The Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was tasked this afternoon to assist three people on board an 18ft sailboat reported to have run aground on a sand bank on the lake.
The volunteer crew was alerted to the incident by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.
At 4.29pm Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat ‘Jean Spier’ launched in fair conditions to the scene a mile northeast of Dromineer on the Tipperary shore, short distance from the lifeboat station. The wind was south-westerly, Force 4 while visibility was fair with mist and cloud and approaching dusk.
At 3.30pm the lifeboat came alongside the casualty vessel. All three people on board were safe and unharmed. The casualty vessel was found to be resting on a sandbank.
Given the boat’s location, progressive nightfall and the possibility of initiating another emergency response should the vessel be left where it was, the helm made the decision to take the vessel off the sandbank and under an astern tow to safe water. Once in safe water, the skipper checked that the casualty vessel’s outboard engine was working and then made way under their own power to the nearest safe haven at Dromineer Harbour.
The lifeboat informed staff in Valentia of this decision and stayed with the casualty vessel. At 4.54pm the casualty vessel was safely tied alongside in Dromineer Harbour. The lifeboat departed the scene and was back at station at 4.56pm
Jeremy Freeman, Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI, advises boat users ‘that water levels in the lake are particularly low at the moment and to follow charted routes into harbour’. He also advices that you ‘carry sufficient lifejackets for everyone on board and ensure everyone is wearing theirs correctly’.
