Sixteen people were rescued off the Irish coast today in separate lifeboat operations.
The RNLI lifeboat at Ballycotton, in east Cork, launched at about 12.40pm after a boat got into difficulty some 23 miles south east of the village.
The vessel, with four people on board, was taking on water.
The lifeboat crew managed to bring the emergency under control, with the help of a salvage pump, before towing the boat back to Ballycotton.
Separately, the RNLI launched its lifeboat in Dún Laoghaire to rescue two yachts - one carrying seven people and the other five - during gale force conditions in Dublin Bay.
The vessels got into difficulties at around 8am as they returned from an offshore race in the Irish Sea, as driving rain lashed the east coast.
One of the boats had problems with its propeller while the other’s engine failed.
Both were towed back to safety, and no-one was hurt. Lifeboat crews said a heavy swell, driven by near-gale force 7 winds, along with higher gusts, made conditions difficult.