NC coastal crews urge Outer Banks beachgoers to rethink using large inflatable rafts

CAROVA, N.C. (WAVY) — It is something Outer Banks rescue workers deal with often, people in inflatable rafts getting stuck far away from land and needing rescue, and Carova Fire and Rescue is cautioning people to leave them at home on west wind days.

“You’ll swim around and be ready to come in, and next thing you know, you’re too far out and you can’t fight the wind coming back in,” said Carova Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jay Laughmiller. “You’re tired, and that’s when everybody’s in trouble.”

Some of these strandings range from a half mile to a mile from shore.

“Not just an inflatable,” said Chad Motz, captain of Nags Head Ocean Rescue. “Sometimes it’s a standup paddleboards, could be kayaks.”

He said they receive calls like this at least once a week, even more during peak tourism days.

“We got a couple of 14-year-old kids, took a canoe out to go fishing, and they quickly found out it was much easier to leave the shoreline that it was to return to the shorelines,” Motz said. “The winds are generally calmer here in the morning hours, and then sometime around 1 in the afternoon, most days in the summer, the winds pick up.

“Any time it picks up above 10 to 15 mph and we start to get white caps, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get any of those flotation devices back to the shoreline.”

They recommend anyone heading out on something like a raft leave someone on shore to help spot them.