'They saved my life' – Cork fisherman and crewmate rescue man from burning yacht
The File Point Following At Myrtleville Crosshaven / Rnli Fire The The Rescue, “shortly Rnli Said: A Noon Facebook Crosshaven Sailboat To Rnli Alerted Crew On Before On Picture: Fish Were Today, A Message Crosshaven In Posted In Area
A yacht owner whose boat went on fire on Monday said the Cork fisherman who rescued him “saved his life”.
Fisherman Mick Hoey was tending to shrimp pods in nearby waters with his crewman Cian when he saw the yacht that had caught fire off the coast of Myrtleville, Co Cork.
Mr Hoey has said he “made a beeline” for the yacht which was being captained by Alan Mulcahy.
Explaining the circumstances of the incident, Mr Hoey told RTÉ's that as he approached the vessel he temporarily lost sight of Mr Mulcahy because of the amount of thick smoke emanating from the vessel.
“The more intense the fire was getting, the further up the bow it was going,” Mr Hoey said. “I couldn’t see if he was after jumping in the water or anything.”
He added: “As I steamed up and came around the side of him, I was only about 20 yards away from him when we both saw each other and I kind of saw the relief, came alongside him and he jumped aboard.”
Mr Hoey said his “biggest fear” was if there was a diesel tank on the boat it could blow up with the intensity of the fire.
“So Cian, the lad that was with me, I just kind of said, ‘just prepare everything. This is a one-shot thing. We’ll come in beside him, we’ll get him off as fast as we can’.”
“The man in the boat Alan, he said to me afterwards that she wasn’t diesel so things kind of relaxed, but it was a hairy kind of a moment alright,” he added.
This is the boat Alan Mulcahy was sailing in when it got fire - Mick Hoey @joeliveline is the man who saved Alan's life #liveline pic.twitter.com/JcjwCtWd7r
— Liveline (@rteliveline) December 14, 2021
Mr Hoey said that he had been “very anxious” for Mr Mulcahy, who jumped into the rescuing boat.
He added that everyone was focused on the job that needed to be done which was one of the most important aspects of the rescue.
“I was really pleased that it all went according to plan,” Mr Hoey said.
He added: “It was a scary moment. No two ways about it.”
It had been a “relief” to see that Mr Mulcahy was “ready to rock and roll” when they approached the burning vessel, Mr Hoey said.
“Once he was safe and sound onboard my boat I was just afraid that something would blow up. Because it was getting really intense at that stage.”
In a statement to the show, Mr Mulcahy – who has over 30 years of sailing experience – said the engine onboard his vessel had caught fire and blew up, and Mr Hoey and his assistant Cian saved his life.
Mr Mulcahy said that just before Mr Hoey and his crewmate arrived he was about to jump into the water but he was concerned about hypothermia.
Five or 10 minutes after being rescued, Mr Mulcahy’s boat was gone. He added that he cannot thank Mr Hoey or Cian enough - “they saved my life”.
Mr Hoey added: “When I was steaming up to him my main concern was I wasn’t sure I was going to make him on time. I didn’t have the speed, I gave her every last once of energy she had and it all ended well anyway and I know Alan is grateful.”
In a message posted on Facebook following the rescue, Crosshaven RNLI said: “Shortly before noon today, the crew at Crosshaven RNLI were alerted to a sailboat on fire in the Myrtleville / Fish Point area.
“A local boatman, Mick Hoey, was fortunately nearby and sped to the scene and took off the one person on board to safety.
"The owner was then brought to Crosshaven by the Port of Cork RIB. The owner was checked out at the lifeboat station by our lifeboat Doctor before being collected by a relative. The Lifeboat remained on scene until the vessel sank.”