THE CREWS of two boats had lucky escapes in separate incidents in Co Clare on Sunday night prompting rescue services to issue a warning about safety at sea.
The Irish Coast Guard (ICG) has moved to remind people to be properly equipped and to follow proper procedures when raising the alarm if they get into difficulty.
In the first of two incidents on Sunday, two men had to be rescued after their boat suffered engine problems and began drifting close to the cliffs at Hags Head near Liscannor. The alarm was raised when one of the men rang his brother-in-law in Ennis. The brother-in-law then contacted a member of the Doolin Coast Guard team by telephone.
Doolin Coast Guard team leader Mattie Shannon said: “This is not the proper way to raise the alarm . . . They should have used their VHF radio to alert the Coast Guard or the 999/112 telephone system but no one should be ringing relatives or friends as valuable time can be wasted.
“If someone rings 999 or 112 they can be put through to the Coast Guard straight away.”
Neither man was harmed and they were towed to the safety of Liscannor harbour by Coast Guard volunteers.
In a second incident later in the evening, the Doolin ICG team along with Clare Fire and Rescue Service were alerted to a fire on board a boat which had just arrived in Liscannor harbour. There were two men on board the fishing vessel which had been purchased the day before and brought to Liscannor from New Ross in Co Wexford.
Two units of the fire brigade from Ennistymon attended the scene while the Doolin ICG rescue boat, which was still in the area, also assisted. The fire was confined to the engine and was quickly brought under control without anyone being injured or any significant damage being caused to the vessel.
“The engine overheated and the covering melted onto the engine,” said Mr Shannon. “The boat’s own built-in fire system extinguished the fire.”