Hermanus - Rescuers were called after two men went canoeing in Hermanus without first plugging a hole in their craft, the National Sea Rescue Institute said on Thursday.
“It appears that they had borrowed the canoe from a friend but did not realise that the 'bung' (a plug at the back of water craft that prevents water from coming in, and is used to drain water from the craft once on dry land) was not plugged in,” NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said in a statement.
As the canoe filled with water it became unsteady and capsized near the Marine Hotel. An NSRI volunteer saw this and alerted a rescue team who found the two men, both 19, swimming for shore.
“They were taken onboard our sea rescue craft and their canoe was recovered, and they were brought safely to the old harbour where they required no further assistance,” Lambinon said.
Another duo had to be rescued on Thursday around 11.30am when their small “rubber duck” capsized near Vermont.
A NSRI rescue craft was deployed but arrived on the scene to find the two men had been rescued by another vessel. Both men were taken by the NSRI to the shore at Hardebaai. Neither man was injured.
The skipper from Onrus was in his 60s, while the crewman was in his mid-40s and from Bellville. The rubber duck was recovered. - Sapa