Red Bay RNLI in County Antrim rescued a fisherman in the early hours of this morning (Saturday 10 June) after he fell and became trapped between rocks near Glenarm Marina.

The volunteer crew was requested to launch both their all-weather and inshore lifeboats shortly before 2.30am at the request of Belfast Coastguard. The Coastguard unit from Larne was also tasked.

The all-weather lifeboat under Coxswain Charles Stewart and the inshore lifeboat helmed by Paddy McLaughlin immediately launched into the darkness and made their way to the scene.

Weather conditions at the time were poor with rain leading to low visibility, a moderate sea and a Force 4 south easterly wind blowing.

The fisherman who had been fishing off rocks near Glenarm Marina got into difficulty when he fell down between large rocks and became wedged. His girlfriend raised the alarm.

Once on scene, the lifeboat crew observed that the man was trapped in an isolated area among large boulders.

The inshore lifeboat crew proceeded to the casualty and immediately began to work to free the fisherman before administering casualty care.

The man was then successfully placed on a stretcher and transferred to the lifeboat and taken to the nearby marina and into the care of the ambulance service.

Speaking following the call out, Paddy McLaughlin, Red Bay RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer said: ‘We would like to wish the fisherman a speedy recovery following what must have been a frightening ordeal for him early this morning. This was a particularly challenging call out as the casualty fell in an isolated area where there are a lot of large boulders and so extraction could only be done by sea. There was a real team effort involved with our crews on both the inshore and all-weather lifeboat working closing together with our colleagues in Larne Coast Guard to bring the man to safety.

‘We would remind anyone planning any activity near or at sea this summer, to always respect the water. Go prepared for the weather conditions and always carry a means of calling for help should you get into difficulty. Always let someone on the shore know when and where you are going and when you are due back.’

#RNLI - Lough Derg RNLI rescued three people from two grounded yachts in two separate callouts on Sunday (4 June).

At 11.22am, as the lifeboat crew were returning to station following morning exercise, they were requested by Valentia Coast Guard to assist two people on a 22ft yacht aground 1km above Killaloe on the Tipperary shore, at the southern end of Lough Derg.

The lifeboat responded immediately with helm Eleanor Hooker, Darragh Quinn and Barry Morkan on board, and was alongside the casualty vessel at 11.48am. Visibility was good with winds at a westerly Force 3-4.

The yacht was under sail when it was pushed ashore by a severe gust. Both passengers were found to be safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets.

The RNLI volunteers checked the boat and when satisfied that it was not holed, set up bridle and tow to take it safely off the rocks.

Before removing the tow, the lifeboat crew made certain that the boat was not taking any water and the rudder was not damaged. The yacht then made way using its outboard motor to its berth at Killaloe.

The second callout came later that afternoon at 3.50pm, following a distress call for assistance on the emergency VHF Channel 16.

Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI to assist a lone yachtsman whose yacht was aground by Stick Rock, at the northern end of Lough Derg on the Co Clare shore.

At 4.04pm, the lifeboat launched with helm Eleanor Hooker, Ger Egan and Kevin Dooley on board. Winds were south-westerly, visibility was fair to poor with low clouds, rain and frequent squalls.

At 4.38pm, the lifeboat located the yacht at Stick Rock. The yachtsman was safe and unharmed and wearing his lifejacket. An RNLI crew member was transferred to the yacht to assess it for any damage before it was lifted off the rock and back in safe water 11 minutes later.

With the skipper unable to get his inboard engine started, the lifeboat escorted the boat under sail to Cloondavaun Bay, where the RNLI crew took the yacht under tow through the narrow channel to its berth.

Brendan O’Brien, deputy launching authority at Lough Derg RNLI, reminded boat users: “Check weather conditions on the lake before going afloat and to carry up to date charts of the lake.”

#WaterSafety - Pub chain Nicholson’s have shown there are no half measures when it comes to water safety, after pledging the company’s support for the RNLI’s drowning prevention campaign Respect the Water.

The chain’s Crown Liquor Saloon pub on Belfast’s Great Victoria Street is getting behind the initiative that aims to raise awareness of the potential risks of being on or near water, and equip people with the skills and knowledge to keep themselves and others safe when in or near water.

Every year around 190 people drown around the coasts of the UK and Ireland. Often they have travelled from inland areas to the coast, and many of them never even intended to be in the water but accidentally slipped or tripped.

