A man was rescued this afternoon on Lough Derg after his cruise boat was left drifting without power having suffered engine problems.
The alarm was raised at around 12.50pm when the Irish Coast Guard was alerted to a 17-foot cruiser with one person on board in difficulty. The vessel was reported to be drifting into shallow water North of Deer Rock on the Clare side of the lake.
The Killaloe unit of the Coast Guard was requested to launch their rescue boat while other volunteers travelled to the area by road.
On reaching the scene, a Coast Guard member was transferred to the casualty vessel to check on the lone occupant and assess whether any damage had been caused to the cruiser. The man was found to be safe and well and wearing his lifejacket.
Following a thorough assessment, the vessel was taken on tow back to safe harbour where it was safely secured with the assistance of the Coast Guard land crew. The occupant of the vessel was then transported to Mountshannon by the Coast Guard mobile unit.
A total of 37 adults, 5 children and a dog have been rescued or assisted by the the Irish Coast Guard or RNLI lifeboat in 11 separate incidents on Lough Derg since March 31st.
Both volunteer rescue teams advise lake users to carefully plan their journey before departure; study their charts and remain within marked navigation channels.
All the operations were coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.