by Linda McGrory
A MIDDLE-aged couple and their 13 year old son had a
lucky escape when their leisure boat sank after its
propellor got caught in a lobster pot in Lough
Swilly, Co Donegal.
By a lucky twist of fate, the distressed family was
spotted in the water by an off-duty local lifeboat
crew member as he drove by on the nearby coastal
road.
The three, from Derry, got into difficulty when the
propeller of their 16ft Shetland cruiser snagged on
the ropes of a lobster pot at Carrickcullen, near
Lisfannon, Buncrana, shortly before 6pm on Tuesday.
The cruiser was quickly swamped by the incoming
Spring tide and sank, leaving its occupants stranded
on a rocky outcrop around 500 metres from the shore.
The alarm was raised by lifeboat crew member Barry
Stevenson who spotted their frantic waves of
distress as he passed along the coastal Derry to
Buncrana Road. He immediately raised the alarm via
Malin Head Coastguard at 5.50pm.
Lough Swilly Lifeboat spokesperson, Joe Joyce, said
the family had been in the water for around half an
hour and were trying to signal they were in trouble
to people walking along Lisfannon beach.
"When we reached them, the mother was standing on
top of the rocks, the boy was knee deep in the water
and the father was waist deep. They were wearing a
combination of jeans, t-shirts and tracksuit tops
and none of them were wearing lifejackets. There is
no way all three could have swam safely to shore.
"They were showing signs of mild hypothermia when
they were located," added Mr Joyce.
The family was taken aboard the all-weather lifeboat
and brought to the lifeboat station further up the
lough at Ned's Point. There, they were wrapped in
blankets, given hot drinks and monitored until an
ambulance arrived. Paramedics later gave them the
all-clear to make their own way home.
Mr Joyce said the family had no means of
communication when they got into trouble, as they
had left their mobile phone in the car at the marina
in nearby Fahan..
"As we are now just into our summer months it is
important that anyone going to sea carries a means
of communication, preferably a VHF or at the very
least a mobile phone and wears a lifejacket and
clothing suitable for the changing weather
conditions," he added.
Meanwhile, lifeboat helmsman, Seosamh Mahon, said
the family were lucky someone understood their
distress signals.
"The casualties were very fortunate that having
signalled from the rocks for nearly 30 minutes,
someone who understood their distress and eventually
acted on it," said Mr Mahon. |
