Arklow RNLI launched to the aid of five people on Wednesday evening (13 July) after their sailing vessel got into difficulty.

Volunteers were paged at 8.45pm after reports that a vessel had become entangled in fishing gear close to shore near the harbour in Arklow Bay.

The all-weather lifeboat launched shortly thereafter in calm seas with slack winds, quickly locating the casualty vessel with five people onboard.

Upon arrival, a lifeboat crew member was put aboard the vessel to assist with freeing the entanglement. Once this had been cleared, the yacht was towed back into Arklow Harbour where everybody came ashore safely.

Speaking later, Mark Corcoran, Arklow RNLI community safety officer said: “Our volunteers are always on call — huge thanks to them and their families for the amazing work they do in our community.”

The crew for this callout were coxswain Ned Dillon, Brendan Dillon, John Bermingham, Craig O’Reilly and Geoff Kearnes.

Seven people were rescued from their 60ft vessel after it took on water and began sinking in Lough Derg yesterday afternoon, Monday 11 July.

Lough Derg RNLI, Killaloe Coast Guard and the Irish Coast Guard’s Shannon-based helicopter Rescue 115 were all tasked to the location south of Mountshannon Harbour on the Co Clare shore around 2.30pm.

While the rescue teams were en route, a passing vessel came alongside the casualty boat to safely evacuate all seven of its occupants and bring them to Mountshannon.

Shortly afterwards Lough Derg RNLI’s inshore lifeboat arrived and found that strong southwesterly gusts had pushed the casualty vessel deep into an area known locally as the Nook of Pages on the County Clare shoreline.

The lifeboat crew assessed the situation and came alongside the vessel using an anchoring and veering technique. A crew member transferred across and confirmed there was significant water ingress and that the electrics are still on but he was unable to access them. There was no evidence of a fuel leak.

The casualty vessel’s anchor was subsequently deployed to prevent it drifting ashore or into the navigation channel and the lifeboat returned to station.

Peter Kennedy, deputy launching authority at Lough Derg RNLI advises boat users: “If in danger on the lake please call 999 or 112 and ask for marine rescue or using your VHF radio request assistance on Channel 16.”

The callout came just hours Lough Derg RNLI’s late-night launch to search for three people and their dog on a white speedboat reported missing on the lake, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Portrush RNLI was requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard on Saturday afternoon (9 July) to reports of a 35-foot yacht in difficulty between White Park Bay and Rathlin Island, off Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast.

The all-weather lifeboat launched under coxswain Des Austin at 1.54pm into near perfect conditions with a clear sky, calm sea and excellent visibility.

Arriving on scene at 2.30pm, the lifeboat crew quickly established that the yacht with two persons on board had fouled its prop on a rope.

A crew member was transferred to the yacht to try to release the rope but this was not possible. A further assessment was carried out and it was agreed that the best course of action was to tow the yacht to the nearest safe port which was Ballycastle, where the yacht and lifeboat arrived at 3.55pm.

Lifeboat operations manager Beni McAllister said of the foiled propeller: “Unfortunately, this can be a common occurrence with a yacht, but the couple on board did the right thing by contacting the Coastguard and asking for assistance. Our volunteer crew are trained for this type of incident, so it was all very straightforward.

“We would also like to congratulate our newest volunteer crew member Roo McCrudden on his first shout with Portrush RNLI.”

Roo McCrudden was on the lifeboat in his first shout with the Portrush RNLI crew | Credit: RNLI/Dave Robinson

Despite a quiet start to 2022 on Midlands waters, Lough Ree RNLI’s volunteer crews responded to their 20th callout of the year on Saturday evening (9 July) after a request to assist a boat with three on board in difficulty near Beam Island.

Launched just after 8pm, the inshore lifeboat Tara Scougall —under helm Stan Bradbury and volunteer crew Liam Sheringham and Paul Kelly — reached the stricken 28ft vessel in under 10 minutes.

The sailing boat was found to be run aground on rocks at Beam Island. All three people on board were found to be well and after an initial inspection, the boat was towed into safe waters and continued under its own power.

Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat operations manager Kevin Ganly said: “As we move into the busiest part of the holiday season, it is important that everybody who uses the lake is well prepared, has informed family and friends of their itinerary and follow the navigation guidance on the lake. As always the charity’s volunteer crew will be on standby to respond whenever necessary.”

