It was a busy August Bank Holiday weekend on the Wexford coast with three callouts for Rosslare Harbour’s lifeboat volunteers.
The first came on Saturday evening (3 August) at 6pm, when the lifeboat readied for launch to a report of a 10m yacht entangled in fishing gear some three miles from the harbour.
The stricken yacht, with four people on board, was quickly reached by the lifeboat as the seas were calm and a fine evening, according to Rosslare Harbour RNLI.
The all-weather lifeboat’s secondary craft was launched with two volunteers, who manoeuvred into position and managed to cut the yacht free, allowing its journey to continue.
The second callout was in the early hours of Sunday morning (4 August), following a 3am Mayday sent by a 17m schooner that was taking on water.
The tall ship and its complement of 10, including a number of children, were escorted safely back to the harbour by the lifeboat.
The third request for help came later on Sunday, when a small 4m boat with a lone injured person on board was found drifting by a passing freighter around 12 miles east of Tuskar Rock Lighthouse.
The casualty was airlifted to Waterford Hospital by the Irish Coast Guard’s Waterford-based helicopter Rescue 117.
Rosslare Harbour RNLI made an attempt to tow the small boat back to port, but the casualty vessel sank shortly after beginning the tow.