Three crew went missing yesterday after a sailing trip around Long Island went tragically wrong
A sailor has drowned off the coast of west Cork after the 18ft yacht he was on board capsized on Wednesday evening.
The man and two other crewmembers, aged between 60 and 76, were reported missing at around 7pm after they failed to return from their sailing trip when expected.
An upturned yacht was discovered by the coastguard’s inshore RIB and all-weather lifeboat following searches on Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.
An RNLI spokesperson said the Drascombe Lugger named Zillah was found in Roaring Water Bay around 1.5 miles from shore, between Castle Island and Carthy’s Island.
Rescue crews then discovered two of the missing crew on Castle Island early on Thursday after they were able to swim to shore following the capsize.
The pair, a man and woman, were both suffering from hypothermia after spending the night on the island and were airlifted to Baltimore before being transported to hospital.
Lifeboat crews recovered the body of the third sailor around 8.20am on Thursday.
The two rescued sailors told emergency crews that their friend had drifted away from them as they swam for shore.
The man is said to have been wearing a lifejacket when he entered the water, several hundred metres from one of the islands in the area.
The group were planning to spend a few hours sailing around Long Island before returning to Schull.
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