A long way from Wales to here for washed up boat
THE owner of a boat which broke its moorings in Wales and travelled across the Irish sea before being washed up on Curracloe beach last weekend, had reason to be grateful for the actions of the local Coastguard which took control of the vessel and kept it safe before it was picked up and brought back home on a ferry.
The small craft washed ashore in a high tide late on Friday night and was spotted early on Saturday on the beach at White Gap by a vigilant passer-by who contacted the Coastguard .
Members of Curracloe Coastguard were tasked to look after the stranded boat and removed items including fishing rods and lobster pots for safekeeping in the Coastguard station house before securing the boat to a fixed point with a rope, to prevent it being taken back out to sea by the next outgoing tide.
On Sunday, a helpful local builder used a teleporter to lift the boat from the beach and carry it to the yard of a local amusement arcade where it waited to be collected.
Meanwhile the Coastguard managed to trace and contact the Milford Haven-based owner of the vessel who was delighted to hear that the boat was safe and surprised to discover that it had travelled unmanned up the St. George’s Channel and across the Irish sea to Wexford.
The owner travelled to Ireland by ferry on Sunday evening, taking a jeep and a boat trailer to recover the vessel which was hoisted by the same builder onto the rear of the trailer before being transported back to Wales.
One of the reasons the Coastguard became involved in the operation is that the boat could have presented a danger to navigation if it had been lifted out to sea again by the tide. The gardai were also contacted.