Things that never happen in Garvary, Part 4

... mainly because it's even four miles from Lough Erne (God's own puddle).

Two men who stole a fishing boat to return to Dublin after missing their ferry home ended up sailing round in circles. The Irishmen, aged 19 and 20, who have no sailing experience, took the 30ft trawler, worth £40,000 from Holyhead.

They tried to sail the 67 miles home across the Irish Sea but were soon hopelessly lost and put out a Mayday call. It prompted a rescue mission by an RAF Sea King helicopter, a lifeboat from Holyhead and a coastguard cliff-rescue team.

"They thought they were speaking to coastguards in Ireland; they were very surprised when they realised they were talking to Holyhead," Ray Steadman, of the Holyhead lifeboat, said.
"They had no experience of the sea whatever. They didn't even know how to switch the cabin light on."

The men were eventually located off Wylfa, in Anglesey, having sailed 12 miles in the wrong direction. They were towed into Holyhead and handed to police, who arrested the pair on suspicion of criminal damage after the owner of the boat, Paul Jones, made a complaint.

Mr Jones, 38, a fisherman, said: "I am very upset. This is my livelihood ... they revved the engine up to the maximum and left it like that. I still owe money for the boat. To me this is very serious." Inspector Chris Jolley, of North Wales Police, said "probably alcohol had a part to play" in the incident.