Displaying items by tag: RNLI
Donaghadee Lifeboat Rescues Crew On Becalmed Yacht
#RNLI - Donaghadee RNLI rescued a yacht and crew when they became becalmed in the Irish Sea on Good Friday last.
The Co Down coastal town's all-weather lifeboat Saxon was at sea within 10 minutes of the request for assistance from the coastguard at 3.47pm.
At the scene, close to South Rock south of Portavogie, a tow line was established to the 31-foot vessel that had suffered engine failure and was unable to make headway by sail in the calm conditions.
The yacht was towed to Donaghadee in an operation lasting more than two hours. The lifeboat was then stood down at 6.05pm.
Lifeboat coxswain Philip McNamara said: "While this was a preventative operation, the lifeboat volunteers prefer to attend at an early stage to avoid any risk to life should weather conditions change or the light should fade.”
#dunlaoghairelifeboat – Both RNLI lifeboats at Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay were called out yesterday afternoon following a 999 emergency call that a two-person canoe was drifting close to shore off Dalkey.
The Irish Coast Rescue 116 helicopter at Dublin Airport and Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit were also tasked due to concern for the occupants of the craft.
The incident occurred at around 1.15pm but was stood down 15 minutes later when the two canoeists were located safe and well with friends by the CG shore team at Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey.
The ILB recovered the canoe and returned it to them before returning to station.
#lifeboat – Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched to assist a family of three on board a 36ft cruiser, suffering engine failure.
At 7.15pm on Tuesday evening, March 22, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat to launch to assist a family of three on board a 36ft cruiser, suffering engine failure and adrift by Hare Island.
The lifeboat launched at 7.26pm with Helm Peter Clarke, Eleanor Hooker and David Moore on board. Winds were easterly, Force 2-3, visibility was good. The RNLI lifeboat was alongside the cruiser at 7.33pm. The family were found to be safe and unharmed, but anxious. The skipper had dropped anchor, recognizing that they were drifting close to the rocky shallows.
With an RNLI crewmember on board, the boat was checked for any other potential problems. None were found. Once a tow was set up, they weighed anchor and the casualty vessel was taken under tow to Dromineer harbour, where at 8.15pm, the cruiser was tied safely alongside.
Lough Derg RNLI helm Peter Clarke reassured the family that they had 'made the correction decision to call for assistance and also to drop anchor'.
The Lifeboat returned to station and was ready for service again at 9pm.
#RNLI - Red Bay RNLI's lifeboat launched on service early on Easter Sunday morning to go to the aid of a support boat with two people on board near Glenarm, Co Antrim.
The boat had suffered engine failure and was driven ashore by the wind and swell.
The Red Bay RNLI lifeboat launched at 9.20am and the crew subsequently rescued the two people from the vessel before towing the boat clear of the rocks. No one was injured in the incident.
The boat is now in Glenarm Marina. The lifeboat returned to station at 11.00am. The operation was co-ordinated by the Belfast Coastguard.
Baltimore Lifeboat Rescues Grounded Yacht From West Cork Rocks
#lifeboat – On a sunny Easter Sunday Morning, 20th April 2014, both the all weather lifeboat and inshore lifeboat were called upon to give assistance. A yacht had grounded on rocks at a treacherous stretch between Cunnamore Pier and Heir Island in West Cork on a falling tide. The 35ft yacht had 4 people on board at the time. The yacht was well aground when the lifeboats arrived.
The inshore lifeboat RIB crew went aboard the stricken vessel first. A line was secured to the yacht's stern and another line to the masthead. Helm Tadhg Collins on the inshore lifeboat RIB pulled on the masthead line, heeling the yacht over to reduce her draught. Then Coxswain Aidan Bushe on the allweather lifeboat towed the yacht astern to release her from the rocks on which she was wedged.The lifeboat established a tow to bring the yacht to safety. There were no injuries. Winds were fresh North North Easterly.
On the allweather lifeboat Coxswain Aidan Bushe, Mechanic Cathal Cottrell, Eoin Ryan, Ronnie Carthy, Brian MacSweeny, Sean McCarthy, Jerry Smith
On the inshore lifeboat Helm:Tadhg Collins, John Kearney, Jason Pavry
#WaterSafety - The crew of Bundoran RNLI's lifeboat, together with local fishermen and members of Irish Water Safety, recently welcomed a group of students from Lucan, Co Dublin who created a new school’s guide to water safety in Ireland’s rivers, lakes and seas.
The group of students from St Joseph’s College in Lucan are participating in the 2014 Young Social Innovators programme and were tasked with picking an issue of concern in their local area and to take action to change it for the better.
They decided to tackle the ongoing problem of drowning, particularly after the tragic summer last year when so many young people lost their lives needlessly during the hot spell.
Their vision for the information pack is to “think before you splash” – encouraging young people to become more involved in water activities and to increase their awareness of the water.
The pack consists of a lesson plan for teachers as well as a local ecology & water safety survey, 10 water safety rules and more.
Speaking during the visit, Bundoran RNLI crewmember Killian O’Kelly said: "It’s heartening for us who volunteer to save lives at sea to see this initiative being undertaken so enthusiastically by this group of students – they are to be commended for such an excellent piece of work and if it helps to save one life this summer then it’s time well spent."
The group hope to make the booklet available online in the coming weeks.
More Honours For Kinsale Lifeboat Crew Over 'Astrid' Rescue
#RNLI - Last Friday (11 April) was a busy night for the volunteer crew of Kinsale RNLI as they collected two West Cork community awards for bringing to safety the 30 crew members of the training ship Astrid that sank outside Kinsale harbour in July last year.
