#rnli – Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was requested to launch by Valentia Coast Guard tonight to assist two persons on board a 35ft cruiser that had suffered steering failure in deteriorating weather conditions.

The cruiser was en route from Dromineer to Mountshannon when it developed steering problems.  The skipper attempted to return to Dromineer but on entering Dromineer Bay the steering failed completely and he requested assistance.  The weather was deteriorating with a SW wind F3-4 with frequent sqalls and rain showers.  The lifeboat, with Helm Eleanor Hooker, Tom Dunne and Ben Ronayne on board, was launched at 17.45hrs.  Once alongside, a crew member was transferred onto the casualty vessel to set up a tow.  Both persons aboard the vessel were safe and unharmed and wearing lifejackets.  The boat was towed to the safety of Dromineer Harbour, where RNLI shore crew helped to tie the vessel securely for the night.

#lifeboat – Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat was this afternoon (Monday 20th August 2012) tasked by Malin Head Coast Guard to an adult female who became trapped on rocks whilst walking near Mullaghmore in County Sligo.

The holiday maker was walking along the coastline when she realised that the tide was coming back in and the amount of seaweed along the route made it impossible to turn back. Luckily she had her mobile phone with her and called the coast guard via the 112 emergency number.

The voluntary Bundoran Lifeboat crew launched within 6 minutes of the initial page at 14.54 and were on the scene 12 minutes later where they assisted the female on to the lifeboat William Henry Liddington. Luckily she was uninjured but was checked out by one of the EMT-trained crew and then transported back to the lifeboat station. The Rescue 118 helicopter was also tasked but stood down in an operation coordinated by Malin Head Coast Guard.

Helm of the lifeboat on the day was Daimon Fergus who said 'while we knew there was no immediate danger there was an urgency to get the person off the rocks and to safety before the tide came in much further and blocked her path completely. We would always advise members of the public who are on the water or walking on the coastline to at the very least carry a mobile phone so the alert may be raised in the event of an emergency'.

#rnli – There was a tragic end to an afternoon sail for a father and son in an Enterprise sailing dinghy in West Cork yesterday. As reported earlier on Afloat.ie the Castletownbere lifeboat was launched shortly after 9.30pm on Monday night to search for a man who was reported by his son to be clinging to an upturned boat. The son had managed to make his way ashore after spending four hours clinging to the boat with his father.

Castletownbere RNLI was involved in the subsequent search and recovery for the man in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday). A search at sea and along the shore continued all last evening in good weather conditions and at about ten past one in the morning, the casualty was spotted by a helicopter in a place known locally as Cod's Head. He was recovered by the Derrynane inshore boat to the Castletownbere lifeboat and brought to Castletownbere.

Sadly the man did not survive his ordeal and Lifeboat spokesman Paul Stevensl extended his sympathy on behalf of Castletownbere RNLI to the family of the deceased who has been named locally as John O'Leary from Allihies.

Early yesterday evening it is understood that the father and his teenage son went sailing in a small dingy off Allihies in West Cork and shortly after that the boat capsized. Both hung on to the upturned craft for approximately four hours where upon the teenage son made his way ashore and raised the alarm.

Stevens said the whole Beara Pennisula would be shocked by the loss: 'The Beara Pennisula is waking up this morning with a huge sense of shock. It's no stranger to this sort of tragedy sadly. However, every time an incident like this occurs, of course it has great impact on many people in what is really a very small tight knit community. Moreover, this week is festival week in the village of Allihes where John was from, so this sad tragedy will in the midst of the people of Allihes have changed the mood locally to one of great sadness and great sense of loss'.

#rnli – Last night Skerries RNLI were requested to launch by the Coast Guard following report of a sighting of an upturned boat in the water off Gormanstown, County Meath.

A number of the Skerries RNLI Volunteer crew were undergoing assessment by the RNLI Divisional Trainer/Assessor Helena Duggan in the lifeboat station at the time. The lifeboat was launched at approximately 7pm and proceeded to the co-ordinates given by the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard also launched the Search and Rescue Helicopter which started an airborne search off the coast from Skerries to north of Balbriggan. Shortly after, the Trent Lifeboat from Howth RNLI, out on exercise at the time, proceeded to Skerries and joined in the search. The Skerries inshore Lifeboat, along with the Trent Lifeboat from Howth, commenced a thorough grid search at sea with the Helicopter searching from the air.

At 8pm no craft could be found in the water and the Coast Guard called off the search. Howth RNLI Lifeboat returned to station and Skerries RNLI volunteer crew recommenced their examinations and assessments.

