Marine Rescue NSW saves female kayaker after capsizing in Budgewoi Lake

Marine Rescue NSW boat Tuggerah Lakes 20 has saved a female paddler who was left stranded in the water for half an hour after capsizing her kayak last week.

The Westpac Rescue chopper located the woman just before TL 20 arrived on scene.

TL 20 skipper Ian Hodge said the woman was pulled from the water just after 8pm.“She was conscious and responsive when we got her out of the water.

“We got her onboard and wrapped her up in a space blanket to try and bring up her body temperature,” Hodge said.

“She’d been in the water for a while.

“Her kayak had taken on a lot of water, we retrieved that and took her to the Peel Street jetty near our Toukley base,” Hodge said.

It took less than 10 minutes from retrieving the woman for the Marine Rescue NSW crew to hand her over to waiting NSW Ambulance paramedics who assessed her on scene.

NSW Ambulance said the woman didn’t require treatment in hospital.

Marine Rescue Tuggerah Lakes Unit Commander Bob Sutton said TL 20 was on route to assist a grounded vessel on Lake Munmorah when the call came to help the kayaker.

“The crew of Ian Hodge, Peter Fischer, Steve Noakes and our Radio Operator Don Hobbs did a great job,” Sutton said.

“They had to triage the whole thing by which job was more important.

“A person in the water is always more important but once they had rescued the kayaker and got her to paramedics they immediately went to assist the grounded vessel,” he said.

Sutton said kayakers can get caught out on inland waters.

“When it’s calm it’s beautiful but the wind changed last night and people can get into trouble.

“Because of the shallow nature of the lakes, they blow up,” Sutton said.

Last night’s rescue was the second involving a kayaker since last Sunday afternoon when a fisherman was collected by Marine Rescue NSW after getting into trouble on Tuggerah Lake.