The Crown Liquor Saloon is one of more than 70 Nicholson’s pubs involved in the partnership with the RNLI. They will promote water safety messages to customers this summer via special promotions of their fish dishes, empowering staff with water safety advice to share with customers, and running additional fundraising and awareness activities.

Throughout the six-week partnership, Nicholson’s aims to raise £28,000 for the RNLI, which remains an independent charity reliant on voluntary contributions.

“At Nicholson’s we place great emphasis on the safety of our customers, but supporting the RNLI gives us an opportunity to go beyond our customers and hopefully educate a wider audience about the potential dangers of water,” said Annette Middleton, marketing manager for Mitchells and Butlers, the parent company for Nicholson’s.

The RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign aims to educate people in Belfast and across Northern Ireland about the potential dangers of water, particularly at this time of year when temperatures rise and many head to the coast to go afloat or visit beaches.

While the charity’s lifeboats and lifeguards are on hand to carry our rescues, Respect the Water aims to prevent people getting into difficulty in the first place.

Ross MacLeod, coastal safety manager for the RNLI, said: “Through our Respect the Water campaign we’re trying to change people’s behaviours to make them think about safety and take steps to safeguard themselves and others.

“It goes without saying our lifeboats will always launch to someone who is in distress - as a search and rescue organisation that will never change.

“But the phrase ‘prevention is better than cure’ rings true, and it is fantastic that such a popular chain as Nicholson’s has agreed to support us in spreading those safety messages.”

Some examples of campaign advice the Belfast pub staff will be helping to spread include:

• Around 190 people die at the UK and Irish coast each year. Half never planned to enter the water.
• British and Irish waters are cold enough year-round to trigger cold water shock.
• People who fall into cold water follow the same instinct, to gasp, thrash about and swim hard. But this is the worst thing to do – it increases chances of water entering your lungs and increases strain on your heart.
• If you fall into cold water, fight your instinct to swim hard. Instead just float until you can regain control of your breathing before then trying to swim to safety or call for help. You’ll have a far better chance of staying alive.
• If you see someone else in trouble in the water, fight the instinct to go in yourself. Call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

Respect the Water is at the heart of the charity’s drowning prevention work, helping achieve the RNLI’s goal to halve the number of accidental coastal deaths by 2024.

#RNLI - A busy June bank holiday weekend for Lough Ree RNLI continued yesterday (Monday 5 June) with the rescue of six people across two grounded cruisers in a single callout.

The lifeboat crew were first alerted by the Irish Coast Guard after 10.20am to two people on board a 25ft motor cruiser that ran hard aground on rocks south of Bantry Bay near the eastern shore of the lake.

Lifeboat operations manager Tony McCarth, assisted by shore crew Denis Buckley and Eamon Flynn, had the inshore lifeboat The Eric Rowse launched and underway in less than 15 minutes, with crew members Kieron Sloyan, Emmet Devereaux and Kieran Scullion onboard.

Weather conditions at the time were calm and dry with spells of sunshine and a light Force 2 breeze.

The lifeboat crew were on scene near the casualty vessel at 11.01am. Due to the numerous rocks in the vicinity of the cruiser, crew member Emmet Devereaux left the lifeboat and waded to the cruiser to check that all onboard were uninjured and that the boat was not taking on water.

After walking the area around the boat, a deeper channel was located to safely tow the vessel to navigable water. The vessel was undamaged and the two men aboard were able to continue their journey north to Lanesborough under their own power.

As the lifeboat departed the scene, the crew noticed a 34ft motor cruiser aground a short distance away and approached the vessel to offer assistance to the two men and two women on board.

The cruiser in this case was not very hard aground and, after performing the usual checks, the vessel was towed to safe water and the four aboard continued their journey north to Lanesborough.

Speaking after the callout, Tony McCarth said: “We were happy to be able to assist both vessels today and to help these six people continue to enjoy their weekend on Lough Ree.

“Navigation markers on the lake are located so that each one can be seen from the one before. If you cannot see the next marker, slow down, check your location on your navigation chart and proceed with caution in its approximate direction until you see it.”

Yesterday’s callout was the third in as many days for the Lough Ree lifeboat, following an assist for a grounded cruiser on Sunday afternoon and a medevac for an island resident on Saturday.

#RNLI - Lough Ree RNLI assisted two people aboard a grounded motor cruiser yesterday afternoon (Sunday 4 June) on the eastern shore of Lough Ree.

