Lough Derg RNLI volunteers were tasked to the aid of two people on a cruiser which engine failure near Mountshanon Harbour yesterday afternoon, Sunday 6 September.
The inshore lifeboat Jean Spicer diverted from a training exercise just before 2pm and made way to the reported location.
With no vessel in sight, the lifeboat crew made radio contact with the stricken vessel, which it turned out had drifted close to rocks east of the Scilly Isles.
The two on board the 27ft cruiser were safe and unharmed, and wearing lifejackets.
A lifeboat crew member was put aboard and discerned that the cruiser has suffered a gearbox failure.
A tow was then set up to bring the broken down vessel back to Mountshannon Harbour, and within an hour the lifeboat had returned to Dromineer Bay to complete its exercise.
‘Even on the calmest days, inflatable toys are not fit for the conditions you will experience along our coastline’
Elsewhere on Sunday afternoon, Arklow RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Ger Tigchlearr launched to reports of a person in difficulty in a small inflatable boat off Mizen Head.
Once the crew was on scene, the individual tried to make his way back to shore while the lifeboat stood by.
But the rocky coastline and prevailing tidal conditions made this difficult, so it was agreed the safest option was to take the person on board the lifeboat.
Following the incident, Arklow RNLI’s community safety officer Mark Corcoran said: “Thankfully this afternoon was relatively calm, had conditions been worse the situation might not have ended so well.
“In recent weeks there has been a lot of rescues all around our coastline of people from small inflatable boats and toys.
“We’d like to remind people of the real risk of drowning when you go to sea on vessels of this nature, even on the calmest days these types of boats and toys are not fit for the conditions you will experience along our coastline.”