#rnil – A French yacht with a fouled propelller  on passage to Kinsale in foggy conditions has been towed safely to Crosshaven in Co. Cork by the RNLI. At 7.20pm last night, Valentia Coast Guard tasked Crosshaven RNLI lifeboat to assist a 12m yacht with two people on board, 2 miles south of Power Head that had a fouled propellor. Weather conditions at the time were calm with heavy fog banks rolling off the coast.

Roberts Head is midway between the mouth of Cork Harbour and Kinsale the French registered yacht was on passage to Kinsale when they became entangled in an old lobster pot line and were effectively anchored. Crosshaven Lifeboat under the command of Ian Venner with crew Ritchie Kelleher and Vincent Fleming cut away the line and took the yacht in tow, arriving back in Crosshaven some 2 hours later.

The yacht was safely berthed at the Boatyard.

# rnli – A new Velvet Strand Race is a charity sea race aimed at the novice and elite competitors with the intention of showcasing the coastal stretch between Malahide and Portmarnock. There will be three courses, Novice/Junior (5kms), Standard (12kms) and Elite (20kms). Rescue boats will provide safety cover and the RNLI will be in attendance also. The course will be held close to the shore to allow spectators to get a close view of the race as it runs between Malahide and Portmarnock beach.

'This is the race's inaugural year and we are looking forward to seeing  SeaKayakers, Rowers and Standup Paddleboarders taking part. The course is designed to accommodate those new to these sports with a novice course and also a longer course for more experienced competitors', said William Irwin the event's organiser.

Entries cost €10 and are taken on the day in the public car park opposite Oscar Taylors Restaurant. Anyone wishing to take part should register before 4pm. The race starts at 5pm and finishes in Malahide, with the competitors following a route from Malahide Estuary to Velvet Strand Beach.

The race is being held to promote watersports and to highlight the work done by the RNLI and also in aid of The Mark Pollock Trust.

'The Mark Pollock Trust hopes to raise significant funds to assist with the capital and ongoing costs specifically associated with his spinal injury - including a team of rehabilitation specialists, physiotherapy equipment, visits to specialised spinal injury activity-based recovery centres and mobility solutions', according to Piers White, a spokesperson for The Mark Pollock Trust.

Rose Michael, Howth RNLI Fundraising Chairperson, explained how donations will be used, 'Funds raised will ensure that our lifeboat crews go to sea with the best equipment available to ensure their safety when saving lives at sea. Your donations will be put to the Lifejacket fund for new state-of-the-art lifejackets for our volunteer crew.'

#rnli – The annual family fun day was held on Ballycotton pier to raise funds for Ballycotton lifeboat yesterday on bank holiday Sunday afternoon. At 12:30 the lifeboat station received a call from a rib with engine failure east of Ballycotton lighthouse and requesting assistance. The lifeboat crew abandoned their posts on Ballycotton pier and proceeded to the all weather lifeboat moored in the harbour. The Ballycotton lifeboat, Austin Lidbury, proceeded east of the lighthouse and reached the rib with four persons on board. The pleasure craft was taken under tow to Ballycotton harbour, where they were closely observed by visitors on the pier attending the fundraising activities.

The afternoon was a hit with the many visitors being able to observe a live rescue. Among the afternoon's activities was "Rock the Boat" which took place at 3:00pm, with in excess of 100 people taking part to fulfil a condition of a sponsor who offered €100 if 100 people or more took part. A short video clip of this is available to view on the Ballycotton Lifeboat website www.ballycottonlifeboat.org. At 3:45pm the Waterford based Coast Guard helicopter did a fly-by over the pier. Conditions were not suitable to demonstrate a lift of a person from the Ballycotton lifeboat which was going through manoeuvres in Ballycotton Bay.

At 5pm the visitors moved from the pier to the village to continue the fundraising activities with a wet t-shirt competition in the Blackbird. The event rounded up a weekend of fundraising events for the Ballycotton RNLI lifeboat, which included a football competition on Thursday evening, a table quiz in the Schooner Bar on Friday and a family treasure hunt and Pitch "n" Putt competition on bank holiday Saturday. The organisers and volunteer crew appreciated the support they received during the long weekend of fundraising events from both sponsors and supporters.

#LOUGH DERG - RTÉ News reports that the body of a man in his 40s was recovered from Lough Derg on Friday night.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was launched to investigate an upturned speedboat in Youghal Bay near Garrykennedy on Thursday evening.

The 20ft vessel was said to have extensive damage to the outdrive and propellers, consistent with damage sustained while running.

