Emergency services responded to a kite surfer in difficulty off the Tramore coast this afternoon (Friday).
A member of the public reported that the man was in trouble around 600m off the sand dunes.
Tramore RNLI and The Irish Coastguard both launched their lifeboats, while the Rescue 117 helicopter which was training in the area also attended the scene.
The operation was subsequently stood down, after the kite surfer made it safely ashore by himself.
Press officer for the local RNLI Paul Tuohy said it was their first callout of 2022. "This is a timely reminder to the public to be aware of tides and winds.
"This guy obviously got caught out by the wind which is relatively strong at the moment and had difficulty with his rig.
"We would get a lot more callouts approaching this time of year, and this was actually our first callout of the year," Tuohy said.
Although in this case, the person made their way ashore by themselves, Paul thanked the member of the public for contacting emergency services.
"999 or 112 are the numbers to ring and we would have no problem with someone ringing in if they think someone is in difficulty.
"We would prefer to hear sooner rather than later and the fact he made his own way in, it doesn't matter. It's part of what we do," he said.
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