The RNLI pagers sounded at 3.10pm on Sunday 25th April 2021 to reports of a sailing vessel aground off the west side of Irelands eye. The all weather lifeboat was launched and located the stricken sailing yacht with seven family crew members onboard. The yacht was hard aground and the inshore lifeboat was launched to navigate the shallow water around the stricken vessel.
The volunteer lifeboat crew took five members of the family aboard, the mother and four of the children and transferred them to the all weather lifeboat where they were checked out. All were in in good spirits and returned to the safety of Howth Marina.
The volunteer lifeboat crew checked for damage to the stricken yacht and suggested that the Father and eldest family member remain aboard until the next high tide which was 11.30pm later that evening and the yacht would float free with no damage.
The Howth RNLI Lifeboat Coxswain; Fred Connolly remained in phone contact with the skipper of the yacht over the remaining hours awaiting high tide.
The yacht refloated just after 8.00pm and returned safely under it’s own power.
Speaking following the callout, Fred Connolly, Howth RNLI Lifeboat Coxwain said, “Our volunteer lifeboat crew are always ready to respond to a call for help and we train for situations just like this. We were delighted to able to quickly locate the sailing boat, remove some of the family members and keep in contact with the skipper while the high tide returned and the yacht refloated safely.”
The RNLI continues to provide an on call 24/7 search and rescue lifeboat service. To ensure peoples’ own safety in or on the water please adhere to the relevant water safety guidance for your activity. More information can be found at www.rnli.org/safety.
- RNLI Media
