Lifeboat crew honoured for rescuing yachtsman

THE CREW of the Wexford Lifeboat have received a bravery award for the rescue of a yachtsman who had got into difficulties in treacherous seas on the approaches to Wexford Harbour.

Those honoured by RNLI Operations Director George Rawlinson are helm Sinead Casey and crew members David Maguire, Simon Gulliver and Damien Foley.

The citation says that both the Rosslare and Wexford inshore lifeboats were launched to assist the yachtsman, on board the classic yacht Catspaw, whose boat had gone aground trying to get into Wexford Harbour after failing to get into his original destination, Arklow.

After being launched at 6.35 p.m. on April 20 last year, the Wexford lifeboat headed towards the yacht which was in an area known for sandbanks and treacherous seas. The weather was squally with a swell of 1.5 metres.

The crew spotted the yacht 100m north of Rosslare Point on Wexford Bar.

Two crew members, David Maguire and Damien Foley, climbed aboard the yacht to reassure the lone yachtsman.

After several attempts the anchor was freed and the yacht was taken under tow by the lifeboat. Once it reached deeper water, the yacht carried on to Wexford Quay under its own power.

‘ The tow took place in difficult tidal and weather conditions in an area known for its hazards,’ said Mr Rawlinson in the citation sent to Lifeboat Operations Manager Nick Bowie.

‘ The professionalism show by the helm and her crew were of a high order and I woud be grateful if you could pass on my sincerest thanks to them and those at the lifeboat station that supported them,’ he said.

Following the rescue, yachtsman Colm McPhail, from Glasgow, in Scotland, told this newspaper that he didn’t fear for his life, but he was ‘in a bit of a pickle’.

McPail said he had found navigating the waters around Wexford very confusing.

‘It’s quite tricky even for experienced navigators,’ said Mr McPhail, a semi-retired photographer who has been sailing for more than 20 years.

At the time Lorraine Galvin, from Wexford RNLI, said the yachtsman would have lost the yacht if the lifeboat hadn’t been there.

‘Difficult as it was, it would have been a horrendous rescue if it had gone on into the hours of darkness,’ said Lorraine.

At Wexford RNLI Station (from left): Nick Bowie, Lifeboat Operations Manager, with award winners Sinead Casey, Damien Foley, David Maguire and Simon Gulliver.

Scottish sailor Colm McPhail and his yacht at Crescent Quay following the rescue.