Sailor rescued from drifting yacht off Waterford coast during strong winds

Ballycotton RNLI crew towed a 14-metre yacht to safety after it encountered trouble near Ram Head

The lifeboat arrived on scene at 2.25pm and the crew quickly established a tow line.

A sailor has been rescued from a yacht off the Waterford coast that was at risk of being blown ashore.

Ballycotton RNLI launched just before 2pm on Tuesday following a call for assistance from the skipper of a 14-metre yacht, which had encountered difficulties due to strong onshore winds around one and a half miles from Ram Head.

The station’s all-weather Trent class lifeboat, The Austin Lidbury, was launched and navigated through Force 5 winds, a two-metre swell, and poor visibility to reach the yacht’s location, approximately 12 miles from Ballycotton.

The lifeboat arrived on scene at 2.25pm and the crew quickly established a tow line.

With wind and tide in their favour, the lifeboat brought the yacht safely back to Ballycotton Harbour by 4.30pm.

“It was very fresh out there, but thanks to the quick actions of the sailor, we were able to prevent the situation from deteriorating near the shore,” Ballycotton RNLI Coxswain Eolan Walsh said.

“We would remind everyone to follow appropriate water safety advice for their activity and to always carry a means of raising the alarm in case of emergency.” 

He was joined on the callout by volunteer crew members Eolan Breathnach, Mike Kenneally, Mike Hallahan, and Adrian Erangey.