#RNLI - At 7.25pm on Saturday evening (16 August) Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI to launch to assist five people on board a vessel reported broken down soon after setting out from Garrykennedy Harbour to Mountshannon Harbour.

The lifeboat launched at 7.35pm with helm Eleanor Hooker, David Moore and Jason Freeman on board. Winds were southwestly Force 6 and visibility was good.

At 7.50pm the lifeboat located the casualty vessel between Parker Point and Garrykennedy, and found all on board – four adults and a child – to be safe and wearing their lifejackets.

An RNLI crewmember was transferred across, where he reassured the passengers before setting up a tow. The lifeboat then towed the boat back to Garrykennedy, where it was safely tied up alongside at 8.10pm.

The skipper of the cruiser thanked the RNLI crew for their speedy assistance. He said that he had raised the alarm "as with the worsening weather and no boats visible to offer him assistance, I was getting very concerned." 

The lifeboat crew assured him that he had done the correct thing in calling for help.

#RNLI - Arranmore RNLI lifeboat crew had a long callout in the early hours of this morning to a 30ft yacht in trouble off Gola Island.

The pagers went off just before 2am, when the lifeboat crew – along with their Donegal coastal colleagues from Bunbeg Coast Guard – were called out to assist the yacht, with a father and son on board, that had dragged its anchor and got stuck on rocks at Gola Island.

Once on scene a tow was quickly established between the yacht and the Arranmore all-weather lifeboat. But with the tide out it proved too dangerous to try and move the yacht, and both rescue crews waited on scene with the vessel until the water rose and it was safe to try and move the stricken yacht.

At 4:50am a successful attempt was made to move the yacht and the tow to Burtonport commenced. When coming along Owey Sound, however, it was apparent that the rudder on the yacht was broken and great care had to be taken to keep the vessel on course.

Weather conditions were Force 5 to 6 with a north-westerly wind blowing. The shelter of Gola made the tow quite smooth initially, but on leaving the area conditions deteriorated and it was a difficulty passage for the remaining journey.

Commenting on the callout, Arranmore RNLI coxswain Anton Kavanagh said: "Thankfully both father and son [on the yacht] sustained no injuries. Due to the weather conditions the yacht was very lucky to receive only minor damage."

#RNLI - The annual raft race in aid of Skerries RNLI, which has been growing in popularity since its return two years ago, will take place on Saturday 13 September.

The raft race is a great day out for all the family, and the fundraising committee is hard at work to ensure the event is an even bigger success this year. The venue will, as before, be the south strand in Skerries.

Registration for the race will take place at the Skerries RNLI station house on the Harbour Road in Skerries on Sunday 7 September from 2pm to 4pm. The entry fee will be €50 per raft and each raft must be crewed by four to six people.

Lifejackets are mandatory for the event. Mechanical propulsion systems are not allowed and the entry must be a raft. Surfboards, boats, carved foam, etc will be disqualified. All competitors must be over 18.

Speaking ahead of the event, Skerries RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer Gerry Canning said: "The raft race is a great attraction to everyone young and old. Every year the competitors outdo themselves with their creations and we are looking forward to more of the same this year."

Keep an eye on the Skerries RNLI website for regular updates, so keep an eye on the website, as well as the Skerries RNLI Facebook page and Twitter account @SkerriesRNLI.

#RNLI - Sunday's aid of a fishing trawler with a fouled propeller near Lambay Island was just one of five callouts or the volunteers at Howth RNLI within five days, marking one of the busiest seasons for the North Co Dublin crew.

These callouts were mainly to vessels that had developed problems while at sea and the lifeboats were called to assist and tow them to safety.

The first was on Saturday 9 August, when Howth’s inshore lifeboat was launched at 10.30am to locate and assist a motorboat that had started to take on water and was trying to make its way back to Howth Marina. The lifeboat crew escorted the vessel safely back to the harbour.

On Sunday evening, following the all-weather lifeboat's fishing trawler rescue previously reported on Afloat.ie, the inshore lifeboat was launched as darkness fell to assist a vessel which had run out of fuel outside Howth Harbour.

The motorboat, with three people aboard, was located and towed back to the public slipway where the motorboat had departed from earlier that day.

More recently, yesterday (Wednesday 13 August) the all-weather lifeboat launched at 1.40pm to tow a sailing vessel with steering problems back to the harbour.

The 43-foot sailing yacht, with three people aboard, was taken in tow and brought to Howth Marina.

Later in the evening, the all-weather lifeboat was again launched to assist a motorboat with engine problems to the north west of Ireland’s Eye. The vessel was quickly located and towed back to Howth Harbour.

“It has been a particularly busy time in Howth for both our lifeboats," said Howth RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew member David Howard, "but we are pleased that all our recent callouts resulted in no injury and all casualty vessels were safely towed back to Howth Harbour.

"All the vessels had means of contacting the shore and we compliment the skippers of the boats in not hesitating to call for help at the first sign of difficulties.”

