#Youghal - Newly installed mooring buoys in Youghal Harbour are being examined after claims that a tangled chain almost pulled a visiting yachtswoman overboard.
According to the Irish Examiner, the woman and her husband commented in Youghal Sailing Club’s Facebook page about their experience at the harbour on 16 July last.
They described finding the mooring buoys at Nealon’s Quay hard to locate as they were half submerged, and when they did manage to avail of one, it was difficult to hook onto as it had “too small an eye”.
It was on attempting to lift this buoy that they discovered it would not budge due to a tangled chain, and the woman had to drop her hook for fear of being dragged overboard.
The couple also complained of an unusually small shackle on a larger buoy nearby — and suggested a pontoon as a more workable solution for visiting boats in the East Cork harbour.
The eight moorings were installed last year at a cost of €35,000, and East Cork Municipal District said there is “no intention of replacing” them.
Funding of €112,500 was confirmed earlier this year for the development of a pontoon and gangway in Youghal, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, but there is as yet no firm timeframe of the project.
