TWO CRUISE BOATS, carrying a total of four adults and two children, had to be towed to safety after they got into difficulty on Lough Derg today.

The first incident involved a call where a boat was reported to be drifting without power and later found to be taking on water. The second callout was for a vessel that suffered propeller failure.

Killaloe Coast Guard was tasked at around 12.30pm following a report of a boat adrift between Scilly Island and Parkers Point.

The 27-ft cruiser, with two people on board, was reported to have suffered engine failure and drifting without power in the navigation channel.

Coast Guard volunteers raced to the scene where they soon located the casualty vessel near Garrykennedy Harbour off the Tipperary shore. The man and woman on board were unharmed.

The cruiser was taken on tow by the Coast Guard boat and brought into Garrykennedy where it was safely tied up alongside.

During further investigation of the vessel, it was discovered that the boat had been taking on water and that the engine compartment had flooded. Coast Guard personnel assisted by pumping the water from the compartment.

In the meantime, at around 2.45pm, the Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was called out to investigate a report of a boat in difficulty.

On reaching the casualty vessel, RNLI volunteers found that the skipper had dropped anchor close to Whitegate, Co Clare and that his vessel’s propellers had failed after becoming fouled by the boat’s stern lines.

The lifeboat crew assessed the situation and established that the two adults and two children on board were unharmed and wearing their life jackets. The vessel was taken under tow to Dromineer Harbour were it was safely tied alongside despite challenging weather conditions.

At the time, winds on the lake were southerly force 5/6 with frequent squalls which made visibility at times poor.

Both operations were coordinated by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.