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One of the boats being assisted by the RNLI in Blind Strand, Co Cork. Vincent O Donovan/Courtmacsherry RNLI.
courtmacsherry
Two people in two speedboats rescued by RNLI after mayday calls off Cork coast
One of the boats had put out its mayday message saying they were in danger of sinking.
TWO PEOPLE WERE taken safely to shore in Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, after they each got into difficulty in separate incidents on speedboats last night.
The Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat crew were called out by the Valentia Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Centre, to go to the immediate aid of the two speedboats off Blind Strand on the Seven Heads coastline in West Cork.
The five crew members of the all-weather Shannon class lifeboat “Val Adnams”, under Coxswain Kevin Young, assembled quickly when the Coast Guard alerted that one of the boats had put out its mayday message saying they were in danger of sinking.
Underway in less than 10 minutes, the Lifeboat reached the area of where the two boats were at 8.22pm.
A local RIB owner, Rory Conlon, was nearby and also responded to the Mayday call and was “a vital link in being on scene immediately to help pull the first boat away from the rocky shore and help with the bailout of water from the second boat”, the RNLI said.
Once stability was regained on the smaller vessel, and with a difficult offshore wind blowing off Blind Strand, the Lifeboat crew decided to secure the bigger speedboat, which had developed mechanical difficulties, in a towing position and put a member of the Lifeboat Crew on to the smaller craft.
Both people were brought back to the Courtmacsherry Pier and arrived just after 9.40pm. For one of the crew, Taylor Murphy, it was his first call-out after completing his training course and joining his father on board the “Val Adnams”.
The Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Brian O Dwyer said: “It was good that all ended well this evening on what could have been very dangerous incidents for all concerned.”
O Dwyer said the fast response of local Rory Conlon to the mayday call on the VHF radio was “vital” and pleaded with everyone at sea on boats to make sure that life jackets are worn at all times and call for help immediately by dialling 112 or 999 and asking for the Coast Guard.
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