A man and his dog had a chilly night at sea after they became stranded on a remote rock off the Cork coast overnight.
The 50-year-old man had been on a solo kayaking trip with his dog Lucky when the pair got separated near Dursey Island in southwest Cork.
The pair landed on Bull Rock but when he tried to leave again, his dog refused to follow orders and come with him.
He then paddled to the Calf Rock where he intended to stay the night, however, he became separated from his kayak and was stranded on the rock overnight.
Thankfully, a local fishing boat spotted the stranded pair early this morning and saw the man calling for help from Calf Rock.
The fishermen raised the alarm and the Castletownbere RNLI responded after a call from Valentia coastguard.
At 9.40 am, the lifeboat found the stranded man on the Calf Rock and immediately launched a small dinghy to get him.
The rescue required considerable skill by the crew as there was a two to three metre run of tide to contend with.
The kayaker was found to be safe and well and the lifeboat then travelled to Bull Rock rescue Lucky the dog, with the pair reunited after a long night.
Following the incident, the RNLI issued a warning that people out at sea should bring a radio with them so they can contact the coastguard in case there's an emergency.
Castletownbere RNLI Deputy Launching Authority, Felix O’Donoghue, said: "Luckily, other than being cold last night, neither the kayaker or his dog suffered any ill-effects from being stranded on two separate rocks overnight.
"Callouts like this highlight the need for anyone using the sea to carry a VHF radio to make contact in an emergency."
Paul Stevens, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, added that this is not the first time that someone has been stranded on Calf Rock.
"In 1881, when the top of the lighthouse was blown off and swept away in a violent storm, six lighthouse keepers spent 12 days on the rock prior to being rescued," he said.
"Modern lifeboats, dedicated volunteer crew and good weather meant that this kayaker only spent one night there!"
