Rosslare Harbour RNLI responds to three call outs over Bank holiday weekend

The lifeboat crew had the three call outs between Saturday evening and 10am on Sunday morning (3-4 August).

On Saturday evening, the lifeboat was requested to launch at 6pm by the Irish Coast Guard following a report that a 10m yacht with four people onboard had got entangled in fishing gear approximately three miles from Rosslare Harbour.

The vessel was quickly reached by the lifeboat as the seas were calm and a fine evening. The all-weather lifeboat's daughter craft attached to the main lifeboat was launched and two volunteers manoeuvred into position and managed to cut free the yacht which then continued on its way.

The lifeboat was requested to launch once again at 3am. A Mayday had been sent by a 17m schooner which was taking in water as there were 10 people onboard including children. This yacht made its way back to the harbour, shadowed by the lifeboat.

The third request for help involved a small 4m boat found drifting by a passing freighter, some 12 miles east of Tuskar Rock lighthouse with a lone injured person onboard. This lone person was airlifted to Waterford Hospital by the Irish Coast Guard's helicopter R117 from Waterford. The lifeboat attempted to tow the small boat back to port but unfortunately it sank shortly after beginning the tow.

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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