Low water levels on Lough Derg led to a 34ft cruiser with four people on board running aground yesterday afternoon by the Scilly Islands, off the Ogonnelloe shore.
At 1.39pm, the Lough derg RNLI lifeboat launched with helm Ger Egan, Lian Knight and Delia Ho on board. The lifeboat located the vessel at the junction of Scariff Bay and Parker’s Point at 1.54pm. The four people on board were safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets.
Once the lifeboat crew were satisfied the vessel was not holed, it was taken off the rocks and into safe water. The cruiser continued its onward journey once drives and rudder were found to be undamaged and in good working order.
Peter Kennedy, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat, has advised boat users to “to bring charts with you and know the areas close to shore and islands marked as un-navigatable, particularly as water levels are low in the lake at the moment’.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.