Two fishermen have been brought to safety this afternoon by the RNLI after they got into difficulty off the Wexford coast.
Wexford RNLI was requested to launch their inshore lifeboat at 12.08pm following a report that a fishing vessel with two people on board was experiencing mechanical difficulty a mile and a half south east of Blackwater Head.
The lifeboat helmed by Frank O’Brien launched and made its way to the scene. Wexford RNLI then requested the assistance of Rosslare Harbour RNLI due to the location of the fishing vessel some 12 miles north of Rosslare Harbour. It was the fourth call out in a week for the volunteer lifeboat crew from Rosslare.
The all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Eamonn O’Rourke and with eight volunteer crew members on board launched at 12.29pm and made its way to the scene.
Weather conditions at the time were described as overcast but good. The men had been razor fishing when their boat got caught in lobster pots.
Once on scene, the lifeboat crew observed that no one was in immediate danger and began to work with the fishermen to establish a towline.
The vessel was then taken under tow and brought to the bar of Wexford escorted all the time by Wexford RNLI’s inshore lifeboat. Once there, Wexford RNLI took over and brought the vessel to shore at 4pm with the assistance of another fishing vessel which was in the area at the time. Having only finished a routine exercise when they were requested to launch at midday, this meant the volunteers from Wexford had spent some six hours at sea.
Meanwhile, yesterday (Saturday 12 March) Rosslare Harbour RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Keith Miller launched in thick fog at 7am after a fishing boat with three people on board was reported to have lost its rudder just off Rosslare. The lifeboat once on scene took the boat under tow and brought it to Blackrock where it was met by Kilmore Quay RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat which towed it into Kilmore Quay.
Meanwhile, at 6.30am on Thursday, the lifeboat launched under Coxswain Eamonn O’Rourke to go the assistance of a fishing boat which had broke from her moorings overnight and blew ashore due to a change in the weather conditions. On this occasion the lifeboat crew established a tow before the vessel was brought alongside the fishermen’s wall in the harbour.
Speaking following today’s call out, David Maloney, Rosslare Harbour RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘The fishermen did the right thing this afternoon and raised the alarm when they began to experience some difficulty. Our volunteers both from Rosslare Harbour and Wexford responded rapidly and worked well together to bring the fishermen safely to shore. It has been a busy week for our volunteers but they are always ready and delighted to help anyone in need at sea.’
