Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Officers responded to a call from Marion County regarding kayakers out of their boats near Nicakjack cave around 8:30 p.m. CDT on Monday. Officers arrived to find 33 kayakers, including eight children, stranded on a bank due to extremely high winds.
A Nickajack cave tour group left out of the Macedonia Road boat ramp earlier in the evening, paddling across the lake to the Nickajack cave. Harsh conditions and high winds quickly challenged the kayakers, and a few did enter the water. The entire group made it to shore near the cave and called for emergency assistance.
Haletown Volunteer Fire Department, Puckett EMS, and Marion County Sheriff’s Office also responded. New Hope Fire Department arrived with a boat for rescue efforts. However, the vessel was small, and it was capsized by winds before disconnecting from the trailer. TWRA officers were able to ferry kayakers to shore, where they were tended to by medical personnel. No injuries resulted from the incident.
All kayakers were wearing life jackets. TWRA Boating Officer David Holt said, “This is a great example of the importance of life jackets. With water temperatures in the mid to high 40s and high wind speeds, life jackets were a key safety factor.”
Wildlife officers and all agencies responded quickly to the scene to provide care for the stranded boaters and get them back to safety in extremely poor water conditions.