Eight-hour tow in winds up to Force 9 Rosslare Harbour Ireland Division Rosslare Harbour's Arun class St Brendan was at sea for twelve hours in winds of up to Force 9 on 12 August 1988 when a yacht found herself in trouble more than 50 miles from the station. The arduous service has led to the station receiving a letter of thanks from the chief of operations congratulating the coxswain and crew on their skill and determination.

At 0210 Shannon MRCC reported a 30ft yacht, with two people aboard, suffering from sail problems and a fouled propeller some 53 miles south of the station.

The Arun was launched for the long passage to the casualty, encountering seas up to 25ft high as she battled into the SW wind which was between Force 8 and Force 9.

At 0425 a Sea King helicopter located the yacht and provided an exact position, enabling the lifeboat to sail directly to the casualty using her Decca Navigator system.

It was not until 0612, nearly four hours after launching, that St Brendan came up with the casualty. The wind was still Force 8 to 9 and the sea state 'very high' - a description applied to waves between 29ft and 45ft.

With the tow made fast the Arun was faced with the passage back to port - which took almost eight hours, during which the warp parted twice. During the whole service the wind did not drop below Force 6/7 and it was 1430 before the lifeboat was able to bring the yacht into Rosslare Harbour and land the survivors.