Kilmore Quay RNLI volunteer crew were called late on Saturday night to assist a yacht with four people on board that had lost power at sea, having also launched in the afternoon to reports of four swimmers in difficulty at a local beach.
The crew were requested to launch their all-weather Tamar class lifeboat Killarney, by the Irish Coast Guard at 3.40 pm on Saturday, 24 June, to reports of four swimmers in difficulty at Ballyteige Burrow beach, west of Kilmore Quay harbour.
Two friends went swimming from the beach and found themselves unable to swim back to shore. Back ashore, their friends noticed they were in difficulty and rang the Irish Coast Guard to raise the alarm, while another took the ring buoy from the beach and swam out to assist the pair in difficulty.
The lifeboat under Coxswain Eugene Kehoe immediately launched and made its way to the scene. Meanwhile, another swimmer and a kayaker, also seeing the pair in difficulty, had made their way to the pair to lend assistance. A small boat that was nearby had also arrived on scene and recovered three of the swimmers, who were then transferred to the lifeboat. The fourth swimmer was recovered by the Y-boat launched from the lifeboat. On return to Kilmore Quay Harbour, the lifeboat was met by the Kilmore Quay Irish Coast Guard unit and a paramedic. One of the swimmers had swallowed some seawater and was taken to hospital as a precaution by the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 117.
At 11:09 pm Saturday night, the Irish Coast Guard requested the volunteer crew to respond to a Pan Pan call to assist four people aboard a yacht that had lost all power. The lifeboat, under Coxswain Eugene Kehoe with six crew members on board, immediately launched and made its way to the 12m yacht situated 18 miles southeast of Kilmore Quay. Conditions at the time were drizzly with poor visibility, light southeasterly winds and a slight sea swell.
Arriving on scene approximately one hour later, the lifeboat crew checked that all on board the yacht was safe and well before assessing the situation with the vessel. A decision was made to establish a towline and return to the nearest port, which was Kilmore Quay. The passage back to port with the vessel under tow took just over two and a half hours. Arriving back in the harbour at 2:53am, the casualty vessel was secured alongside the marina. The lifeboat returned to its berth and was made ready for service again by the crew.
Speaking following the call outs, Kilmore Quay RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager John Grace, said: ‘'Thankfully both call outs had a happy ending. The young people at the beach did the right thing in raising the alarm when they noticed their friends in trouble, which helped to prevent the situation from becoming much worse. Always remember when you see someone in trouble call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard. “
