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At 11:55 a.m. Saturday, Westport police received a 911 call about a kayaker possibly in distress.
The caller said she saw a yellow kayak in the water off Soundview Avenue in Westport and that a person appeared to be clinging to it, police said.
Officers dispatched to the area found a yellow kayak washed up on the beach, police said.
Concerned that a kayaker was still in Long Island Sound, the Westport Police Marine Unit was activated and the U.S. Coast Guard sent vessels to aid in the search.
Shortly after the search began, a male approached an officer on Soundview Avenue and said the kayak that had washed up on the beach belonged to him, police said.
He and a family member, who was in a separate kayak, had launched in Southport and planned to kayak to Westport, police said.
Shortly after getting underway, he was thrown from the kayak because the water was extremely choppy, police said. He told police he was able to hold onto the kayak’s paddle and used it to assist him in getting back to shore.
The kayaker said he came ashore at Sherwood Island State Park, police said.
Although the kayaker had been in the water for an extended period of time, he appeared to be uninjured and declined medical attention, police said.
The kayaker was wearing a personal flotation device, which likely played a big part in this positive outcome, police said.
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