Brave lifeboat crew rescue six fishermen in Force 9 gale off Dublin coast
The crew of the Dun Laoghaire RNLI rescued six fishermen in a Force 9 strong gale this morning after a 25m trawler was disabled off the coast of Dublin.
The volunteer lifeboat crew was requested to launch their all-weather lifeboat at 2.50am following a request by the Irish Coast Guard that the trawler was in difficulty outside the Kish Bank. The crew had been fishing for scallop when a rope got caught in the vessel’s propeller.
The lifeboat under Duty Coxswain David Branigan and with six crew members on board, launched shortly after 3am and reached the scene in the darkness around 12 nautical miles south east of Howth harbour.
The lifeboat crew were met by waves up to 4m high shortly before 4am.
They made numerous attempts with the fishermen to set up a tow in the high winds, poor visibility and difficult sea conditions made this task challenging before it was successfully established.
In winds gusting up to 50 knots, the lifeboat began the long passage towards Howth Harbour, and despite a slow speed of two to three knots, the towline parted three times.
Due to the winds and the size of the stricken trawler, Howth RNLI was asked to help at 9.40am to bring the vessel in.
The trawler and her crew were safely returned to shore at 10.40am.
Speaking following the call out, David Branigan, Dun Laoghaire RNLI Duty Coxswain said: "Our lifeboat crew deserve full credit for their efforts in the early hours of this morning which have seen us spend some eight hours at sea. We launched in the darkness and were met by difficult weather.
"The high winds and rough seas made this call out particularly challenging especially when establishing and keeping a tow but we persevered and thankfully were able to return the fishermen and their vessel safely to shore."
