A man was drowned yesterday after he was swept out to sea while swimming at the Forty Foot bathing area in Sandycove, Co Dublin. Mr William Wyse (61), an experienced swimmer who bathed at the Forty Foot all year round, was with a friend at the cove shortly after 6 a.m. when he got into difficulties. Weather conditions were described as very poor with a southerly Force 5 to 6 wind.
His friend raised the alarm, and the Irish Marine Emergency Service called out the RNLI lifeboats at Dun Laoghaire and the IMES Sikorski rescue helicopter, based at Dublin Airport. An IMES coastal watch shore crew was also called out and a civilian craft joined the search.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Mr Wyse's body was recovered by the inshore lifeboat from Scotsman's Bay, the bay between the Forty Foot and Dun Laoghaire harbour. An RNLI spokesman said that because conditions were so poor the lifeboats used imaging equipment, the heat-sensor infra-red equipment often used in night searches. The crew of three on the inflatable lifeboat found Mr Wyse's body near rocks in the bay.
At the time of the tragedy, the combination of wind and an incoming tide increased the waves. It is thought the undercurrent pulled Mr Wyse out to sea. The swimmer, who was retired and lived at Clonkeen Crescent, Kill O' The Grange, Dun Laoghaire, was married with three children.
A group of swimmers who regularly swim at the Forty Foot were there, but it is thought Mr Wyse and his companion were the only ones in the water at the time.
The Forty Foot has a good safety record. The last fatality there was in May 1994 when a diver became entangled in nets in 10 metres of water.
