ROSSLARE HARBOUR RNLI had an early morning call-out on Friday when six people made an emergency call after their yacht got into difficulty off the Wexford coast.

The volunteer crew was alerted shortly before 2:30 a.m. following a report from the Irish Coastguard that a 14m yacht with six people on board was experiencing difficulties 12 miles south-east of Rosslare Harbour.

The all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Keith Miller, and with five crew members on board, launched at 2.55 a.m. and made its way to the scene. Weather conditions at the time were described as good with some light rain and a south-east Force 4 wind blowing. Visibility was fair.

Arriving on scene at approximately 3.30 a.m., the lifeboat crew observed that nobody was in any immediate danger. The yacht, which was on passage to Dublin, had got entangled in fishing gear.

Having assessed the situation, two crew from Rosslare Harbour RNLI proceeded to launch the small inshore Y-Boat from the all-weather lifeboat so that they could get as close as possible to the yacht.

A towline was established and the lifeboat began to gently pull until the rope was untangled and the yacht was freed. The lifeboat stood by for 15 minutes before the yacht resumed normal passage.

Speaking following the call-out, Jamie Ryan, Rosslare Harbour RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer said: “The crew of the yacht did the right thing this morning and raised the alarm when they got into difficultly. It was an early morning call-out for our volunteers but they were delighted to be able to assist, and ensure that the six crew members on the yacht could resume their passage to Dublin safely.”