Two men were airlifted to safety after their yacht grounded on rocks ‘in challenging conditions’ on Lambay island, off the coast of Ireland.

Howth RNLI All Weather Lifeboat launched on Monday, 6 July, following reports of the yacht in difficulty and located the casualty vessel just before 11am.

Volunteer lifeboat crew Ian Martin and Ian Sheridan launched the small XP inflatable boat and went ashore to investigate. The wind was gusting to 58 knots and the sea state was rough.

Howth RNLI volunteers try to reach the grounded yacht on Lambay Island. Credit: RNLI/Noel Davidson

Two men were located aboard and the decision was made by lifeboat coxswain; Fred Connolly to request the coastguard helicopter to airlift the casualties to safety as the sea was too rough to risk a transfer to the all weather lifeboat using the XP inflatable.

The two men were airlifted to safety and the lifeboat returned to station in what was described by the volunteer crew as challenging conditions.