The two men from Reading aged 33 & 60, who had set off from Hartland beach in two kayaks on a journey to Lundy Island after camping at Clovelly. They had intended to camp on Lundy island that evening. They had become lost in fog and only had a compass and a mobile phone by which to navigate.

RAF rescue helicopter assisted search

Visibility had dropped to 100 metres, and they had become disorientated, sea sick and cold. Fortunately they were both wearing lifejackets and had flares and the mobile phone. The Clovelly inshore lifeboat was requested to launch, as was the Appledore lifeboat. Various local fishing vessels also made their way to the scene.

James Instance, Watch Manager at Swansea Coastguard said, "Our initial concerns were that the two men were straying into the shipping lanes which are busy at any time of the day or night.  Fortunately the rescue helicopter crew were able to spot the two men from the air despite the weather conditions. The aircrew informed the Coastguard of that location, who then by charting and plotting their position, were able to guide the Clovelly lifeboat to the two men.

"Despite the calm conditions, one of the canoeists was very seasick when he was recovered from the water and with the varying density of the fog, the conditions must have been very claustrophobic.

"The two were taken back to Clovelly by lifeboat, cold, wet and badly frightened by their experience and a local fishing vessel has recovered the two kayaks. With this incident in mind it is worth stressing that anyone planning to go to sea must check weather conditions before they set off.

"The mist and fog has remained set all day and visibility is presently just 400 metres here at Swansea.

"Ideally, we would advise anyone setting off for such a journey to lodge a passage plan with their local Coastguard before they set off. In that way people can let us know when they arrive at their destination safely. We would rather they be safe than sorry.