Four on yacht brought to safety at Baltimore

Baltimore RNLI was called out to aid a yacht that got into difficulty 52 miles off the coast on Sunday.

The rescue operation took nine hours to complete from the time the volunteer lifeboat crew launched their all-weather lifeboat just before 1pm.

The RNLI crew were responding to requests from the Irish Coast Guard and the UK Coastguard to go to the assistance of a 36-ft motor yacht in difficulty with four people on board.

They arrived at the casualty vessel at 3.22pm and after making sure everyone onboard was okay, coxswain Aidan Bushe established a tow.

The lifeboat and casualty vessel were underway by 3.30pm and arrived safely back in Baltimore shortly after 10pm.

There were six RNLI volunteers onboard the lifeboat including the coxswain Aidan Bushe and the mechanic Micheal Cottrell, as well as crew members Pat Collins, David Ryan, Colin Whooley and Jim Griffiths.

Conditions at sea during the call were described as choppy with an easterly force 3-4 wind, a 1.1m sea swell and good visibility.

‘It was a long callout for our volunteer lifeboat crew who spent over nine hours at sea,’ said Kate Callanan, Baltimore RNLI’s press officer, ‘but the occupants of the yacht did the right thing in requesting assistance,’

Anyone at difficulty at sea or along the coast should call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.