The Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was requested to launch yesterday to assist two people on a 16ft yacht aground on a shoal west of Terryglass Harbour.
At 5.05pm, watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry tasked the volunteer lifeboat crew to the incident.
By 5.25pm the lifeboat had located the casualty vessel aground on a shoal north of Terryglass Harbour. With a crew member taking soundings off the bow, the lifeboat made a cautious approach to the casualty vessel. Both people on board were safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets.
An RNLI volunteer boarded the casualty vessel and established that it was not holed. The skipper had been hoisting their sails when their outboard engine failed, and the wind pushed the yacht onto the shoal.
The lifeboat attempted to free the yacht from the shoal but returned to the casualty vessel when it was evident that the bow keel plate was stuck fast. Two RNLI crew rotated the bow and used the wind and wave to lift the casualty vessel off the shoal. The lifeboat took the yacht out into safe water where volunteers set up and alongside tow. The casualty vessel was tied safely alongside at Terryglass Harbour at 6.45pm.
Liam Maloney, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI advises boat users ‘if you find yourself in difficulty on Lough Derg, dial 999 or 112 and ask for marine rescue’.