Conditions have been excellent and the fine weather has brought many people out to enjoy the sunshine. Crewmembers reported up to 300 boats on the water during the weekend. On Friday evening hundreds of people lined the pier at Salthill to watch a Search and Rescue demonstration, which included the three RNLI lifeboats, a relief all weather Severn lifeboat and two Atlantic class inshore lifeboats.
Calls for assistance from the RNLI included the rescue of a woman who fell off Nimmos pier into the water. The Galway Lifeboat Operations Manager spotted her and alerted the lifeboat crew who reached her within minutes. The lifeboat volunteers were also called out to boats that had broken down and one, which had fouled its propeller.
Commenting on the event Galway Lifeboat Operations Manager Mike Swan says, “ It’s been an amazing sight to see so many boats around Galway city. Normally we expect to see about 20 vessels in the harbour but there has been up to 300 boats visiting the city. However, we have noticed a number of small vessels that have not been using their navigation lights during the evening. This makes it very hard to see them and with so many boats in the water, it has the potential to cause accidents. We urge all sea users to please use their navigation lights and to wear a lifejacket.”
As well as being present on the water the RNLI are in the race village with the lifeboat experience, a simulator that recreates the bridge of a lifeboat and lets the public take part in a virtual rescue.
