Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat rescues speedboat

The Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Research Coordination Centre in Valentia tasked the RNLI lifeboat when it had received reports that a 17’ speedboat, with one person aboard, had become snagged on a rope and was unable to manoeuvre and he needed immediate assistance.

Castletownbere’s RNLI lifeboat, ‘Annette Hutton’, was tasked at 2:32pm and launched within minutes under the command of Coxswain Marney O’Donoghue with volunteer crew Dave O’Donovan, Joe Cronin, John Paul Downey and Donagh Murphy.

Shortly afterwards, the speedboat was located just off Dunboy Point within Berehaven Harbour. Weather on scene was described as ‘good visibility with Force 5/6 winds and a calm sea. Volunteer crew were able to free the stricken yacht by using a grappling hook and then cutting the snagged rope. The lifeboat took the vessel under tow to safety and it was berthed at Castletownbere Pier some time later.

Coxswain O’Donoghue commented that ‘the boat was in an awkward location making the rescue slightly more challenging but the volunteer crew managed to release the boat with little effort.'

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