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The Irish Sun

Two crew & 40ft yacht ‘in danger of sinking' near Irish coast rescued from harsh sea conditions in major RNLI operation

TWO people were rescued from a sinking yacht off the coast West Cork this morning by the RNLI. The Courtmacsherry all weather Advertisement 3 The lifeboat Val Adams arriving back to Courtmacsherry alongside the yacht Credit: Vincent O Donovan / Courtmacsherry RNLI. 3 Courtmacsherry RNLI crewmembers Ian McCarthy and Niamh Hurley Credit: Vincent O Donovan / Courtmacsherry RNLI. The yacht, which had begun to take on water after losing power in the early hours of the morning, struggled in the swelly conditions of the Upon rescuing the two people on board, the crew of the Val Adams managed to also save the Speaking on the incident, Vincent O'Donovan, the life station launch authority, said: "The Lifeboat under Coxswain Ken Cashman and a crew of five were underway in 13 minutes and reached the scene of the incident at 5am. "They quickly located the stricken yacht and immediately took the casualty in tow while making sure that water was being pumped out to prevent sinking" Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS He added: "A nearby 85ft fishing boat also arrived on scene and provided assistance with radio contact. "With the yacht in tow and water intake being monitored, the decision was made to slowly tow the casualty back to the nearest port of Courtmacsherry. "Both boats arrived to the safety of the Courtmacsherry Pier at 9.30am and the yacht crew were mighty pleased to be on safe terrain after a very eventful early morning." The yacht is believed to have been on passage from Advertisement MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN Speaking on the success of the operation, Station Voluntary Operations Manager Brian O Dwyer said: "It was great to have 16 of our Lifeboat crew and officers arrive so quickly from their beds early this morning to partake in a dramatic rescue that was activated by the success of an Epirb being set off at sea which alerted the authorities". RIPTIDE WARNING This comes following Ahead of forecasts of bad weather, the three organisations have urged swimmers to seek advice before entering the water this bank holiday weekend. The bad weather, they say, "will further increase the risk of getting into difficulty, especially on east coast where offshore winds will blow from land out to sea". Advertisement Rips are strong currents which run out to The RNLI says that rips are particularly powerful in large surfs and are often found around river mouths, estuaries and man-made structures like piers and groynes. They are also apparently "notoriously difficult to spot". The RNLI urges swimmers to "choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags" to avoid the currents. Advertisement They also advise wearing a bright-coloured swimming hat and never swimming alone. If caught in a rip, they advise you do not against it, instead you should wade if you can or swim parallel to the shore . 3 The crew of Val Adams was called out at 3.40 am to aid the yacht which had run into difficulties off the coast of west cork Credit: Vincent O Donovan / Courtmacsherry RNLI.