Three rescued as two yachts run aground on Lough Derg

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescued three people on Sunday after two yachts ran aground in separate incidents on Lough Derg.

When the first incident occurred, the Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat based at Dromineer, Co Tipperary, had been on a training exercise.

The crew was about to return to base when they were alerted to the incident at around 11.20am. A member of the public had reported a yacht on rocks about a kilometre north of Killaloe, Co Clare.

It’s understood the 22ft yacht, with two people on board, had been drifting and was blown on to a rocky shelf.

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The lifeboat towed the yacht into deeper water, and, when confident the vessel hadn’t been damaged, the couple made their way to Killaloe using their outboard engine.

Just a few hours later, the Lough Derg crew was called into action again when a lone yachtsman called for help on his radio.

At about 4pm, the sailor radioed for assistance using the VHF marine distress channel. The call was picked on the radio network by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard marine rescue sub centre in Valentia.

The man reported he had run aground at Stick Rock at the northwestern end of Lough Derg. The lifeboat rushed to the scene and quickly located the casualty vessel.

The lifeboat remained with the vessel and assisted the sailor berth at Cloondavaun Bay.