Volunteer lifeboat crew with Youghal RNLI rescued five people from the water near Capel Island, Ireland, when the two small sailing boats they were in capsized leaving one adult and four teenagers in the water.
Launching Monday at 3.23pm in cold, choppy conditions, the inshore lifeboat arrived at the location within 15 minutes to discover three people holding onto an upturned boat.
Volunteer lifeboat crew quickly brought all three people on board the lifeboat.
On completing the rescue they learned that another vessel had capsized half a mile to the east.
The second boat which had been out on the water with the first one was quickly located and two further people were rescued from the water by Youghal lifeboat crew. Both vessels were 14ft sailing boats.
The successful outcome to the incident was largely due to the safety measures taken by the five people involved.
All were wearing lifejackets, they had a personal locator beacon, which activated when they entered the water and they also had a mobile phone, which they used to call the Coast Guard on 999.
All three things enabled a swift response and a successful rescue from all the agencies involved.
The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service.
Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
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