A British adventurer's transatlantic boat, which had been abandoned in a hurricane 400 miles west of Portugal, has been recovered by Castletownbere Lifeboat in Co Cork.
The RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew was sent to where the boat was seen in the water about 500m from the shore in Dunmanus Bay.
The boat 'Happy Socks' was towed to Castletownbere.
Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat spokesman Paul Stevens said the boat had been abandoned two months ago by adventurer Sarah Outen who was rowing from Cape Cod to London.
She had successfully completed a London2London expedition in November having set out from Tower Bridge in April 2011.
She rowed, biked and kayaked the northern hemisphere in a four-and-a-half year adventure which saw her cover 25,000 miles.
However, a hurricane on the Atlantic last year forced her into a pre-emptive evacuation after 143 days at sea.
Outen has vowed not to attempt another solo row across an ocean.
"Happy Socks, my rowing boat, was left drifting and I wondered if we would see her again. We had two sightings during the three months that she was adrift and I was hopeful that she was getting closer to a possible recovery," she said.
"To find out that she had been spotted offshore in Ireland and towed to safety by the local RNLI crew was fantastic. To me it feels like a friend coming back from the dead.
"I am very grateful to the crew and amazed at our good luck. I look forward to being reunited with her."
