Five kayakers, including German tourists, rescued after dense fog ordeal off Cape Town coast

Rescuers saved five kayakers, including three German tourists, from cold waters off Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard after they became disoriented in thick fog and drifted more than a nautical mile offshore, prompting a swift response from the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).

The drama unfolded on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, at about 8:50am, when one of the paddlers triggered an emergency alert through the NSRI’s SafeTRX safety app after the group lost its bearings at sea.

Distress alert

NSRI regional operations manager Dean Wegerle said rescue teams were activated after a sea kayaker offshore of Three Anchor Bay sent a distress alert.

It was later established that the group, comprising two local women aged 60 and 59 and three German tourists aged 35, 26 and 21, had launched from the Three Anchor Bay slipway earlier that morning before becoming trapped in dense fog.

“In communications with the lead sea-kayaker, it was confirmed that in dense fog they had become disoriented and they were adrift without knowing which way was landwards, but they were maintaining staying together,” Wegerle said.

Training crew

A NSRI training crew preparing for routine exercises launched the rescue craft Colorpress Rescuer, while NSRI stations in Table Bay and Bakoven remained on standby.

The rescue effort gained additional support from local tourist kayak operator Atlantic Adventures, whose team had already cancelled planned excursions because of poor visibility.

During the operation, Atlantic Adventures personnel spotted three kayakers off Granger Bay and launched a support craft, only to discover they were not the paddlers who raised the alarm. Those kayakers were safely escorted ashore.

Recued

Meanwhile, NSRI crews continued searching through challenging conditions before locating the missing group about 1.3 nautical miles offshore of Clifton near Saunders Rocks.

“The five casualty kayakers were rescued onto our NSRI rescue craft and treated for mild hypothermia. Their sea-kayaks were also recovered,” Wegerle said.

The paddlers were transported to the Oceana Power Boat Club, then driven back to their vehicles at Three Anchor Bay.

No injury

Despite the ordeal, all five escaped serious injury and were reported to be in good spirits.

After the rescue, the NSRI urged paddlers to ensure every group member downloads and uses the SafeTRX smartphone safety app.

“It can happen when sea and weather conditions cause groups of paddlers to become separated at sea. Having the app can make a critical difference in an emergency,” Wegerle said.