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Displaying items by tag: RNLB The Famous Grouse

14th October 2010

The Tamar Arrives!... At Kilmore Quay

The Tamar Arrives!... At Kilmore Quay
The RNLB Killarney arrived yesterday into Kilmore Quay after making her delivery voyage from England. The new €3 million craft is the first Tamar-class to operate in Irish waters and is the most technically advanced lifeboat in the RNLI fleet.

The lifeboat was funded by a legacy from Mrs Mary Weeks from Surrey in England who passed away in 2006. Mrs Weeks met her husband while on a cruise off the west coast of Scotland on a boat named Killarney.

Tamar_arrival

The RNLB Killarney on her maiden arrival yesterday to Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford.

She also has a strong RNLI connection through her maiden name Distin. Mrs Weeks was related to the Coxswain of Salcombe lifeboat Samuel Distin and to Albert Distin. Both men lost their lives in the Salcombe lifeboat disaster of 1916.

The lifeboat hull was moulded by the RNLI and fitted out in Plymouth under RNLI supervision. Lifeboat crewmembers based in Kilmore Quay have undertaken comprehensive training at the lifeboat college in Poole and onboard the Tamar class lifeboat in preparation for their new arrival.

The new lifeboat is not expected to go on service until later in the month and the next few weeks will be spent training the rest of the lifeboat crew on the new boat. RNLI Deputy Divisional Inspector Gareth Morrison said, " This is a huge day for the RNLI in Ireland. The arrival of any lifeboat is a great celebration for a community but when it is the first of a new class of lifeboat the excitement is even greater.

The Kilmore Quay lifeboat crew have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Their last lifeboat the Famous Grouse rescued over 300 people since 2004 and this lifeboat station has had many challenging rescues in its history. I wish them the very best of luck with their new lifeboat, may she have many successful years ahead of her." Kilmore Quay lifeboat Coxswain Eugene Kehoe added, "It's a proud day for Kilmore Quay.

Passage_crew

The crew of the RNLB Killarney

A new lifeboat is a tremendous gift and we will take very good care of it. We are very grateful to the donor who by leaving this legacy to the RNLI has provided a lifeboat that will go on to save many lives at sea.

On a bad night miles out to sea it is good to know that we have a state of the art lifeboat and a highly trained lifeboat crew to respond to every situation." The new Tamar class lifeboat is 16.3 metres in length with a maximum speed of 25 knots compared to the 14.3 metres of the current Tyne class lifeboat stationed at Kilmore Quay, which has a maximum speed of 18 knots.

The lifeboat is self-righting and is fitted with an integrated electronics Systems and Information Management System, which allows the lifeboat crew to monitor, operate and control many of the boats systems from shock mitigating seats. The Tamar also carries a Y boat (an inflatable daughter boat) which is housed under the aft deck and deployed from a hinged door in the transom. The lifeboat has room for 44 survivors. It will replace the current Kilmore Quay Tyne class lifeboat The Famous Grouse, which will be retired to the RNLI relief lifeboat fleet.

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Published in RNLI Lifeboats
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23rd September 2010

New Tamar-Class Lifeboat: A First for RNLI in Ireland

New Tamar-Class Lifeboat: A First for RNLI in Ireland

Next month sees the introduction of the first RNLI Tamar-class lifeboat to enter service at an Irish lifeboat station, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Costing €3m, the RNLB Killarney is to be stationed in Kilmore Quay. The new vessel is expected to make her delivery voyage on 13 October. She is to replace the existing Tyne-class lifeboat, RNLB The Famous Grouse at the Co. Wexford station which was established in 1847.

The Tamar-class is the latest high-tech craft within the RNLI lifeboat fleet in use throughout the UK. Around 17 craft of the class, named after
the River Tamar, Cornwall have entered service. Some of the class are constructed exclusively for the purposes of providing relief duties across
the extensive network of 235 lifeboat stations throughout the UK and Ireland.

One of these relief lifeboats, RNLB Frank and Ann Wilkinson (16-06) arrived in Dun Laoghaire in July from Poole, Dorset, the headquarters of the RNLI. The lifeboat carried out crew training exercises, not just for the local lifeboat crew but other station crews as part of the Irish divisional staff training programme.

The fleet is divided into two categories: inshore and all-weather class lifeboats (ALB). Of the ALB's there are currently five classes: Tyne, Mersey, Trent, Severn and Tamar. These boats can be operated safely in all weathers and are designed to self-right in the event of a capsize.

The lifeboats are fitted with navigation, location and communication equipment with the RNLI policy of operating each craft for around 25 years. The introduction of the RNLB Killarney at Kilmore Quay will enhance the organisation's vital services off the south-east coast.

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Published in RNLI Lifeboats
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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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