Manchester kayakers swept into the Corryvrechan

Two kayakers from Greater Manchester who paddled out of Loch Melfort on Saturday afternoon got caught in strong tidal streams that took them into the terrifying Corryvrechan whirlpool between Argyll’s islands of Jura and Scarba. One kayak overturned in the turbulence and when the other man then made an emergency call the situation was aggravated by his giving the wrong position. Although the two middle aged men were well prepared, they had not realised exactly where the tides had taken them. Instead of realising that they were in the Gulf of Corryvrechan, the third strongest whirlpool on the world, they thought they were in The Grey Dogs – another dangerous race a little further north between Scarba and Lunga. However all was well. The men got themselves ashore on Scarba and were found by MV Porpoise, a naval SAR helicopter from HMS Gannet in Prestwick and the Oban Lifeboat – which had been scrambled in the middle of an open day. LIfeboat Coxswain Ronnie MacKillop congratulated them on doing all the right things once they got into difficulties.

If you want to get some idea of what these guys got into, here’s a You Tube video of a RIB that took a deliberate trip into the Corryvrechan.