Kilmore Quay RNLI launched on Friday evening (22 April) to assist a yacht with an injured crew member 20 miles off the Wexford coast.
The volunteer crew were requested to launch their all-weather Tamar class lifeboat, Killarney, by the Irish Coast Guard at 4:00 pm to assist the crew of a 40-foot ketch that was approximately 20 nautical miles south of Kilmore Quay.
One of the two crew on board the ketch had sustained an injury to his shoulder. Conditions in the area at the time were overcast and squally, with a Force 5 north easterly wind. The sea state at the time was described as moderate.
The lifeboat under Coxswain Aidan Bates with four crew members on board immediately launched and made its way to the scene. Arriving on scene at 5:10 pm, the crew launched their Y-boat, transferring a crew member to the vessel to assess the situation. A decision was made to establish a towline and return the vessel and crew to the nearest port which was Kilmore Quay. At 5:22 pm with the towline secured the boats were underway.
The lifeboat crew member remained onboard the yacht for the passage back to Kilmore Quay, arriving safely back to the harbour at 8:00pm. The local Irish Coast Guard Unit provided assistance to the injured man.
The Kilmore Quay RNLI lifeboat crew involved in the call out were Coxswain Aidan Bates, mechanic Philip Walsh and crew members Trevor Devereux, Sean Furlong and Nigel Kehoe.
