A man whose yacht got into difficulty on Galway Bay this morning  has been rescued by the Galway RNLI Lifeboat.

The yacht was sailing from Barna to Ballyvaughan when the forestay (stay) broke and the mast crashed onto the deck.

The man, who was alone on the yacht, contacted the Coast Guard who sought the assistance of Galway Lifeboat at about 9.27am.

The Lifeboat launched from Galway Docks within minutes and located the yacht  off Furbo.

The lifeboat crew took the man on board and towed the yacht to Spiddal.