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‘Lucky escape’ for four young paddle boarders rescued near Bow Fiddle Rock

Buckie lifeboat was launched on Saturday afternoon.

Paddleboarders in water
The paddleboarders had to be rescued by the Buckie lifeboat crew. Image: Graham Campbell/RNLI.

Four young paddle boarders were rescued in stormy weather after getting into difficulty near Bow Fiddle Rock.

Aberdeen Coastguard was made aware of two paddle boarders in the water off of Cullen Bay, Moray, at about 3.45pm on Saturday.

The lifeboat crew from Buckie were tasked to launch and quickly discovered they would need to search for four youngsters near the sea arch.

The rescue mission was described as “time critical” due to the windy weather with gusts reaching up to 46mph.

Buckie lifeboat crew looking down at two paddle boarders during Bow Fiddle Rock rescue operation.
Four paddle boarders were rescued by the Buckie lifeboat crew. Image: Graham Campbell/RNLI.

Lifeboat William Blannin arrived on scene within 10 minutes and the crew was able to find the first two girls who had managed to stay on their paddleboards.

A second pair were spotted in the water a few minutes later, with the crew successfully recovering another two “very cold and relieved youngsters”.

Paddle boarders rescued near Bow Fiddle Rock

As they had been in the water for more than 20 minutes with just wetsuits on, all four paddle boarders were assessed by the crew’s carers before being checked over by the ambulance service.

They were given the all clear and sent home to their waiting families.

Two paddle boarders in the water near RNLI lifeboat
Winds in the area had hit 46mph. Image: Graham Campbell/RNLI.

Anne Scott, lifeboat operations manager, said: “The RNLI urges people to check the weather forecast carefully before venturing out on the water, especially when paddle boarding.

“Avoid offshore winds as you can easily be blown out to sea very quickly and offshore winds will tire you quickly when trying to return to shore.

“Always wear a personal flotation device and suitable clothing for the forecasted conditions and always carry a means of calling for help.”