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AfloatDigi 2018 CHMarine SafetySection

Search & Rescue, Water Safety - News from the Marine Safety Agencies
Successful applicants for beach lifeguarding will receive world class training in search and rescue
 Recruitment has opened in Northern Ireland for this summer’s crop of beach lifeguards and face to face fundraisers. Both roles are essential in supporting the RNLI’s aim to keep people safe and prevent tragedies around the North Coast and in…
Achill RNLI volunteers prepping their XP rescue dinghy
#RNLI - Achill RNLI was requested late on Thursday night (5 January) to help locate and rescue two adult male hill walkers who were in distress in the vicinity of Mweelrea mountain in Killary Fjord, Connemara. The Irish Coast Guard…
Cliona Hagan with volunteer crew members Brian Faulkner, Dessie Daly and Mark Vaughan
#RNLI - Country singer and RTÉ’s Best Newcomer 2016 Cliona Hagan is set to perform at the annual Bundoran RNLI dance, which takes place on Friday 27 January at the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran. The event, now in its…
Newcastle RNLI's inshore lifeboat
#RNLI - Newcastle RNLI was requested by Belfast Coastgaurd to launch to the aid of what was believed to be a dinghy in trouble a half-mile south of Newcastle Harbour on Saturday afternoon (31 December). However, when the inshore lifeboat…
Wicklow RNLI involved in the search for a missing man in Wicklow this past week
#RNLI - Wicklow RNLI expressed their concern for the family of a man missing in the Wicklow Harbour area since Tuesday (27 December). As previously reported on Afloat.ie, a multi-agency response was launched on Tuesday morning after the man, said…
Ireland’s Lifeboats In 2016 - In Video
#RNLI - The RNLI has compiled at video looking back at the work of the lifesaving charity in Ireland during 2016 through the footage taken from its lifeboats’ onboard cameras.
Forty Three (43) nationwide Coast Guard volunteer units responded to 1042 incidents
Use of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) and Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) were responsible for directly saving the lives of Five Mariners in 2016 according to an end of year commentary by the Coast Guard. One of these incidents…
Bangor Lifeboat Saves Swimmer In Ballyholme Bay
#RNLI - At 8.10am this morning (Wednesday 28 December), Bangor RNLI’s volunteer crew responded to a request from HM Coastguard to rescue a young man reported to be in difficulty while swimming 200 metres off the shore in Ballyholme Bay.…
Rescuers taking the casualty up the cliff face at Ardglass on Tuesday afternoon 27 December
#RNLI - Volunteers from Portaferry RNLI went to the aid of a man who had fallen down a cliff at Ardglass Golf Club on the Co Down coast yesterday (Tuesday 27 December). The Portaferry lifeboat, an inshore Atlantic 85, launched…
The Dublin Fire Brigade rescue boat at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in Dublin’s Docklands
#Rescue - Gardaí and Dublin firefighters rescued a man in his 20s from the River Liffey in Dublin’s Docklands on Christmas morning. According to the Dublin Fire Brigade Twitter account, the man was kept afloat by gardaí with a life…
Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry Over Christmas Says Irish Coast Guard
#Coastguard - Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry is the message from the Irish Coast Guard to the public over the Christmas holiday period. Many people will be engaging in outdoor activities along the coastline, be it on exposed coasts,…
A screen grab from an iphone compass. See video below
With the festivities in full swing and when Storm Barbara moves on many people will take to the nation’s beaches and cliffs to take in the fresh air and clear the cobwebs. This can be a busy time of the…
Santa Claus arriving in Clogherhead earlier this month
#RNLI - Clogherhead RNLI has looked back on 2016 and paid tribute to all those who made it such a memorable year for the lifeboat station and its volunteers. Throughout the year the station worked with other community groups and…
Cora Walsh, Neville Raethorne (manager of SuperValu Sutton), Ian Sheridan, Aidan Cooney and Howth RNLI coxswain Fred Connolly after the trolley dash on Tuesday 20 December
#RNLI - Aidan Cooney, a presenter on TV3’s Ireland AM, took part in a ‘trolley dash’ around SuperValu Sutton this past Tuesday (20 Dec 2016) in an effort to raise much-needed funds for Howth RNLI. As a result, SuperValu Sutton…
Red Bay lifeboat volunteers searching off the Antrim coast on Sunday 18 December
#RNLI - Volunteers from Red Bay RNLI in Co Antrim joined in the ongoing search for a missing woman yesterday (Sunday 18 December). The all-weather lifeboat, under coxswain Paddy McLaughlin and with six crew members onboard, launched at 11.30am and…
Castletownbere RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Annette Hutton
#RNLI - Castletownbere RNLI was requested to go to the aid of a 36m vessel with mechanical difficulties north of the Bull Rock off the coast of West Cork on Friday evening (16 December). The lifeboat, under the command of…

Every Year Ireland's Search & Rescue Services deliver emergency life saving work on our seas, lakes and rivers.

Ireland's Water Safety Agencies work hard to provide us with the information we need to keep safe, while enjoying all manner of water based activities.

There's no better fun than getting out on the water but being afloat is a responsibility we all need to take seriously.

These pages detail the work of the rescue agencies. We also aim to promote safety standards among pleasure boaters, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible, the loss of life at sea and on inland waters. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]

Think Before You Sink - Wear a Lifejacket

Accidents can happen fast on water and there may not be time to reach for a lifejacket in an emergency therefore don't just carry a lifejacket - wear it; if it's not on you, it can't save your life.

Irish Water Safety's Safe Boating Alert:

Check condition of boat and equipment, hull, engine, fuel, tools, torch.

Check the weather forecast for the area.

Check locally concerning dangerous currents and strong tides.

Do not drink alcohol while setting out or during your trip.

Carry an alternative means of propulsion e.g. sails and oars or motor and oars.

Carry a first aid kit on board and distress signals (at least two parachute distress rockets, two red hand flares).

Carry a fire extinguisher, a hand bailer or bucket with lanyard and an anchor with rope attached.

Carry marine radio or some means of communication with shore.

Do not overload the boat - this will make it unstable.

Do not set out unless accompanied by an experienced person.

Leave details of your planned trip with someone ashore - including departure and arrival times, description of boat, names of persons on board, etc.

Wear a Lifejacket at all times.

Keep an eye on the weather - seek shelter in good time.

In Marine Emergencies, call 999 or 112 and ask for Marine Rescue.

Lifejackets Checklist

Ensure Cartridges have not been punctured and are secured firmly.

Ensure all zips, buckles, fasteners and webbing straps are functioning correctly and adjusted to fit the user.

Check that fitted lights are operating correctly.

Ensure that Automatic Inflation devices are fully serviced and in date.

Check that the valve or lifejacket is not leaking.