Kilmore Quay RNLI Crew Rush to Aid Yacht Taking on Water During Blessing of the Boats

Volunteer lifeboat crew in Kilmore Quay were called into action on Sunday afternoon after a yacht with two people on board began taking on water in the harbour.

The alarm was raised at around 5.20pm as the annual Blessing of the Boats ceremony was taking place. The crew of Kilmore Quay RNLI were requested by the Irish Coast Guard to launch their all-weather Tamar class lifeboat, RNLB Killarney, after a recently arrived yacht suffered damage while making its way to the harbour.

On reaching the vessel, the RNLI crew confirmed that both people on board were safe before assessing the situation. A salvage pump was deployed in an effort to remove the water, but due to the amount of flooding and the condition of the yacht, the crew decided the safest option was to manoeuvre the vessel to the slip.

There, the yacht was safely removed from the water by a local marine engineering company, bringing the incident to a successful conclusion.

After returning the lifeboat to its berth and preparing it for its next call-out, the volunteer crew rejoined the Blessing of the Boats ceremony, where parish priest Fr Pat Mernagh gave a special blessing to the lifeboat and its crew.

No injuries were reported during the incident.