Lough Derg RNLI assists 2 people on a 20ft motorboat with engine failure.

The motorboat was south of the Scilly Islands and lying side on to weather. The wind was easterly, F3 with good visibility.

The lifeboat, with helm Eleanor Hooker, Joe O’Donoghue, Chris Parker and Ania Skrzypczynska on board, immediately made way to the vessel. The two people on board the casualty vessel asked for assistance as their boat had suffered engine failure. The lifeboat informed Valentia Coast Guard of the situation. Crew set up an astern tow to take the vessel with her passengers back to Garrykennedy Harbour, the closest available safe harbour, and from where they had started their journey.

At 12.13pm the casualty vessel was safely tied alongside at Garrykennedy Harbour. At 12.18pm Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat, Jean Spier, departed the scene to return to station.

Liam Maloney, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI, advises boat users to ‘carry a means of communication, and, when in difficulty, call 112 or 999 and ask for marine rescue’.

Key facts about the RNLI

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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