So far this year Lough Ree RNLI has assisted more than 50 people on Lough Ree and the River Shannon. As it celebrates its 10th birthday, the lifeboat station has responded to almost 600 calls and assisted upwards of 1,300 people throughout the decade.

Lough Derg RNLI’s volunteers had a late-night callout on Sunday (10 July) to search for three people and their dog on a white speedboat reported missing on the lake.

At midnight, the inshore lifeboat Jean Spier launched 15 minutes after pagers sounded with helm Eleanor Hooker, Doireann Kennedy, Keith Brennan and Owen Cavanagh on board. Conditions had a southerly Force 2/3 wind with a full moon and clear starlit sky.

Given the serious nature of the callout, the Irish Coast Guard’s Shannon-based helicopter Rescue 115 was also tasked. Meanwhile, Galway-based gardaí responded to the emergency at Portumna Harbour, having been informed that this was the intended destination for the missing people.



Valentia Coast Guard, coordinating the multi-agency response, requested for the lifeboat to go directly to Portumna Castle Harbour at the very northern end of the lake, adding that gardaí had been told that there may be speedboat adrift west of the bay.



Using on-board electronic navigation, radar, searchlights and local knowledge, the lifeboat made way directly to Portumna Castle Harbour.

At 12.26am, as the lifeboat approached Terryglass Bay, Valentia Coast Guard gave the RNLI volunteers a specific location to search.


Very quickly the lifeboat volunteers located three people and a dog on board their 12ft speedboat, all safe and unharmed, and confirmed this was the missing party. It emerged that, having become disorientated and lost, the party found themselves in the reeds out of sight of the harbour and out of fuel.


The lifeboat took the speedboat on an alongside tow to Portumna Castle Harbour, where the casualties were met by gardaí who checked they were not in need of further assistance.

Peter Kennedy, deputy launching authority at Lough Derg RNLI, advises boat users “to plan your passage so that you reach safe harbour before nightfall. Carry a means of communication and let others know when you expect to arrive at your destination. Carry sufficient lifejackets and ensure all on board are wearing theirs.”

As the summer season begins, Fethard RNLI’s new volunteer water safety officer Rebecca Doyle commenced her role by organising a swim safely clinic.

Local swim group Hooked on Swimming and the local triathlon club attended the clinic, which was provided by the RNLI water safety team on Baginbun Beach near the Co Wexford village.

Killian O’Kelly, RNLI water safety education manager joined Rebecca and fellow water safety officers Declan Roche and Debbie Newport from Kilmore Quay RNLI to offer valuable advice and discuss water safety tips relating to open water swimming.

Speaking at the event, Killian offered the following main points to the swimmers: “Be prepared. Check the weather and tides, choose your spot, go with a buddy or group and have the right equipment with you.

“Make sure you acclimatise to avoid cold water shock. Be seen by wearing a bright coloured swim hat and take a tow float. Rotate members of the group on shore to act as a shore safety person.”

Killian went on to advise about “the importance always having a means to call 999 or 112 for help, in the form of a dry pouch to hold your mobile phone or a pea-less whistle if you have someone listening out on shore.”

As the event was attended by two local swimming groups, the water safety team also discussed the huge benefits of the clubs having their own incident action plan, in case a member gets into trouble in the water.

The information offered on the evening was well received by all who attended, and they all received RNLI waterproof mobile phone holders.

Speaking after the event, Rebecca said: “It was fantastic to see all the swimmers on Baginbun listening attentively to the Water Safety Team and taking on board our advice.

“We spoke about the benefits of having a whistle tied to your tow float while out swimming and I am delighted to say there were quite a few ordered online in the days following our clinic.”

Enniskillen RNLI came to the aid of two people on Sunday (3 July) after their boat ran aground on Lower Lough Erne.

The lifeboat volunteers were paged by Belfast Coastguard shortly before 1.45pm to rescue the duo at Gull Rock, close to Castle Archdale in Co Fermanagh.

At the time of launch, there was a lot of cloud cover and there was a Force 5 wind blowing from the northwest. It was this wind that had pushed the casualty’s boat onto Gull Rock after developing engine problems.

The inshore lifeboat, helmed by Stevie Ingram and with three crew members onboard, launched immediately. On reaching the reported location, the crew discovered that the casualty vessel had suffered from engine difficulties on the shore of Gull Rock and as a result was taking on water and starting to lean on its side.

Due to the shallow waters, the lifeboat could not get alongside the casualty vessel. The crew assessed the situation and a decision was made for a crew member to swim to the shoreline to reach the boat. The man and woman onboard were safe and well with words of reassurance from the RNLI crew member.

