Two Irishmen who stole a fishing trawler and tried to sail 67 miles across the Irish Sea after missing their ferry home were yesterday nursing hangovers and regrets in a police cell.
To their disappointment, they found they were still in Britain after sailing in the wrong direction and going around in circles.
Stephen Brennan and John Mahoney prompted a big air and sea rescue after realising, too late, that they did not have a clue how to sail the 30ft boat.
After twiddling the knobs on the boat’s radio, they managed to issue a mayday call, prompting a search by an RAF Sea King helicopter, a Holyhead lifeboat and a coastguard cliff rescue team. “They had no experience of the sea whatever; they didn’t even know how to switch the cabin light on,” said Ray Steadman, launching officer of the Holyhead lifeboat.
After eight hours at sea and an operation costing several thousands pounds, they were eventually located.
They had assumed they were heading for Dublin, but when they were eventually found they were off Wylfa in Anglesey, having sailed 12 miles in the wrong direction.
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