A man lost in dense fog on Dublin Bay was rescued by the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat this afternoon.
The alarm was raised shortly before 4.00pm when the lone occupant of an eight metre boat contacted the Irish Coastguard service by mobile telephone.
The RNLB Anna Livia lifeboat found the lone sailor off Dollymount Strand on the northside of Dublin Bay.
The man was located by radar but was disoriented in the thick fog that reduced visibility to less than 100 metres and was unable to to motor to deeper water to meet the lifeboat.
After more than half an hour, the man was guided to the North Bull Wall to rendevouz with the lifeboat and was escorted to Dun Laoghaire where he eventually returned safely and unharmed to the marina.
"This afternoon's incident was one of several involving small craft lost or disoriented by fog and poor visibility," commented Stephen Wynne, Lifeboat Operations manager with the RNLI lifeboat station at Dun Laoghaire.
"A compass and working Marine VHF radio are essential items of equipment for small craft and so too is checking the weather forecast to enable proper preparation for conditions on the day."