Lone Sailor Rescued from Upturned Hull of Capsized Yacht

A lone sailor was rescued on Tuesday evening by Baltimore RNLI after his yacht capsized 70 miles off shore.

The volunteer lifeboat crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 5.50pm following a request from the Irish Coast Guard to go to the assistance of the sailor who had been taking part in a race when his yacht capsized off the coast of Baltimore.

The all-weather lifeboat crew arrived at the casualty vessel shortly after 9pm and found the sailor on the upturned hull of the catamaran in which he had been racing single-handedly.

Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 was also on scene.  Due to the conditions at sea, Coxswain Aidan Bushe decided the best course of action was to launch their small inflatable Y-Boat from the all-weather lifeboat with two RNLI crew members on board.

Brendan Cottrell and Brian McSweeney were able to manoeuvre the Y-Boat alongside the casualty vessel to rescue the sailor from the upturned hull.

RNLI crew members assisted the sailor up on to the lifeboat from the Y-Boat and Rescue 117 winched the casualty from the lifeboat into the helicopter where they then departed the scene at 9.58pm.

The Baltimore crew recovered their Y-Boat and the lifeboat made its way back to Baltimore, arriving back at the station at 1.30am.

There were seven volunteer crew onboard the lifeboat including Coxswain Aidan Bushe, mechanic Nigel Kehoe and crew members Brendan Cottrell, Eoin Ryan, Brian McSweeney, Jim Griffiths and Emma Lupton.

Conditions at sea during the call were challenging with a north to north westerly Force 6-7 wind and a 3 to 4m sea swell.

Kate Callanan, Baltimore RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer said the rescue was ‘a  great example of a joint-agency rescue working together under difficult conditions to save a life.’

She said they wished the sailor a speedy recovery and she thanked their colleagues in the Irish Coast Guard for their assistance provided during this callout.

Anyone who gets into difficulty at sea or on the coast, should call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.