Red Bay RNLI rescues six people after 46ft yacht gets trapped in fish farm off Co Antrim coast
Six people have been rescued from a yacht which became entangled in a fish farm cage off the Co Antrim coast.
The rescue, which lasted seven hours, took place in gale force conditions in the early hours of Saturday.
The volunteer crew of Red Bay RNLI were tasked to launch their all-weather lifeboat at 3.22am after Belfast Coastguard received a Mayday from the 46ft yacht which got into difficulty off Cushendall while travelling from Oban in Scotland to Portugal.
The yacht lost all power and steering after making contact with a fish farm in Red Bay, in 60 knots of wind, causing it to become trapped.
The lifeboat under Coxswain Paddy McLaughin and with five crew members onboard, launched immediately and made its way the short distance to the scene.
The inshore lifeboat from Red Bay RNLI also launched to assist.
Weather conditions were difficult throughout the call out with Force 9 gusting winds, driving rain and the darkness of night.
The crew found that all those onboard were safe but trapped due to the yacht having got entangled on the fish cages.
Given the difficult weather and sea conditions, the decision was made that the safest course of action was for the sailors to remain onboard the yacht and for the lifeboat to standby until daylight broke at 7.30am.
At 9.30am the lifeboat crew successfully freed the yacht from the fish farm and brought the sailors safely to Glenarm where they arrived at 10am and were assisted by Larne Coastguard.
Paddy McLaughlin described the call-out as “challenging” considering the difficult weather conditions.
“We were delighted to bring the sailors to safety, and we would like to wish them well,” he said,
"We would also like to commend our colleagues in the Coastguard and thank our crew who responded quickly in the middle of the night, launched our lifeboats in darkness and made their way to the scene in what were gale force conditions, and for then spending seven hours at sea.
"This shout was a great example of the selfless and dedicated efforts of volunteers who used their skills and training to bring six people to safety in what was a challenging operation.’