Courtmacsherry RNLI assists two people on 20ft pleasure boat that catches fire
Courtmacsherry RNLI was called out at 3.30pm this afternoon (Saturday 3 September) by the Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-Ordinating Centre, to go to the immediate aid of a 20ft pleasure boat which had reported a fire onboard about a half a mile off shore from Duneen Point in Clonakilty Bay.
The lifeboat under Coxswain Sean O'Farrell and a crew of five was underway in nine minutes and proceeded at top speed to the area of the boat.
The Inshore Community Lifeboat at Inchydoney with two crew members onboard proceeded to the boat as well and reached the area quickly. The electrical fire onboard the vessel was quickly extinguished but the boat was unable to progress as the engine was damaged and could not proceed itself.
With this in mind, the Courtmacsherry lifeboat secured a towline at 4.10pm and towed the vessel to the nearest point of safety at Duneen while the Inchydoney inshore lifeboat brought the two crew members back to the safe terrain of the local pier at Ring.
The conditions at sea today were reasonable with an increasing swell in advance of some very high winds later tonight. Also joining in the response to the incident was the Naval Vessel LE James Joyce which was on passage nearby off shore.
Brian O'Dwyer, Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: 'It was great to see the co-operation of all the rescue agencies in today’s important call out as minutes matters when a fire occurs onboard any vessel.
Onboard the LE James Joyce today was Courtmacsherry lifeboat crew member Donal Young, as they were commencing their journey to Boston in the USA where they arrive on 10 September. The crew onboard the lifeboat today were Coxswain Sean O'Farrell, mechanic Stuart Russell, Conor Dullea, Pat Lawton, Evin O Sullivan and Dave Philips.
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