#RNLI – Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched to assist five people on board a 28ft boat with reported engine failure by Ryan's Point on Lough Derg.

At 7.25pm on Wednesday evening, August 13, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat to launch to assist five people, four adults and a young child, on board a vessel reported broken down and drifting near Ryan's Point on Lough Derg.

The lifeboat launched at 7.37pm with Helm Eleanor Hooker, Lian Knight and Dom Sharkey on board. Winds were westsouthwest; Force 4, visibility was very good.

The lifeboat located the casualty vessel in Dromineer Bay, where all on board were found to be safe and wearing their lifejackets. The lifeboat transferred an RNLI crewmember across to the boat, where he reassured some of the passengers who were quite anxious, before setting up a tow.

The lifeboat towed the boat, with her passengers and an RNLI volunteer on board, to their berth in Dromineer, where it was safely tied up alongside at 8.17pm.

The skipper of the cruiser thanked the RNLI crew for their assistance. He was reassured that he had done the correct thing in promptly calling the lifeboat, especially considering the drift of the boat since their engine had failed.

The Lifeboat returned to station and was ready for service again at 8.40pm.i

#rnli – Nineteen year old Lorcan Hickey from Kinsale in Cork received his Leaving Certificate results this morning (Wednesday 13 August), while heading out to sea on a lifeboat, from the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset. Lorcan is a volunteer lifeboat crewmember with Kinsale RNLI and received his results from his father Peter, over the phone, while away on a lifeboat training course at the RNLI College. The location was appropriate for the teenager, as he recently learned that under the Quercus Programme, he has been awarded a full four year Active Citizenship Scholarship from University College Cork (UCC). This scholarship is being granted based on his voluntary work with the RNLI.

Lorcan joined Kinsale RNLI as a volunteer lifeboat crewmember when he was 17 years old. He has been out on a number of call outs with the Cork lifeboat crew and is currently at the RNLI College with two other Kinsale volunteer lifeboat crew, Colum O'Sullivan and Matthew Teehan. This morning his parents, Peter and Frances Hickey, drove to the Christian Brothers School in Cork to collect his results to ring Lorcan and tell him that he had received 535 points. Lorcan wants to study Biological and Chemical Science in UCC.

Commenting on his results Kinsale RNLI crewmember Lorcan Hickey said, 'I'm delighted with my points. Obviously I would have liked to be with my family today but there was no way I was passing up the opportunity to come over to the RNLI College for lifeboat training. In many ways it has been the perfect place to receive the news and to celebrate tonight with lifeboat crew from all over Ireland and the UK. I am also really proud that the work I do with the charity has enabled me to receive an Active Citizenship Scholarship and I am very grateful to those that selected me for it.'

Loran's father Peter was also delighted back home in Kinsale and added; 'Even though Lorcan wasn't here, he wanted me to ring him the minute I had the envelope in my hands. He even wanted to hear the sound of me opening it. It was just like reliving my own Leaving Certificate experience. We are so proud of Loran and of all the young people who received their results today. Doing what he loves as a volunteer with the RNLI has given him such an incredible opportunities.'

As well as volunteering with Kinsale RNLI Lorcan is also a lifeguard at Garylucas beach.

#RNLI - Howth RNLI's all-weather lifeboat launched at 1.20pm yesterday afternoon (10 August) to reports of a fishing trawler with a fouled propeller drifting north-east of Lambay Island.

Skerries RNLI's volunteer crew also launched their Atlantic 85 lifeboat Louis Simson, but were stood down when it became clear that Howth's Trent-class lifeboat was more apt for the job.

The Howth lifeboat crew located the casualty vessel at 2pm some 12 miles north-east of Howth and established a tow line within 10 minutes of arrival. 

The fishing vessel was then safely towed back to Howth Harbour, though progress was slow as a result of deteriorating weather conditions – with a north-west Force 6 wind and a rough sea state – and the return journey took just over two hours.

Howth RNLI coxswain Fred Connolly said after the callout: "We were pleased to locate and assist the fishing trawler so quickly after receiving the call to launch. 

"The fishing vessel crew acted very professionally in calling for assistance immediately and they also supplied a accurate position of their location which allowed us to find and assist them so quickly."

Gerry Canning, volunteer lifeboat press officer for Skerries RNLI, added: "The RNLI has a wide range of boats in the fleet to cater for all types of emergencies in all conditions. In this case the Trent all-weather lifeboat from Howth was definitely the right boat for the rescue."

#RNLI - A surfer got into difficulty on Saturday evening (9 August) at Tullan Strand in Bundoran and was being swept out to sea when a member of the public spotted the situation and called the emergency services.

Two other surfers went to his aid while the pagers of the volunteer crew of the Bundoran lifeboat were set off at 6.05pm, five minutes later the lifeboat was in the water proceeding at full speed to the scene.

Arriving at Tullan Strand, the three surfers from Dublin were quickly located with the help of RNLI shore crew who had been deployed by land. The lifeboat took all three on board and proceeded back to the lifeboat station.

