TWO PEOPLE AGED in their late 60s have been rescued off the coast of Cork after an unanswered ‘Mayday’ call left them stranded at sea for a number of days.

Yesterday evening the Castletownbere RNLI liveboat, the Annette Hutton, was called to the assistance of the yacht which a navy vessel had been towing for two days.

The 32’ yacht, was on passage from the Azores to the Hebrides when it was pounded by heavy seas and winds 150 miles per hour southwest of Mizen Head.

The yacht was demasted and a ‘Mayday’ called yielded no results. However they were eventually assisted by a Spanish fishing boat and then by the Irish navy.

Yesterday evening the RNLI lifeboat met with the navy vessel four miles southwest of Ardnakinna lighthouse and transferred the two sailors, aboard the lifeboat.

Their stricken vessel was towed back to Castletownbere, arriving at the pier at 7pm.

Commenting on the call-out, Lifeboat Operations Manager Tony O’Sullivan said “the survivors are very happy to be on dry land after five very difficult days at sea.”

“They are extremely grateful to the navy and the lifeboat crew for bringing them to safety,” he added.

(All images provided by Castletownbere RNLI)