A MID-MORNING call-out to Courtmacsherry RNLI resulted in a lone fisherman having his boat mended on the spot.
Vincent O’Donovan, Courtmacsherry’s launch authority and press officer, told The Southern Star they got the call at 11.22am on Wednesday, May 7th and the crew on board the Val Adnams immediately went to the aid of the fisherman on board the 18ft vessel.
The fisherman had experienced mechanical failure just off the coast of Howe Strand at the Kilbrittain side of Courtmacsherry Bay, and had to call for help.
The lifeboat, under Coxswain Ken Cashman and a crew of five, launched quickly and reached the casualty at 11.45am.
They immediately secured the fishing boat alongside and both vessels progressed away from the rocky shoreline, which presented a danger.
The lifeboat crew boarded the vessel and RNLI mechanic Stuart Russell did a complete fix on the engine issues, which meant the fishing boat was able to make its own way back to harbour.
‘The lifeboat did provide watching cover alongside,’ the lifeboat operations manager Brian O’Dwyer confirmed.
He said the fact that the fisherman didn’t hesitate to call for assistance was positive, because although the weather was good, the winds could have caused complications.
He praised the crew members including coxswain Ken Cashman, mechanic Stuart Russell and crew members Dave Philips, Dara Gannon, Tom Kelly and Niamh Hurley.
This was the fourth callout for Courtmacsherry’s RNLI over a seven-day period, including a callout to a swimmer off Inchydoney Beach on May 1st and on same day, a callout to two people that were blown off shore on a bodyboard at Garrettstown Beach. In both of these incidents, the people involved ultimately got to safety themselves.
The third callout was on May 5th when the Coast Guard activated the pagers to investigate an inflatable that was seen off the Seven Heads coastline. After a detailed search, the lifeboat recovered an unoccupied dinghy off Cotton Rock on the Seven Heads coastline, which had broken loose from a passing yacht.
Wednesday, May 7th was also a significant day for Courtmacsherry Lifeboat Station, as it marked the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the cruise ship Lusitania just 12 miles off the Seven Heads coastline with the loss of 1,200 lives.
The Courtmacsherry lifeboat, while then based at Barryspoint, responded to that callout and had to row to the scene of the tragedy, as it was a totally calm day and their sails were of no use.
After their morning call-out on May 7th, the lifeboat crew under coxswain Mark Gannon proceeded with their annual trip to the wreck site of the Lusitania and laid a wreath, saying a prayer for those that were lost in the tragedy.
The day also marked Mark Gannon’s 49th year as a volunteer Coxswain and crew person at Courtmacsherry Lifeboat Station having been out on his first callout in 1976.