The casualty had taken on a lot of water and had oxygen administered to him on his return to the lifeboat station, where a waiting ambulance transferred him to Sligo General Hospital for further observation.

Bundoran RNLI volunteer crewman Brian Faulkner said: "Once again we are thankful to a member of the public who called the coastguard and made the alert.

"A lot more people are using the water in these good weather conditions and we’d like to remind everyone to be safe in the knowledge that if they do get into trouble in the water that we are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard if you see anyone in difficulty in the water or on the coast."

Meanwhile, a boat at anchor caused the volunteer crew of Bundoran RNLI to launch again yesterday evening (10 August) just after 8.30pm.

The boat had been spotted near Mermaid’s Cove at Mullaghmore with nobody on board and had caused concern, prompting the lifeboat to launch and check it out.

On reaching the scene, the crew of the lifeboat found that another boat had commenced towing the anchored boat. However, the towing boat had fouled its prop and they themselves then required assistance to get back to the harbour.

The lifeboat crew duly obliged and took the boat under tow and the four persons on board back to the harbour. The initial boat was also tied up.

"We were in the right place at the right time," said volunteer RNLI helm Kealan McNulty. "There was no immediate danger but we were happy to be on hand and help out."

#rnli – At 4pm on Friday afternoon, August 8, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat to launch to assist a family of five on board a vessel aground inside the Mountaineer Buoy at Ryan's Point on Lough Derg.

The lifeboat launched at 4.13pm with Helm Eleanor Hooker, Robbie Garland and Jason Freeman on board. Winds were southwesterly; Force 4, visibility was very good.

The lifeboat was alongside the casualty vessel at 4.20pm, where they found all on board to be safe and wearing their lifejackets. The lifeboat transferred an RNLI crewmember across to the boat, where he reassured everyone, before going to check for damage and any ingress of water under the floorboards, or into the engine. When he was satisfied that the hull was not holed, he set up for a tow. Whilst he was doing that, the lifeboat took soundings in the immediate area of the casualty boat, in order to establish the safest route back to deep water.

At 4.46pm, with her passengers and an RNLI volunteer on board, the lifeboat took the boat off the rocks and out to deep water. The engine, steering and props were found to be in proper working order. An RNLI crewman helmed the cruiser to the safety of Garrykennedy Harbour, where it was tied alongside at 4.57pm

The skipper of the cruiser thanked the RNLI crew for their prompt and efficient response to their distress, saying they 'were aground for ten minutes when they saw the lifeboat coming around the headland to help them'.

The Lifeboat returned to station and was ready for service again at 5.28pm.

#RNLI - Clifden RNLI has put an all-weather lifeboat on service for a trial period, more than a year after the move was confirmed. 

The Pride and Spirit has come from the existing RNLI fleet and will be on trial for 12 months operating in conjunction with the existing inshore lifeboat service at the station.

Following the trial, the RNLI will make the call on establishing a permanent all-weather lifeboat service for Connemara's largest town.

A decision was made back in April 2012 by the charity’s trustees, with the recommendation of its operations committee, that the volunteer crew at Clifden would take delivery of a carriage launched Mersey-class lifeboat, following an in-depth review of lifeboat cover in the area.

Since that announcement, there has been an intensive period of preparation for the volunteer lifeboat crew, which has included months of training at Clifden and visits to the RNLI College in Poole.

There are currently four coxswains, four mechanics, four navigators and 16 all-weather lifeboat crew trained and ready to respond to call outs aboard the Pride and Spirit.

Clifden RNLI lifeboat operations manager John Brittain said he is proud of the additional lifeboat service at the West Co Galway station.

"This is a great day for everyone involved with Clifden RNLI. The new lifeboat will allow us to provide lifesaving cover in all weathers up to 100 miles off the Connemara coast.

"We have received great support and encouragement from everyone involved with the RNLI at both Swords and Poole. To see this group of volunteers coming together and training with the all-weather lifeboat and now going on service is a proud day for us all."

RNLI divisional operations manager Owen Medland added: "Since the announcement back in April 2012, the enthusiasm at the station has been wonderful and I am delighted that after months of training, the volunteer crew now has an all-weather lifeboat on service.

"We are continuing to work hard to establish a temporary shore facility which shall allow us to maintain Pride and Spirit ashore."

All-weather lifeboats can be operated safely in all-weather while inshore lifeboats usually operate closer to shore, in shallower water, close to cliffs, among rocks or even in caves.

Introduced as the RNLI’s first fast-carriage lifeboat, the Mersey class has a top speed of 17 knots. Designed to operate from a carriage, slipway or lie afloat, this class of lifeboat is also capable of being self-righted in challenging conditions.

The Mersey, which carries a lifeboat crew of six, has been in service for many years and shall eventually be replaced by the new Shannon-class lifeboat.

Last year, Clifden RNLI launched eight times bringing seven people to safety. Of those launches, two services were in the dark. In all, some 82 service hours were spent at sea.

A lifeboat station was established in Clifden in early 1988, and the station currently operates two inshore lifeboats.