Lone yachtsman assisted by Courtmacsherry crew

Courtmacsherry RNLI went to the assistance today of a lone yachtsman returning from the Azores.

The skipper confirmed that the mast broke four days ago, but subsequent engine and steering failure at 8am this morning caused him to be completely disabled at sea.

Responding to a Coast Guard alert shortly after 9am, Courtmacsherry’s lifeboat, the Frederick Storey Cockburn, travelled 15 miles to the south west of Courtmacsherry Bay.

Within the hour, the volunteer crew of five – under voluntary coxswain Kevin Young – were alongside the vessel and were able to attach a tow line to the 32-ft yacht.

The yacht had been at sea for the past 14 days while on route from the Azores, but it was during a Force 9 squall that the mast broke.

The sailor was aiming for landfall at Crosshaven, but he was 15 miles off the Seven Heads when the engine and steering mechanisms failed.

‘We are all so relieved that the man was rescued so quickly this morning,’ said Brian O’Dwyer, the lifeboat operations manager, who praised the great response of all the crew.

Volunteer coxswain, Kevin Young, mechanic Pat Lawton, as well as Tadgh McCarthy, Evin O’Sullivan and Conor Tyndall, all left their work when the alarm was raised and rushed to the station in order to help a fellow seaman in distress at sea.