A windsurfer has been hospitalised after going missing for seven hours off the Kerry coast yesterday.

A major multi-agency search and rescue operation was launched after 5pm yesterday after the surfer got into difficulty off Ballybunion.

The Irish Coast Guard Rescue 115 helicopter joined the Irish Navy’s LÉ Niamh and the Fenit RNLI all-weather lifeboat in the search.

The RNLI said the alarm was raised after the windsurfer – who was last seen at around 4pm – failed to return to shore.

The lifeboat service said winds were blowing Force 6–7 at the time with 3m swells. It said visibility was good for searching despite the dark conditions.

The windsurfer finally managed to make it back to shore at around 11pm – nearly 25 nautical miles away in Kilkee, County Clare.

He was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick where he is being treated for cold-related injuries.

Speaking after the rescue mission, Kilrush RNLI crew member Charlie Glynn said: “This is such good news this morning and we are delighted that after the windsurfer was missing for so long yesterday evening, that this man is alive.”

“While we don’t have the details from the casualty’s perspective, he had to have been an experienced windsurfer who was wearing the correct clothing and gear and who knew what to do when he got into difficulty.

“He stayed with his board and managed somehow to travel the long distance to shore.

“All in the RNLI wish him well for a full and speedy recovery following what must have been a frightening experience for him. “

He warned the public that “everyone taking to the sea to always respect the water.”

He said anyone heading out to sea on their own should always carry a personal locator beacon and tell someone that you are going out and when you will be back.