Minutes before the start of Sunday's annual lifeboat service the volunteer crew had to abandon their preparations and launch the lifeboat to go to the assistance of a young lad who was blown offshore in a small kayak.
The “Bingo Lifeline” under the command of Coxswain John Hunter proceeded to Glen Wyllin where the young boy thought to be about 5 or six years old had been blown almost two miles out to sea.
Fortunately the local crab boat “Manx Cat” was in the vicinity and managed to recover the boy along with the warden of Glen Wyllin camp site who had launched his kayak to try and assist the lad in his difficulties. “Manx Cat “under the command of Martin Goldie transferred the two onto the Peel lifeboat for return to Peel where a very relieved Mum welcomed her son back to dry land.
There was concern for the visiting Mum as at one stage she had swum out to sea to try and help her son. The two were thought to be visitors to the Island and a lifeboat spokesman said “the Mother obviously didn’t appreciate the dangers of strong offshore winds and this was a rescue that could very easily have ended up with tragic results.”
