The lifeboat launched at 2.38am and was on scene at 3.32am. Reports had been received from Dublin Coast Guard that the yacht was in urgent need of assistance after being damaged on collision with another vessel and was taking on water.
Arriving on scene the volunteer lifeboat crew saw debris in the water and noticed a considerable amount of damage to the yacht on the port side. They immediately assessed the state of the crew on both vessels, fifteen were onboard the Tall Ship and a single crewmember onboard the yacht.
The casualty vessel - Photo: RNLI
On establishing there were no injuries three lifeboat crew boarded the yacht and cleared some of the debris from the water. Due to the damage the lifeboat crew took the yacht under tow back to Rosslare Harbour and the Tall ship made its way on to Waterford.
The Irish Coast Guard Helicopter from Waterford arrived on scene and provided a strong search light overhead for the crews to work in. Conditions were good with a slight swell.
Commenting on the callout, Rosslare Deputy Launching Authority Dave Maloney said, " While there was damage to one of the vessels thankfully there was no serious injury to any person. The priority for the lifeboat crews was to ensure that there was no danger to anyone and that the vessel was taken back to shore as quickly as possible due to the threat of sinking.”
