Paddleboarders advised to carry flares
04/09/2020
An instructor in Ireland has recommended that paddleboarders carry flares.
The call from known County Mayo surf instructor Emmet Heneghan comes after two girls on paddleboards were swept out to sea, reports the Mayo News.
Emmet Heneghan, the only person to have circumnavigated Ireland on a stand-up paddleboard, warns that people should carry adequate safety equipment and be properly prepared.
“Paddleboarding requires skills that you have to learn and improve. Anyone starting off needs to start off on a small lake with an onshore wind and still have their survival bag with them.”
Checking the weather is vital, as is being well-equipped. “Make sure you have the correct equipment with you. A wetsuit is a minimum. Have a small bag with you with water, food, a flare or similar SOS device and bring your phone. Have a light training jacket and rain-gear trousers.”
Ensure someone knows you are going out, and if there’s nobody on shore with you, ring the Coastguard and give them a time you will be back, he says.
Paddleboarders, Galway cousins Sara Feeney and Ellen Glynn were rescued off the Aran Islands after they were swept away from the coast at Furbo on their stand-up paddleboards.