The alarm was raised at 12.19pm when two people on board the 34ft cruiser went aground in St Mark’s Bay.

Lough Ree lifeboat volunteers were quick to respond, with launching authority Billy Henshaw and shore crew launching The Eric Rowse in under 10 minutes with helm Kieran Sloyan and crew onboard.

Weather conditions at the time were breezy with a south-westerly Force 2-3 and occasional heavy downpours.

Upon arrival on scene, the lifeboat crew ensured that the two people on board were uninjured before assessing the boat which was hard aground on some rocks.

A tow line was established and the vessel was towed into deeper waters where the crew once again assessed the boat.

Although the hull appeared undamaged, there were some vibrations on driving which suggested possible damage to the propeller or rudder. A member of the lifeboat crew remained on board with the two people and the lifeboat escorted them to Quigley’s Marina.

The callout came less than 24 hours after the Lough Ree lifeboat assisted in the medevac of an island resident in need of emergency medical care, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#RNLI - The volunteer crew of Lough Ree RNLI were alerted by the Irish Coast Guard yesterday afternoon (Saturday 3 June) to attend a medical emergency on an island in Lough Ree.

The alarm was raised shortly after 1pm on behalf of an island resident suspected to have suffered a stroke.

Volunteer launch authority Billy Henshaw got Lough Ree lifeboat The Eric Rowse launched and underway within nine minutes. The lifeboat, helmed by volunteer Tom Bradbury, reached the island less than 15 minutes later.

Conditions at the time were mostly dry with occasional heavy showers of rain and a strong south-westerly Force 5 wind with a moderate swell on the lake.

Upon reaching the island, the lifeboat crew assessed the casualty’s condition as not immediately life-threatening, but prepared to administer emergency aid should the casualty’s condition deteriorate.

The crew continued to monitor the casualty until the medevac helicopter Rescue 112 landed on the island a short time later.

The lifeboat crew transferred the casualty to the care of the paramedics, and remained on scene to assist with moving the casualty to the helicopter for airlift to hospital for further assessment and treatment.

Speaking after the callout, Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat press officer Sarah Groarke said: “Our volunteer crew members are trained to assess and monitor casualties and to administer emergency care, such as CPR and oxygen, if necessary.

“We were happy to assist the Rescue 112 paramedics in this case and hope that the casualty will make a full recovery.”

The yacht that sank off Wexford yesterday afternoon was the Scottish–owned Ker 39 Inis Mor. The top performer was en route to the Irish Cruiser Racer Association (ICRA) National Championships that begin at Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork Harbour on Thursday. 

A social media post by the crew last night said: 'By now a lot of you may have heard the sad news. We are all glad that Clarke, Bob and Clara are safe and well. Unfortunately this afternoon Inis Mor sunk whilst on her way to Crosshaven. Clearly we are all absolutely gutted but very thankful to the [Coastguard] Rescue 117 helicopter crew who got the guys out the life raft and the Kilmore Quay RNLI team who came to assist'.

The crew, two men and a woman, evacuated to a liferaft (one crew visible top left of raft). Photo: Rescue 117

Clyde–based Inis Mor, a Ker 39, was due to race at the ICRA championships on Thursday. Photo: Facebook/Inis Mor

The yacht made good progress from the Clyde to Scotland and called in to Dun Laoghaire on its passage down the Irish Sea. Screengrab: Marine Traffic

As Afloat.ie reported earlier, the three sailors were rescued by Coastguard Helicopter and brought to Waterford airport. 

Rescue 117 reported it was tasked to a yacht sinking off the Saltee Islands on social media: 'The yacht crew had issued a Mayday call and had taken to their life-raft. The life-raft was spotted 11 miles away by our winchman on the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) camera. Rescue 117 winched the three crew from the life-raft to the safety of the aircraft. They did not require any medical attention. Kilmore Quay lifeboat were also on scene. The yacht sank shortly after'.

The yacht, one of several international competitors travelling to the event, was one of four competing in Class Zero of the Cork Harbour based Championships. Read Afloat.ie's ICRA Runners and Riders event preview here.

Inis Mor is a 39–footer and a previous winner of the Round Ireland Race. 

Kilmore Quay RNLI attempted to keep the yacht afloat with pumps after it began to sink in ten–foot swells off the Saltee Islands.

Yesterday's Facebook post on social media from onboard confirmed Inis Mor's location on the south coast and her final destination but just hours later the yacht sank (below)  Screengrab: Marine Traffic

The Clyde–based yacht was was one of the biggest boats entered in the ICRA championships and was to compete at the three-day annual regatta starting on Thursday.

