A RESCUE CRAFT, a Coast Guard unit and an Irish Coast Guard helicopter were scrambled to respond to a vessel in trouble in Dublin Bay this afternoon.
Three people were on board the 31-foot yacht when its engine failed and it drifted into rocks at the end of the South Bull Wall – outside the entrance to the River Liffey.
The all-weather RNLI lifeboat, based at Dun Laoghaire, was called in by the Coast Guard at 3.43pm – arriving at the scene before 4pm.
Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit also attended – and the Coast Guard helicopter was sent to provide cover.
“That area’s not accessible by road, so the helicopter was there as a precaution, in case it was needed,” a source familiar with the incident said.
Two people climbed ashore, while another remained on board to assist the rescue crews as they attempted to move the craft out of danger.
A lifeboat crew-member went on board, and cut the anchor that the yacht’s crew had deployed earlier – when their engine failed.
“There was quite a heavy swell in the area, and it was being battered against the rocks,” the source said.
It was just a matter of time before hull of the yacht would have been broken in.
In the end, the craft sustained only superficial damage.
Members of Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit brought the yacht’s remaining crew to nearby Poolbeg Marina, where they re-joined their boat.
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