Sligo Bay RNLI rescue two people off 31ft Norwegian yacht

Sligo Bay RNLI rescued two people from a 31ft Norwegian flagged yacht at the weekend.

The charity’s volunteer lifeboat crew was tasked by Malin Head Coast Guard at 3.36pm on Saturday (18 August) following a report that the vessel had got into difficulty.

Crew on board the inshore lifeboat Elsinore, proceeded to the scene eight miles off Ballyconnell in County Sligo.

Weather conditions were good at the time with strong tides.

A man and a woman onboard the yacht had been on passage from the Labrador Coast in Canada.

The couple had set out on a voyage from their home in Oslo and had travelled to the Caribbean and the East Coast of America and were returning across the Atlantic when they got into difficulty.

Both of the yacht’s main sails were shredded in a gale and it subsequently suffered engine failure.

Arriving on scene, lifeboat crew established a tow and took the vessel into Sligo Harbour, arriving after three hours.

When the yacht was safely secured, the couple were brought into the Sligo Bay station where they were made comfortable.

Sligo Bay RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Willie Murphy said: ‘The couple were tired after being at sea for 21 days but were in good spirits. They were extremely grateful to the crew for their service and to all at the station for their assistance after’.

This is the second time this summer that Sligo RNLI has had connections with Norwegian sailors. In June, a 30 strong Norwegian shanty choir attended Rosses Points RNLI Shanty Festival to sing a song they had especially composed to commemorate the saving of a Norwegian crew off a shipwrecked sailing barque in the late 1800's on Coney Island, Sligo Bay.

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RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Nuala McAloon RNLI Press Officer on 087 648 3547 or email Nuala_McAloon@rnli.org.uk or Niamh Stephenson RNLI Public Relations Manager on 087 1254 124 or 01 8900 460 email Niamh_Stephenson@rnli.org.uk