Life jacket warning after Lough Derg rescue

The Lough Derg RNLI is warning boaters to make sure there are enough life jackets for everyone on board after a family of five had to be rescued at the weekend.

Credit: Lough Derg RNLI

The family of five got into difficulty when their 35-foot cruiser ran aground on a rocky shoal by Ryan’s Point, Lough Derg.

The volunteer crew of the RNLI lifeboat responded at around 3.30pm on 30 July.

On arrival, it was discovered that some members of the family were not wearing life jackets.

An RNLI crew member was transferred on board to distribute survivor life jackets and to reassure the two adults and three children.

He also checked for any damage to the hull of the cruiser.

The lifeboat then towed the vessel off the rocks and out into safe water.

The cruiser’s drives and propellors were checked to ensure they were in working order, before it continued on its journey.

Following the incident, the deputy launching authority at Lough Derg RNLI, Pat Garland, advised all boat users “to carry enough lifejackets for everyone on board and to ensure they wear them, and to study their charts and stay within the navigation marks on the lake.”

This was the second call-out for the RNLI volunteers on 30 July.

Earlier in the afternoon, the crew were called out to assist a family on a 40-foot cruiser aground at the Goat Road.

The seven people on board were unharmed and all wearing their lifejackets.

A RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew member was transferred to the casualty vessel where he reassured everyone and checked for any damage to the hull and any ingress of water.

Satisfied that the boat was not holed, he set up a tow and the lifeboat took the vessel off the rocks and out into safe water.

The drives and propellers were checked to ensure they had suffered no damage.

The crew pointed out the safe route on the cruiser’s navigation charts, before the family continued to Dromineer.