West Cork RNLI crew rescue yacht stranded for past four days

The RNLI Lifeboat arriving back to Courtmacsherry with the stricken demasted yacht and skipper. Picture: RNLI

An RNLI crew rescued a lone sailor whose yacht suffered engine failure and a broken mast off the Cork coast this morning.

The Courtmacsherry All-Weather Trent Class RNLI lifeboat was called out to assist the stricken vessel at 9.10am.

The 32ft yacht, with one sailor on board, had gotten into difficulties some 15 miles south-west of Courtmacsherry Bay in West Cork.

The boat had been at sea for the last two weeks, travelling from the Azores to Ireland. 

It suffered the mast break four days ago and its skipper had gone without sleep in challenging battled difficult weather conditions since then.

After responding to the alert, Frederick Storey Cockburn, under volunteer Coxswain Kevin Young and a crew of four, reached the yacht at 10.10am.

During an assessment of the vessel's condition, the RNLI crew found that its engine had been completely disabled.

A short time later, the RNLI volunteers attached a tow to the yacht and cautiously brought it back towards the port of Courtmacsherry.

One volunteer boarded the yacht to assist its tired skipper until the two boats arrived safely home at 1.15pm.

RNLI Lifeboat crewmembers pictured after they arrived back to base. Picture: RNLI

“We are all so relieved that the crewman was rescued so quickly this morning and praised the great response of all the crew and officers who left their workplaces and rushed to the station, in order to help a fellow seaman in distress at sea this morning,” said Courtmacsherry RNLI operations manager Brian O'Dwyer.

The crew involved in this morning’s callout — the 17th for the lifeboat station in Courtmacsherry this year — were coxswain Kevin Young, mechanic Pat Lawton, and crewmembers Tadgh McCarthy, Evin O'Sullivan, and Conor Tyndall.

They were assisted by station officer Martin McCarthy, who recently received a silver medal from the RNLI for over 50 years of service, and current crewman Conor Dullea, who recently received his 30-year service award as a crewperson at the station.

Mr O’Dwyer said the Courtmacsherry RNLI crew have already refuelled and restocked in preparation for their next callout.