Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Jetskiing

#RNLI - Wicklow RNLI's inshore lifeboat launched at 2.25pm yesterday afternoon (Friday 3 July) to assist a jetskier north of the harbour.

The jetskier had set off from Wicklow and was about a half mile offshore when the engine cut out, leaving him adrift and unable to get ashore.

Within minutes of launching, the lifeboat reached the casualty, who was then taken on board with his jetski in tow back to Wicklow Harbour.



The inshore crew on this callout were helm Dave O'Leary, Lisa O'Leary and Carol Flahive.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#RNLI - Bundoran RNLI launched to an overturned jetski on Saturday afternoon (2 August).

Just after 4pm, the volunteer lifeboat crew was paged by Malin Head Coast Guard to four people in the water off Murvagh Beach following the capsize of their jetski.

In overcast conditions, the lifeboat William Henry Liddington launched within six minutes of the initial request and made their way across Donegal Bay to the scene on the Rossnowlagh side of Murvagh.

The Sligo-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118 also launched to the scene.

Upon arrival, the RNLI crew found that the family of four from Northern Ireland had made their way safely to shore. A member of the crew went ashore to ensure that the family were okay.

"Thankfully the family were wearing lifejackets, otherwise this could have been a much more serious situation," said Bundoran RNLI helm Brian Gillespie.

"We would remind sea and water users to always wear a lifejacket when heading for the water and as always if a member of the public sees someone in danger on the water to call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard."

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI recorded its first service by its new inshore lifeboat on Sunday afternoon (21 April). SEE VIDEO BELOW

The North Co Dublin lifeboat station's volunteer crew was requested to launch following a report that a vessel was adrift off Bettystown beach. 

Crew members, alerted by their pagers, launched their new Atlantic 85 lifeboat Louis Simson within 10 minutes.

It was quickly established that the owner of the vessel was on shore. With the potential for the personal water craft (PWC) to pose a danger, the decision was made to locate it and return it to the beach.

Once on scene, a volunteer crew member was put on board the PWC and brought the vessel safely to shore.

Speaking following the callout, Skerries RNLI volunteer crew member Emma Wilson said: "The visibility was good today, but it was something quite small we were looking for, so being able to have an extra crew member on board our new lifeboat really made a difference during the search."

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#JETSKI - Kawasaki has issued a recall for their Personal Watercraft Model JT1500 after the discovery of an assembly flaw that could lead to accidents on the water.

On eligible units of Jet Ski STX-15F, Ultra 260X/LX, Ultra LX and Ultra 300X/LX models, the guide pipe may have been detached from the outer steering cable during assembly. This can cause the steering to become obstructed, creating the potential for an accident.

All units within the ranges listed are eligible for repair, including unofficial imports. Full model and identification details of units for markets other than Europe are included in Marine Notice No 16 of 2012, which is available to read or download as a PDF HERE.

Published in Jetski

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Information

The creation of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) began in a very low key way in the autumn of 2002 with an exploratory meeting between Denis Kiely, Jim Donegan and Fintan Cairns in the Granville Hotel in Waterford, and the first conference was held in February 2003 in Kilkenny.

While numbers of cruiser-racers were large, their specific locations were widespread, but there was simply no denying the numerical strength and majority power of the Cork-Dublin axis. To get what was then a very novel concept up and running, this strength of numbers had to be acknowledged, and the first National Championship in 2003 reflected this, as it was staged in Howth.

ICRA was run by a dedicated group of volunteers each of whom brought their special talents to the organisation. Jim Donegan, the elder statesman, was so much more interested in the wellbeing of the new organisation than in personal advancement that he insisted on Fintan Cairns being the first Commodore, while the distinguished Cork sailor was more than content to be Vice Commodore.

ICRA National Championships

Initially, the highlight of the ICRA season was the National Championship, which is essentially self-limiting, as it is restricted to boats which have or would be eligible for an IRC Rating. Boats not actually rated but eligible were catered for by ICRA’s ace number-cruncher Denis Kiely, who took Ireland’s long-established native rating system ECHO to new heights, thereby providing for extra entries which brought fleet numbers at most annual national championships to comfortably above the hundred mark, particularly at the height of the boom years. 

ICRA Boat of the Year (Winners 2004-2019)