Two saved from yacht AT MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY. JULY 19, 1987 two members of Arranmore lifeboat crew were alerted by the sound of her distress siren to the plight of the yacht Achill Beg. which had broken from her moorings and was being swept towards the rocks at a point known locally as Gpb Dubh.

The yacht had broken tree in a strong northerly gale, gusting force 7 to 8, which had blown up while the male members of her crew were ashore for refreshment.

Still on board were the skipper's wifeand daughter, who had sounded the alarm.

Second Coxswain/Assistant Mechanic Francis Bonner and Shore Second Coxswain/ Mechanic John O'Donnell, hearing the siren, had only a few minutes in which to size up the situation.

They ran to the pier, where the yacht's inflatable dinghy was tied up.

started its outboard and reached the Achill Beg, rescuing the two women 10 minutes before the vessel ran aground.

Arranmore's 47ft Tyne class lifeboat William Luckin was launched in an attempt to recover the yacht, but she had been holed below the water line and sank within 30 minutes of hitting the rocks, leaving onlv her bows above the surface.

A letter signed by the then director of the RNLI, Rear Admiral W J Graham, has been sent to Second Coxswain, Assistant Mechanic Francis Bonner and Shore Second Coxswain/Mechanic John O'Donnell, praising their quick reactions and devotion to duty, resulting undoubtedly in the saving of two lives..