#RNLI - Courtmacsherry RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Frederick Storey Cockburn was called out at 9pm on Friday night (3 August) to go to the aid of a 36ft yacht adrift some 18 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale in West Cork.
Under coxswain Sean O’Farrell and a crew of six, the lifeboat was underway within minutes, travelling at its top speed of 25 knots, and located the vessel at 10.30pm.
The yacht had been on passage from the Isle of Wight when it lost power and its crew sent out a distress message to the Irish Coast Guard.
The lifeboat immediately attached a tow rope to the casualty and proceeded to tow the yacht, which had four crew onboard, slowly and safely back to Courtmacsherry Harbour.
Friday night’s callout was the first to use the Courtmacsherry station’s early warning message Siren, which will now be part of every callout in order to alert people in the water nearby or the public in the village that a lifeboat call is in progress.
Lifeboat operations manager Brian O’Dwyer said: “It’s been the busiest six weeks for many a year and many thanks to all the volunteers at the station for always putting the rescue of others ahead of all their other interests.”
The busy time continued over the August Bank Holiday weekend as the Courtmacsherry lifeboat was called at 12.20pm n Saturday afternoon (4 August) to a pleasure cruiser in difficulty off the Seven Heads peninsula.
The casualty boat, with three on board, had fouled its propellers and lost power while on passage to Castletownshend, having departed Crosshaven the previous day.
Once again under coxswain Sean O’Farrell, the lifeboat towed the stricken vessel back to the safe surrounds of the Courtmacsherry Pier Pontoon.
