LOCAL coastguard knowledge saved the lives of 16 kayakers in a dramatic rescue operation.

Speaking just weeks after drastic cuts were announced that will see the end of a coastguard station on Weymouth harbourside, staff said that awareness of the local area and conditions had played a vital role in bringing the kayakers back home safe.

On Sunday evening the kayakers from Upper Hamble Kayak Club in Southampton were rescued by the coastguard and RNLI lifeboats, after they got into trouble in the dangerous waters of Portland Race.

Coastguard watch manager Bruce Lack said that the kayakers had been in a very serious situation that could have had tragic consequences like the 1993 Lyme Bay disaster in which four teenage kayakers lost their lives.

He said: “This was a very dangerous situation. If it had happened an hour later some of them could have died because it would have been very difficult to find them in the dark.

“It could have become tragic very quickly.”

The drama unfolded following an attempt by the experienced kayakers to paddle from Portland Castle to Chesil Cove.

When they couldn’t land at the cove they turned around and paddled back to Portland Castle.

With the tide turning and working against them and darkness falling they used their on-board radios to call the coastguard.

Crews were scrambled to man the all weather and inshore lifeboat, who were assisted by coastguard helicopters from Portland and Lee-on-Solent.

The helicopter crew used their lights to keep the rescue area illuminated so that no kayakers were swept away or lost as darkness fell.

A customs cutter, HM Valiant was called out by the coastguards to assist the operation.

Coastguard watch manager Ros Evans told the Dorset Echo: “Knowledge of the local area is very important but it’s also having that awareness of the area.

“We all live locally and from the minute we leave our homes we know what the wind is doing and what the tides and Race are doing.”

She added: “With our local knowledge we know which is the most appropriate lifeboat to use and how to task the resources.

“We know which coastguards live nearest the hospital to go and organise the helicopter landing site.

“All this can be taught but it takes years before it becomes an instinct.”

Mrs Evans added that the kayakers had been lucky and that the situation could have been worse.

She said: “They were extremely lucky. We are really glad they are all right.

“It could have been worse but it wasn’t and they helped themselves as well.

“The main problem was that the tide had just changed and was working against them and it was getting really dark.”

Coastguards added that the kayakers had been sensible and their radios and flares had helped pin point them and made the job of finding them easier in the dark.

Two of the kayakers were airlifted to Dorset County Hospital after the event. They were suffering with shock, cold and seasickness.

They were checked over by accident and emergency staff at the hospital and were discharged late on Sunday evening.

The remaining 14 kayakers were checked over by ambulance crews when they landed at Portland Marina before being sent home.

* Have you ever been rescued or helped by the Coastguard station in Weymouth? Contact Catherine Bolado on 01305 830985 or email catherine.bolado@dorsetecho.co.uk