Afloat.ie sources say problems started when a toilet cracked on board and this led to the water ingress.

Three UK sailors, two men and a woman, were rescued off the Wexford coast this afternoon after their 39–foot yacht got into difficulty.

The yacht sank quickly after a toilet fractured and it started taking on water in ten–foot swells off the Saltee Islands.

The yacht began to sink and a Mayday call was made after three o'clock.

The search and rescue helicopter from Waterford airport managed to take the crew from the water. Kilmore Quay RNLI lifeboat also attended.

According to RTE.ie news, the three crew were brought to Waterford airport and did not need to go to hospital.

An RNLI spokeswoman told Afloat.ie: 'Three onboard evacuated into life raft where they were rescued by Waterford Coast Guard Helicopter. Kilmore Quay RNLI went onboard to try and pump water off the yacht and recovered the liferaft'.

#WaterSafety - The Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI have issued a joint call urging people to be vigilant and take care in and on the water or along the coastline this June Bank Holiday weekend and over the summer holidays.

Both organisations have launched safety campaigns to highlight the potential dangers of the water.

The coastguard is promoting a new message this summer asking people to Stay Afloat – Stay in Contact, which aims to underpin the concept that if you are wearing a lifejacket or floatation device and can raise the alarm then you stand an excellent chance of being rescued.

Meanwhile, the RNLI’s drowning prevention campaign Respect the Water is asking people to fight their instincts and not the water to stay alive.

The advice comes as new research commissioned by the charity has revealed that 39% of Irish people questioned said they would follow their instincts and fight against the water, if they unexpectedly fell into it.

However, the RNLI is asking people to fight these instincts and remember one simple piece of advice – floating – that could save lives from drowning.

The public are also being reminded to avoid unnecessary risks when walking on cliffs and exposed coastlines by keeping to recognised routes and keeping dogs on a lead at all times.

Both organisations have emphasised the importance of not only wearing a lifejacket but also ensuring that it is regularly serviced.

Speaking ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend, Irish Coast Guard operations manager Gerard O’Flynn said: “This is an exciting time of the year to get out and enjoy the coast and the sea. We want people to enjoy the water but ask that you please adhere to your personal safety.

“Always respect the water and if you plan to go to sea ensure that if you are unfortunate to fall in that you can manage to stay afloat and raise the alarm.”

RNLI lifesaving delivery manager Gareth Morrison added: “The RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews launch to hundreds of calls for help every year in Ireland but sadly, not everyone can be reached in time.

“If you find yourself in danger in the water, you can help yourself by floating and regaining control of your breathing.

“We want people to enjoy their day out this summer without having to call the rescue services and you can do this by following some simple safety advice. For those planning to go into the water, the best way to stay safe is to choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the flags.

“We would remind everyone to always wear a lifejacket and, importantly, ensure it is fully serviced as you are risking your life if it is not in working order.”

Morrison added: “Over the summer months the RNLI’s community safety team will be hosting a number of free lifejacket advice clinics and we would encourage all owners to avail of the opportunity to check their lifejacket is safe to use.”

Remember if you do get into trouble or see someone in difficulty, call the Irish Coast Guard on VHF Channel 6 or dial 112 and ask for the coastguard.

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI launched on Tuesday evening (30 May) after the Irish Coast Guard received reports of a distress flare fired from a trawler near Balbriggan.

The lifeboat — with helm David Knight and crew Stephen Crowley, AJ Hughes and JP Tanner — proceeded towards Balbriggan Harbour, where they soon spotted a fishing trawler with another fishing vessel alongside and went to investigate.

The fishing trawler had suffered a serious electrical problem and lost all power, lowering anchor and firing a flare to signal that they required help. The second fishing vessel had responded to the distress call and come to their assistance.

With the low tide making entrance to Balbriggan Harbour difficult, the broken-down trawler was taken under tow by the lifeboat and brought to the safety of Skerries Harbour.

Speaking after the callout, Skerries RNLI lifeboat press officer Gerry Canning said: “It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, things can go wrong at sea. Thankfully they were carrying flares and didn’t hesitate to use them to raise the alarm.

“We’d also like to say well done to the other vessel that responded immediately to the call for help.”

The incident came just days after a fishing vessel sank off Skerries, taking the life of one of its two crew, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.