By Dan Walsh
A crew of nine were rescued in a joint operation on Wednesday evening by Rosslare Harbour and Kilmore Quay RNLI after their 12-metre yacht got into difficulty after breaking its rudder off the Wexford coast. The yacht had been taking part in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race.
Kilmore Quay RNLI’s volunteer crew were requested to launch their all-weather Tamar class lifeboat Killarney, by the Irish Coast Guard at 8.40pm. The lifeboat under Coxswain Eugene Kehoe and with six crew members onboard immediately launched and made its way to the scene.
The yacht had been taking part in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race. A second yacht taking part in the race stood by with the stricken vessel until the lifeboat arrived.
The Rosslare Harbour volunteer crew were requested to launch their all-weather Severn class lifeboat Donald and Barbara Broadhead, by the Irish Coast Guard at 9.25pm. The lifeboat under Coxswain Micheál Ferguson and with five crew members onboard immediately launched and made its way to the scene arriving at 9.55pm where a towline had been established to the yacht by the Kilmore Quay crew.
The sea was moderately choppy in a moderate north-easterly wind. Visibility was good. Given the location of the vessel and the conditions at the time, it was decided that the safest option was to tow the vessel to Rosslare Harbour.
The towline was secured to the Rosslare Harbour lifeboat at 10.40pm. The yacht was safely berthed in Rosslare Harbour at 11.50pm alongside the lifeboat. All nine crew on board the yacht was wearing a flotation device and were unharmed.
Speaking following the call out, Tony Kehoe, Rosslare Harbour RNLI Deputy Launching Authority said; “We were delighted to work with our colleagues at Kilmore Quay RNLI to bring these nine sailors to safety. We would like to commend the sailors for going to sea prepared and for wearing proper flotation devices and having good communication equipment when at sea, that is always the right thing to do.”
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