Fire rescue crews Wednesday responded to distress calls from boaters, canoe paddlers and people on kayaks blown out to sea by gusty winds.

At about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday two men aboard a 12-foot tandem kayak ran into trouble off Sand Island after they were blown a mile and a half from shore. The Honolulu Fire Department’s rescue helicopter spotted the men, and the Coast Guard assisted in bringing them back to shore, according to Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.

At about 4:08 p.m. off Pokai Bay, three of four six-man canoes with canoe club paddlers ages 8 to 18 also faced challenges in waters off of Leeward Oahu. Seelig said one canoe flipped over, and two other canoes were blown about a mile and a half from the bay. Ocean safety personnel, fire rescuers and a good Samaritan responded and took several trips to bring the children, as well as the canoes, back to shore. No injuries were reported.

Five hours later a man in a 9-foot inflatable boat went adrift off of East Oahu after his boat motor died.

At about 9:33 p.m. the man boarded his boat to head to his sailboat moored off of Portlock Point. While in the water, the motor failed and the boat started to drift. He called 911 and reported that he was about a mile off of Niu Valley. At about 10 p.m. a rescue helicopter spotted the inflatable boat about two miles off of Aina Haina. Fire rescue picked up the boater and brought him to the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor and drove him back to Hawaii Kai.

Meteorologist Mike Cantin of the National Weather Service said strong winds are expected to subside by the holiday weekend.

The weather service had issued a high-surf advisory of 5- to 8-foot waves for east-facing shores. Wind speeds Wednesday afternoon were between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts of up to 36 mph.

Wind advisories are issued by the National Weather Service when wind speeds reach 30 to 39 mph with gusts up to 57 mph. Though an advisory wasn’t issued Wednesday, Cantin said, "It doesn’t take wind-advisory winds to blow you out."