The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard immediately launched a search and rescue operation in the area for any mossing persons, assisted by the Shannon coastguard helicopter.

There was no reports on shore of anyone overdue, and as of Friday attempts were ongoing to find out who might own the boat and who was on board at the time of the incident.

Divers with the Killaloe Search and Rescue Unit found the body some 30m from the boat and recovered it around 8pm on Friday. A post-mortem was scheduled to be carried out yesterday at Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

#lifeboat – At 00:30 this morning, after a search of many hours for two kayakers who had been reported missing from Rosscarbery, shouts were heard from a cave near Millcove. Baltimore Inshore Lifeboat Helm John Kearney investigated and found the two 17 year old males who had taken shelter in the cave. A smaller Y boat was launched from the all weather lifeboat Alan Massey which ferried the boys individually from the cave and then onto the inshore lifeboat which landed the teenagers at Millcove. Both RNLI Lifeboats are now returning to station in Baltimore.

Additional report from Baltimore lifeboat station on Sunday 1500hrs

Further details have emergered on the dramatic events of last night (Saturday 4 August 2012) and early this morning which saw two young kayakers rescued after they became trapped in Mill Cave, West Cork.  The rescue involved a Baltimore RNLI crewmember swimming into a narrow cave in challenging sea conditions and bringing the two young kayakers to safety.

The two teenagers, a boy and a girl, had been reported missing from Rosscarbery on Saturday evening after they had not returned home at their expected time.  A huge search was mounted involving Balimore RNLI and Irish Coast Guard Units.

At 23:00, while the search was ongoing, Baltimore RNLI lifeboat Helm John Kearney heard what he thought was a faint whistle coming from Pouladav cave, known locally for its' blowhole.  The lifeboat crew were aboard the RNLI Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat Bessie but could not enter the cave due to the dangerous surf conditions.  The lifeboat crew then launched a small boarding boat from their all weather lifeboat Alan Massey with volunteer crewmembers Ger Sheehy and Sean McCarthy. This smaller boat could only advance within 50 metres of the cave summit due to the area being awash with surf and again too dangerous. RNLI crewmember John Kearney, an experienced sea swimmer, went into the water and swam the last 50 metres to reach the two kayakers. The boy and girl were clinging to a rock surface while waves broke around them.

Both the young people were cold and tired. John carried each of them in turn over his shoulder in chest high water to the boarding boat. Considerable skill was required of Ger Sheehy to keep the small boat steady so that they could be retrieved with the assistance of Sean McCarthy. The teenage girl and boy were then taken to the inshore lifeboat, where they were given a medical assessment and deemed to be fit to return to shore. The inshore lifeboat brought them directly to their families at Mill Cove, where they were assessed by a Doctor. The girl and boy were taken onboard the inshore lifeboat, which then brought them directly to their families who were anxiously waiting at Mill Cove. The entire incident took place in the hours of darkness

Commenting on the rescue Baltimore RNLI Helm John Kearney said, "the water in the cave was churning like a washing machine. However I was convinced that I had heard a sound and was concerned for the safety of the kayakers.  I will never forget the relief I felt when I saw the two young people alive and safe inside the cave.  They were very brave and did exactly what they needed to do to get to safety.  We are very lucky to have two lifeboats in Baltimore, and by using all of our available resources and training we were able to bring these young people to safety."

#lifeboat – Last night at 21.19hrs, Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was launched to investigate a vessel upturned in Youghal Bay, close to Garrykennedy. At 21.34hrs, the lifeboat launched with Helm Peter Clarke, Colin Knight and David Moore on board. Winds were southwesterly, Force 2, and visibility was good, but failing quickly with nightfall.

At 21.50 the lifeboat was alongside the upturned vessel, a 20ft speedboat.  It was reported to have extensive damage to the outdrive and propellers, consistent with damage whilst underway.  The lifeboat began a search of the area.  Meanwhile the Killaloe Coast Guard unit launched from their base and the Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Helicopter took off from their base at Shannon to assist in the search.

Lifeboat crew, committee members and volunteers set off in teams to search the shoreline. There were no reports of anyone overdue, and attempts are ongoing to discover who might own the boat.

An extensive search of the water and shoreline didn't reveal anything. The speedboat was taken to Garrykennedy and is being investigated by Garda specialists.

The search was called off and all teams returned to their bases. A search is underway this again this morning.

The Lifeboat returned to station and was ready for service again 01.00hrs.

Lifeboat Operations Manager, Charles Stanley Smith thanked everyone for their assistance on the search saying that he was 'extremely pleased with the level of co-operation by all of the emergency services on the lake, as well as offers of help from the public'.