Ballycotton Lifeboat rescues stricken yacht 60 miles off Cork coast in one of their longest callouts
The crew of Ballycotton RNLI's all-weather lifeboat had a mammoth 14-hour callout yesterday to tow a vessel that was taking on water 60 miles off the Cork coast.
The lifeboat was launched at 9.28am on Saturday morning after a request from Falmouth coastguard in the UK who reported an emergency beacon had been activated by a 40ft yacht that needed immediate assistance.
Sennen Cove lifeboat and the Coast Guard helicopter from Newquay in England were also dispatched to the scene, but were stood down when the Ballycotton lifeboat and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 arrived.
After they arrived, it was confirmed that the water in the yacht was receding, so Rescue 117 was stood down and the lifeboat towed the vessel safely to Crosshaven in Cork in what was described as "fresh" conditions.
It was 14 hours before the lifeboat crew returned home to Ballycotton.
Ballycotton RNLI Coxswain, Eolan Walsh, said: "This was one of the longest callouts for our lifeboat crew as they spent nearly a day at sea ensuring the safe passage of a yacht which was taking on water miles off the Cork coast.
"Many agencies and vessels played a part in the successful resolution of this and thankfully nobody was injured with both crew and yacht being brought safely to shore.
"I want to thank my volunteer lifeboat crew who despite the challenging conditions were focused on bringing everyone home safely."