The first honour of the night was bestowed at the 25th anniversary awards ceremony in Bandon’s Munster Arms Hotel, organised by The Opinion magazine and sponsored by Bandon Co-op.
Kinsale lifeboat Miss Sally Anne (Baggy) was first on the scene on 24 July 2013 when the Astrid ran aground. Volunteer crew members Liam O’Connell, Nick Searls and James Grennan worked in treacherous conditions to safely evacuate all 30 crew on board.
They accepted The Opinion/Bandon Co-op Community Award on behalf on the RNLI, along with volunteers from Courtmacsherry RNLI who assisted the rescue.
Next stop was Acton's Hotel for the Kinsale District and Community Awards. Flanked by boat and shore crew and volunteers from the fundraising team, Liam, Nick and James accepted their second trophy of the night.
Lifeboat operations manager John O’Gorman said: “This is a great honour for all the volunteers of the RNLI who give freely of their time to save lives at sea. As volunteers, our only reward is the satisfaction of a job well done and the respect of our community. We have received that in abundance tonight."
This brings to three the number of awards related to the Astrid. Earlier this year the Irish Cruising Club presented Kinsale RNLI with the Waterford Cup, a perpetual trophy dating back to 1953.
Donaghadee Lifeboat Rescues PWC Rider From Rocks
#RNLI - The volunteer lifeboat crew from Donaghadee RNLI rescued a personal watercraft (PWC) enthusiast from rocks near Millisle in Co Down on Saturday evening (12 April).
A member of the public reported the craft in difficulty south of Millisle lagoon and the RNLI responded to a request for assistance from the coastguard.
The Donaghadee all-weather lifeboat Saxon was at sea within 10 minutes at 7.20pm.
At the scene, the lifeboat crew deployed a small inflatable off the lifeboat, with two crew members aboard, and the PWC with one person aboard was helped off the rocks.
The craft was then towed to a slipway and the lifeboat stood down at 8.20pm.
Donaghadee RNLI lifeboat operations manager Alan Couser said: "If you are planning to visit the coast over the Easter holidays, make sure you check the sea-worthiness of all small craft and that safety equipment is working properly."
#rnli – Crosshaven RNLI lifeboat was requested to launch to a 6m Rib (Rigid Rib) that had run aground last evening in Lough Mahon in Cork Harbour.
Crosshaven lifeboat launched shortly after 10pm last evening after receiving reports that the RIB with four people on board was aground North of Hop Island. The lifeboat with volunteers Alan Venner, Con Crowley and Alan Barton on board quickly made their way to the Lough Mahon Area.
The Rib was eventually located on mud banks between the main shipping channel and the Douglas river channel after the casualty fired distress flares and turned on navigation lights. The lifeboat crew had to slowly work their way up the unlit channel until they were within a hundred metres of the casualty.
Crew member, Con Crowley successfully attempted to swim on his back across the mud with a tow line to the casualty vessel where he medically assessed all the casualties. One casualty was cold and wet after initially entering the mud to push the vessel off.
As the tide was turning and beginning to fill, the crew had to wait until enough water was under the casualty boat to haul it off the mud. Two of the casualties were then transferred to the lifeboat and Con Crowley helmed the casualty vessel back to Crosshaven.
The casualty vessel and the lifeboat arrived back at Station at 1.45am, was cleaned down and refuelled and readied for service at 2.30am
#ByRoyalAppointment - This week's historic first Irish state visit of President Michael D. Higgins to the United Kingdom, also saw the arrival of Royal Navy inshore fast patrol-boats of the First Patrol Squadron call to Dublin Bay ports within the last fortnight, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The increasing relationship between the two countries on many levels is borne out of such visits of the Royal Navy which have become increasingly more frequent over the last decade and by the Naval Service to port and harbours on both sides of the Irish Sea.
One of those visiting patrol boats, the P2000 Archer class HMS Express (P 163) is due to make a return call to Dun Laoghaire Marina later this month, having been a recent visitor this week.
Trainee cadets from one of the University Royal Naval Units (URNU) at HMS Cambria, a Royal Navy Reserve establishment near Cardiff were onboard the Archer class boat, which is one of the patrol boats based at Penarth Marina in Cardiff Bay.
Dun Laoghaire Marina is the marine depot and base for reserve lifeboats that serve the Irish Sea fleet of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) which collectively operates 340 lifeboats and since 1952 the institution's patron is Queen Elizabeth.
There are 9 relief lifeboats in which two of them were noted while walking the Eastern Breakwater of the marina, notably the 'Severn' class RNLB The Duke of Kent (17-45). Her presence is particularly apt given this week's symbolic Anglo-Irish reciprocal relationships reaching a zenith.
The Duke of Kent holds the title of President of the RNLI and less than a year ago in May 2013, he was accompanied by British Ambassador Domnick Chilcott on a visit the Youghal RNLI as well to touring lifeboat stations in Helvick, An Rinn, Tramore and Dunmore East in Co Waterford.
It could also be said, that the naming of the RNLI's latest and fastest lifeboat class the 'Shannon', which historically have all been named in honour of UK rivers was long overdue and is a reflection of maturing ties. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Derry-based naval architect Peter Eyre was instrumental to the design of the class.
Moored adjacent to RNLB The Duke of Kent was the Revenue Commissioners Maritime Unit customs cutter RCC Suirbheir. In 2004 she became the first customs cutter commissioned by the Irish Government since the foundation of the state. She was joined into service by sister RCC Faire in 2009.