Boat narrowly avoids crashing into Achill rocks

Boat narrowly escapes crashing off Achill rocks


Anton McNulty

A NEAR tragedy was narrowly averted in Achill over the weekend when three Achill people had a lucky escape when they had to be rescued after their boat lost power and started to drift towards the rocks near the treacherous Atlantic Drive.
The incident took place on Saturday evening at approximately 6.30pm when their 21foot fishing vessel suffered engine failure and they started to drift towards the rocks. The Achill RNLI lifeboat was launched and reached the boat as it was only 15 metres off shore.
The boat was towed away towards Cloughmore pier and the three men were unhurt but a spokesperson for the Achill RNLI told The Mayo News that if they were ten minutes later the boat would have crashed up on the rocks.
“There was a strong onshore wind and the boat was definitely heading for the rocks near the Atlantic Drive. Luckily the incident was close to the lifeboat base because if the lifeboat had not arrived in time, the wind would have blown the boat onto the rocks and there was no possibility of them getting off the boat.
“That type of boat would have smashed up on the rocks and a potential disaster was avoided. They were very lucky men,” the spokesperson said.
The men had set off earlier in the day from Dooega pier and had been angling off Achill Beg when their boat experienced engine failure.
The RNLI spokesperson called for people who are going fishing off the coast to ensure that their craft is in good mechanic condition before setting out to sea.