A 39ft–wooden yacht with three people onboard was brought to safety by Wexford and Rosslare Harbour RNLI in County Wexford yesterday evening.

Volunteer lifeboat crew from both stations were requested to launch just before 7.30pm following a report that a yacht had got into difficulty off Wexford Bar.

The 1925 ketch with three onboard was on passage from Scotland to the south coast of England when it got stranded on a sand bank in the mouth to Wexford Harbour.

The inshore lifeboat from Wexford and the all-weather lifeboat from Rosslare were launched along with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 from Waterford.

Weather conditions at the time were described as fair with a Force 2-3 west to south westerly wind and a smooth sea state.

Once on scene at 7.38pm, the lifeboat crew observed that the vessel had damaged its steering gear and was stuck in a shallow area of Wexford Harbour. The crew from Wexford RNLI proceeded to take a tow line from Rosslare’s lifeboat and pass it to the sailors of the vessel.

Using their training, both lifeboat crews worked together to release the yacht. The inshore lifeboat was able to use its shallow draft to manoeuvre the casualty and tow the vessel into deeper waters while the power of the Rosslare all-weather lifeboat ensured the tow was carried out effectively. Once in safer waters, Rosslare RNLI then towed the vessel to Rosslare Port where it was safely secured at 9.45pm.

Speaking following the call out, Lorraine Galvin, Wexford RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer said: ‘This call out involved teamwork with our colleagues from Rosslare Harbour RNLI as we worked together and depended on each other to successfully release the yacht. The sailors did the right to raise the alarm when they started to encounter problems because time was of the essence. While the water may have appeared flat calm, in another couple of hours things could have changed dramatically in that area of the harbour.’

While out on a weekly lifeboat exercise Rosslare RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew were called out by the Coast Guard to two separate incidents.

The first incident, which occurred close to the Burrow point at Rosslare Strand, involved a small dog that had run across mud flats heading for the open sea. Rosslare Harbour lifeboat deployed its daughter boat and two volunteer lifeboat crew quickly located the dog and a local man who had gone to help. Both man and dog were found to be safe and made their way back to land. The two RNLI volunteers returned to the lifeboat and immediately were tasked to assist a yacht which had suffered mechanical failure.

Due to very calm conditions, the yacht was unable to continue its journey and requested assistance. Rosslare Harbour lifeboat reached the yacht, located a few miles southeast of Carnesore Point, off the Wexford coast. A tow established and the eight-metre yacht was brought towards Kilmore Quay where the RNLI all-weather lifeboat stationed at Kilmore Quay took over the tow and brought the yacht to safety.
Sea conditions were calm and with visibility fair.

Speaking after the incident Rosslare RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer Jamie Ryan stressed the dangers of going to the aid of animals. He said, ‘People can put themselves in great danger. It is always advisable to contact the emergency services first when a pet or animal gets into difficulty. We all love our animals and we want to help them safely but we don’t want to see owners put their own lives at risk doing it. The RNLI volunteers had a long day at sea but thankfully both incidents were resolved satisfactorily.’