#RNLI - Fethard RNLI launched last night (Saturday 20 August) on the request of the Irish Coast Guard to a vessel with one person onboard in difficulty a mile from Fethard in Co Wexford.
A member of the public raised the alarm at 7.30pm when they saw a vessel that appeared to be in difficulty off The Borrow at Grange Strand, off the Fethard coast.
The lifeboat was launched and the crew were able to secure a visual from the launching site of the blue-and-white 16ft vessel, which had a failed propeller.
The vessel had broken its mooring the previous night from Fethard Quay and had come ashore at a local area called the Windy Gap. The owner had successfully relaunched the vessel at 7pm, however a half a mile from shore the propeller got entangled in a rope.
Weather conditions were slightly overcast with a Force 4-5 south-westerly breeze and good visibility.
Arriving on scene, the volunteer lifeboat crew were able to successfully free the propeller of the rope, which allowed the inshore lifeboat to take the vessel by tow to Fethard Quay.
Speaking following the callout, Fethard RNLI deputy launching authority Tony Molloy said: "The volunteer crew responded quickly and was with the casualty within minutes. The pleasure boat was towed safely back to Fethard Quay where it was securely moored and the lifeboat returned to the station shortly after 9pm."
The Fethard lifeboat crew on this callout were helm Rory O'Connor, Cathal O'Connell, Dean Foley and Joe Dwyer, along with driver Eileen Murphy and shore crew Martin Doran, Malclom Ennis, Joey Murphy and Brendan O'Callaghan.
Fethard RNLI recently received a major boost in their fundraising efforts for a new inshore lifeboat, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.