Due to the water intake, a tow line could not be established. The Irish Coast Guard’s Sligo-based helicopter Rescue 118 was tasked to airlift the two people and the crew member to the nearby St Angelo Airport in Enniskillen.

The casualty vessel was left in position at Gull Rock with its anchor deployed to ensure it did not become a navigation hazard.

Speaking after the callout, Enniskillen RNLI helm Stevie Ingram said: “We want to commend the people on the vessel for doing the right thing and calling the coastguard. Sunday’s callout highlights the importance of inter-agency working and we would like to thank our colleagues in Rescue 118.

“The summer holidays got under way this week and we would remind everyone to enjoy their activities on the lough but to always think safety first. Bring a means of communication with you when you go out on, or near, the water. Even if you’re onshore, and you spot something happening on the water the best thing to do is dial 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.”

Lough Derg RNLI assisted seven people on two separate vessels in back-to-back callouts on Sunday afternoon (3 July).

Valentia Coast Guard first requested Lough Derg’s lifeboat volunteers to launch to three people on a 25ft motor cruiser adrift with steering failure near Williamstown on the Co Clare shoreline.

At 2.30pm, the inshore lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Owen Cavanagh, Joe O’Donoghue, Chris Parker and Ciara Moylan on board in good visibility and a westerly Force 4 wind.

The lifeboat arrived on scene within five minutes and one of the crew transferred to the casualty vessel, whose occupants were found to be safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets.

It emerged that the cruiser had power but its steering had failed, and the skipper had dropped anchor to prevent drift across the navigation channel.

Given the location and weather, the lifeboat helm made the decision to take the vessel under tow. And as there was a fleet of dinghies racing in a regatta in Dromineer Bay, he decided to take the vessel in an alongside tow across the bay to the public harbour at Dromineer.



At 2.50pm, while the RNLI volunteers were securing the casualty vessel alongside in Dromineer Harbour, Valentia Coast Guard requested them to assist four people on a 25ft speedboat in the harbour that was taking on water.

The speedboat came alongside the lifeboat for aid. The skipper had a pump in the stern and an RNLI volunteer brought the lifeboat’s salvage pump from the lifeboat station to pump water from the bow.

Once the speedboat was pumped free of water, the lifeboat helm advised the skipper to have his vessel checked at the nearby marina. However, the skipper decided to return his vessel to his home harbour. Two of his passengers alighted at Dromineer, and the skipper and another of his crew set out.

The lifeboat gave a situation report to Valentia Coast Guard, who requested the lifeboat monitor the casualty vessel’s progress. At 3.50pm, at the Corakeen Islands, the lifeboat reported that the speedboat was making way at speed and now out of sight ahead of the lifeboat. The lifeboat crew were then stood down.

Jeremy Freeman, deputy launching authority at Lough Derg RNLI advises boat users: “Ensure your vessel is serviced and in safe working order and if you find yourself in difficulty on the lake, dial 999 or 112 and ask for marine rescue.”

Wicklow RNLI were delighted to welcome Jordann Wizowski and his mother Megan to the lifeboat station for a very special presentation recently.

Five-year-old Jordann completed a walk between the present Wicklow RNLI lifeboat station and the former station on the Murrough as part of the RNLI Mayday Mile challenge and raised €250 from family and friends in the process.

Jordann, who is a member of the RNLI Storm Force kids’ club, presented the cheque to Santiago Balbontin from the Wicklow RNLI fundraising branch — and was delighted some of the volunteer crew gathered for a photograph.

Six round-Britain rowers have been rescued by Red Bay RNLI amid “hugely challenging conditions” at sea off Northern Ireland.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the group were part of the GB Endurance team taking part in a coastal rowing challenge around Great Britain when they got into difficulty yesterday afternoon (Saturday 25 June).

The HM Coastguard helicopter from Prestwick in Scotland was also dispatched to the incident off Cushendall on the Co Antrim coast, while a tanker was diverted from its course to provide shelter for the rowers before their rescue by the Red Bay all-weather lifeboat.

In a statement on social media, the lifeboat station said: “Red Bay RNLI all weather lifeboat was launched this evening just after 5pm to reports of six people in difficulty on a small craft sixteen miles east of Cushendall.

“The lifeboat crew have now safely recovered all six people onboard the lifeboat in hugely challenging conditions,” it added.