Two youngsters say they made a “silly mistake” after getting into difficulty and falling off a paddleboard in rough seas near Buckie.
Madison Ross, 15, and Findlay Grant, 16, and two other friends decided to set out on calm seas one afternoon during the Easter school holidays.
What they believed would be an adventure with friends ended in a full-scale search and rescue – with the RNLI and Coastguard being called to help the four young people.
During their paddle, the seas became rough, and Madison and Findlay fell off their paddleboard and ended up in the sea, near Bow Fiddle Rock.
Findlay, who had never been on a paddleboard before, said: “It was a silly mistake to go out, but we did it.
‘We didn’t know if anyone was coming to help’
“It all seemed fine until we got out of the harbour and the sea turned very rough. We both fell off our paddleboard and we were in the sea.
“I was scared,” the sixth-year pupil at Meldrum Academy said.
The alarm was raised and the RNLI team at Buckie were called to the scene.
“We were in the water for what felt like ages, but it was probably only 20 or 30 minutes.
“We saw the boat coming and it was a massive relief.”
Madison, who is in 5th year at Meldrum Academy, said: “When we were swimming in the sea we were not sure who had seen us fall off, so we were not sure anyone was coming to help.
“We just couldn’t see anything from the water. And there are parts of what happened that I do not really remember.
“I do remember that it was freezing. We had gone further out than we meant to, so we were quite far from shore.”
When they got back to shore, Madison said: “My mum was there.
“We were checked over by an ambulance staff and we then went home.”
The teenage sweethearts now want to share with other people their best advice for staying safe.
Madison continued: “People going into the water need floatation devices, someone on the shore to spot them – and some way to communicate. We didn’t have a phone so there was no way we could call for help.
‘Always have a phone with you’
“I would say always have a phone with you.”
Following the incident, the two youngsters who were pulled from the water got in touch with the RNLI station to express their gratitude.
They told the crew they were keen to speak about the dangers of the waters and help the RNLI promote its water safety messages by speaking about their personal experience.
They were so grateful in fact that they quickly signed up for the RNLI May Day Mile, walking a mile a day in May, to raise money for the charity.
On Friday, the last day of their walking and cycling challenge, they walked the final mile with the crew that saved them.
Five crew and the two youngsters walked from Bijou By The Sea in Buckie to the lifeboat station and were presented with their May Day Mile medals on completion of the challenge.
They have raised £1,200 to give back to the RNLI.
One of the crew joining them for the walk was from Kirkwall RNLI, he was covering the boat as a mechanic that day, and he made the journey from the island to walk that final mile with them.