Youghal RNLI’s volunteer crew launched their lifeboat to retrieve a dismounted jet ski yesterday afternoon (Sunday, 2 July) and upon their return, they were diverted to assist with what later transpired to be a false alarm. The alarm was raised by lifeguards working on Youghal Beach.
The inshore lifeboat launched at 4.30pm upon an alert from the Irish Coast Guard that there was a potential safety risk due to a dismounted jet ski in the water. A person onboard the jet ski had got into difficulty and was thrown into the water, and the wind took it away. However, the jetskiier managed to make it safely to shore.
Weather conditions at the time were described as clear but slightly choppy.
The lifeboat helmed by John Griffin Jnr and with crew members John McCarthy, Jason Innis and Ivan Brian onboard, made its way to the scene.
The lone jet ski was reported to be at Youghal’s front strand but upon the crew’s arrival on scene, the jet ski had drifted and was located a mile and a half from Youghal lighthouse.
The lifeboat crew assessed the situation and a decision was made to tow the vessel back to the front strand.
As the crew were returning at 5.30pm, they were alerted by the Coast Guard to a second call out and were requested to do a welfare check on a boat out by Capel Island. A member of the public raised the alarm after seeing what they thought was a boat in difficulty.
The crew diverted to the scene but on arrival found nothing and the reported boat was no longer on scene. The Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 117 from Waterford was also tasked and did a fly over but also found nothing. The search was subsequently stood down and the lifeboat returned to the station.
Speaking following the call outs, Youghal RNLI Helm John Griffin Jnr said: ‘The jet skier who had managed to make it safely ashore unaided had used the jet ski’s kill cord properly which ensured it didn’t run away. That is the right thing to do and kill cords are essential for safety.
‘We were happy to help with both incidents and would like to commend the member of the public who raised the alarm when they thought that somebody was in difficulty, we would always much rather launch and conduct a search and find nothing than not launch at all.’
