly coloured clothing, carry safety equipment, red distress flares, a referee whistle, properly fitting life-jackets and always let a responsible person know your departure time, the route you intend to follow and an estimated return time - if you are overdue that responsible person should raise the alarm immediately.