Baltimore RNLI was called out yesterday afternoon to a sailing sloop that had filled with water near the town's harbour.
Baltimore RNLI was called out yesterday afternoon to a sailing sloop that had filled with water near the town’s harbour.
The volunteer lifeboat crew launched their inshore lifeboat following a request from the Irish Coast Guard at 2.48pm to assist a 6m sailing vessel, with two people onc board, after it had got caught up in pot buoys, had been knocked over by a strong gust of wind, and filled with water.
The lifeboat, with three volunteer crew on board – helm Jerry Smith and crew members Micheal Cottrell and David Ryan – reached the casualty vessel within three minutes of launching.
When the inshore lifeboat arrived on scene a rib with another volunteer Baltimore lifeboat crew member, Colin Whooley, was already standing by whilst the sailors were bailing the water from their vessel.
Inshore volunteer crew member Micheal Cottrell went aboard the sloop to assist with the bailing and once the vessel was clear of water, the sailors were happy to sail back to Baltimore Harbour unassisted. The lifeboat returned to station, arriving at 3.30pm.
Assisting at the lifeboat station were Rianne Smith and Marty O’Driscoll. Conditions at the time were fresh with a westerly force 5 wind, but only slight sea swell due to the shelter of the surrounding islands.
Speaking following the call-out, Kate Callanan, Baltimore RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer said: ‘Even though the sailors were in no immediate danger, they did the right thing in requesting assistance just in case they were unable to handle the situation themselves. If you get into difficulty at sea or on the coast, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.’
