THIS AFTERNOON AT 12.30, the Courtmacsherry RNLI received a ‘mayday’ call from the coastguard about a 40-foot sailing sloop that was in trouble.

The Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat launched immediately to the sailing boat, which was located eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale in West Cork.

Sean O Farrell and his crew of six reached the marooned boat at 1.10pm – not long after they received the alert.

They discovered that the boat, which was on its way from England to west Cork, had lost power because of worsening weather conditions out at sea. One of the people on board the yacht had fallen ill.

The lifeboat’s crew then tugged the sail boat back through “difficult conditions” and at a “low speed” to Kinsale’s shore.

Weather conditions at sea this afternoon have been described by the RNLI as “very poor, with strong winds forces and very heavy swells”.

Met Éireann has issued a status yellow weather warning for small crafts from Roche’s Point to Loop Head to Erris Head, effective from 11am today.

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