The two people who were rescued off Rathmullan yesterday are counting their blessings that the Lough Swilly Ferry crew came to their aid.
Michael Shields and his niece Katie Brennan from Hillsborough, Co. Down, were sailing off Kinnegar beach at Rathmullan on Monday afternoon when their small boat capsized.
A 999 call was made from the shore after they were spotted in the water. The Lough Swilly RNLI were dispatched to their aid, but it was a stroke of luck that the Lough Swilly passenger ferry was close by. Skipper Edward Sweeney made a detour to reach them and they were brought aboard by fast-acting crew members.
It was a frightening moment for the experienced sailors, who both hold RYI sailing qualifications. They had buoyancy aids but were afloat for half an hour in cold waters.
Michael tells Donegal Daily: “The boat filled up with water. The sea bung must have come out without us realising; that meant the boat couldn’t be manoeuvred or sailed.
“So we jumped in and tried to swim to shore with the boat. However the tide was turning and the current was taking us further out to sea.
“We started to wave and shout to people on the shore but weren’t sure if they heard us. Then we noticed the paddle board instructor coming towards us from shore and at the same time noticed the ferry had stopped and was turning towards us with the ramp down.
“At that point we knew that we had been seen and that was a massive relief. We had been in the water for half an hour at this point,” Michael said.
Lough Swilly Ferry and Lough Swilly RNLI Rescue, 28th August 2017. Photo: Kevin Mc Ateer
Thankfully both Michael and Katie are well today after a good night’s sleep. They were in Donegal on a family holiday, as Katie (19) prepares to begin studying at university for the first time next week.
Michael was full of gratitude to the ferry crew and all emergency services who helped them in their hour of need.
“We were so relieved and thankful it wasn’t worse. I was getting very cold and didn’t want to panic my niece but the current was taking us further and further out.
“The ferry skipper and crew were brilliant, the Buncrana lifeboat crew boarded the ferry and looked after us professionally and the ambulance crew from Letterkenny couldn’t have been better.
“Once we were spotted the ‘system’ kicked in and worked seamlessly and perfectly.
“It was teamwork at its finest from a great bunch of people,” he said.
Lough Swilly Ferry and Lough Swilly RNLI Rescue, 28th August 2017. Photo: Kevin Mc Ateer
Edward Sweeney, skipper of the Lough Swilly Ferry, told Donegal Daily last night how it was ‘pure luck’ that his vessel was close by.
“A 999 call was made to Malin Head Coast Guard, who contacted us to see if we could do anything. We could see a boat was in trouble and went to their aid. We put the door down and lifted them onto the ferry,” he said.
“By pure luck, when we got the call we were only 200 metres away from them.”
Edward said he was delighted that the two sailors were alright and everything worked out well in yesterday’s incident.
