Rescue after yacht loses its mast and rigging while racing in Wicklow bay
The dismasted yacht, which had two children on board, was towed into Wicklow harbour by the RNLI
The crew of a yacht, which lost its mast and rigging in Wicklow bay in Ireland, were rescued yesterday afternoon (1 October).
The dismasting happened during racing.
The Wicklow RNLI all-weather and inshore lifeboats were both launched at 3.30pm following a request by the Irish Coast Guard.
Once the all-weather lifeboat arrived on the scene, three members of the volunteer RNLI crew boarded the nine metre yacht.
As a precaution, the two children on board the stricken vessel were transferred to the lifeboat.
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Conditions at the time were described as wind westerly force three, with good visibility. The sea state was slight.
The inshore lifeboat crew were tasked with recovering the mast and sail from the sea, which was still connected by rigging to the yacht.
Once the mast and sail was recovered and secured, a tow line was established.
The inshore lifeboat crew recovered the damaged sail and mast. Credit: RNLI/Wicklow
The yacht was then taken back to Wicklow harbour, where it was safely secured alongside the South Quay.
No one was injured during the incident.
Speaking after the callout, Wicklow’s second coxswain, Ciaran Doyle, said: “We located the dismasted yacht about half a mile off Wicklow harbour. As the mast and rigging were lying over the side of the yacht in the water, we got the inshore crew to recover them and once they were secure, we were able to tow the vessel to safety.”