#Lifeboats - Arklow RNLI launched on Tuesday (2 April) to assist a vessel in distress following a request from the Irish Coast Guard and a pager alert at 3.20pm.
The volunteer crew left their jobs and normal workday behind and within minutes of the alert were aboard the lifeboat Ger Tigchlearr and under way to the reported position, some nine miles south east of Arklow and close to the offshore Arklow sand banks.
The casualty boat, a fishing vessel, had reported engine failure and was adrift, unable to anchor.
As the lifeboat made its way to the location, fellow Arklow RNLI coxswains and crew members who were at work aboard a wind turbine transfer and maintenance vessel heard the radio request for assistance.
The work vessel was closer to the stricken fishing boat, which was by now approximately half a mile from the sandbanks and in real danger of being wrecked in the prevailing westerly wind and moderate sea conditions.
Following a consultation with the lifeboat coxswain, the workboat crew were able to get a line safely aboard the vessel and tow it away from the sandbanks for a time.
As this was in progress, the lifeboat arrived on scene and its crew set up their own tow to bring the vessel and three aboard back home to Arklow.
Following the callout, Mark Corcoran, community safety officer at Arklow RNLI, said: “Thanks to the quick thinking and actions of our volunteers who were at work on the wind turbine vessel, Arklow RNLI was in the happy position to tow this fishing vessel and her crew of three to safety.
“We would remind people to respect the water and always wear a lifejacket and carry a means of calling for help when going out on the water.”