A WINDSURFER WAS rescued this afternoon after they were blown out to sea off the coast of Cork.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescued the windsurfer after they were alerted to the emergency at 4.10pm.

With a crew of four under Coxswain Sean O Farrell, the Courtmacsherry all-weather lifeboat were called to give aid to the windsurfer, who got into difficulty a kilometre from the shore near the Old Head of Kinsale.

The crew reached the windsurfer in 15 minutes and rescued him from the sea.

He was wrapped in blankets and returned to the Courtmachsherry Harbour Pontoon, where he was brought to the RNLI Station House and given hot drinks.

“Thankfully it was a happy ending as his mother travelled by car to collect him from the Stationhouse,” the RNLI said.

Courtmachsherry RNLI Voluntary Lifeboat Operations Manager Brian O Dwyer said it is “so important to call the rescue services at 112 or 999 quickly once any incident like this occurs”.

“This resulted today in a very fast response to the scene by the rescue services,” O Dwyer said.

Today’s rescue was the Courmacsherry lifeboat’s second callout in 24 hours.

The Coastguard Rescue 115 Helicopter was also called in to attend the incident, and the lifeboat rescue team included Sean O Farrell, Tadgh McCarthy, Paul McCarthy, Denis Murphy and Jim O Donnell.

The RNLI said the conditions at sea this afternoon were “difficult with offshore winds having risen in the afternoon and a rough sea developing”.