#RNLI - Three kayakers who got into difficulty in Dungarvan Bay on Sunday evening (7 August) were assisted by the volunteer crew of Helvick Head RNLI.

The inshore lifeboat Robert Armstrong launched just after 6.30pm following a report that three people in kayaks were struggling in strong winds and currents in the Ballyvoile area of Dungarvan Bay.

One kayaker had made his way ashore but was stuck on rocks and was in need of medical assistance. He was airlifted by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter to Waterford Regional Hospital.

A second woman was helped from her kayak by the lifeboat crew and brought ashore at Clonea Beach close by. The third person was successful in reaching the shore.

The lifeboat, helmed by John Condon and with crew members Shane Walsh and Joe Foley onboard, later returned to the scene to recover a kayak from the rocks.

"Strong winds and the tide made it difficult for the casualties to get ashore and they were struggling," said Condon after the callout, "so the lifeboat was essential in ensuring the safe recovery of the second kayaker as well as in assisting the helicopter. We would like to wish all three kayakers well after their ordeal."

The incident came on the same day that a group of 12 kayakers was rescued in Dublin Bay after failing to heed the small craft warning in place due to forecast high winds, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#RNLI - The volunteer crew from Kinsale RNLI launched twice overnight on Saturday (6 August) and into the early hours of Sunday (7 August) this past weekend.

The lifeboat first launched at 9.40pm to Saturday to aid a 26ft yacht that had become propped. Visibility was poor and weather conditions were deteriorating as the vessel was located south of the Sovereign Islands.

Lifeboat crew member Aidan Henry boarded the vessel to set up a stern tow until the lifeboat reached the Charles Fort area, when the yacht was taken alongside and returned safely to the Kinsale Yacht Club marina.

Just hours later at 3.23am on Sunday morning, the emergency pagers went off for a second time in response to reports of distress flares in the Summercove area.

Nick Searls and Jonathan Connor, who attended the earlier incident, were joined by Mark Lewis as the lifeboat searched Kinsale’s inner and outer harbours in poor visibility.

Waterford's Rescue 117 helicopter and Irish Coast Guard units from Kinsale and the Old Head of Kinsale also conducted an extensive search of the area but no vessels or persons in distress were located. The operation was called off by the coastguard at 5.15am.

"Flares are there to save lives at sea and are a vital piece of equipment for any vessel," said Kinsale RNLI lifeboat operations manager John O’Gorman. "When the RNLI receives a report of a flare being released, we respond immediately.

"We would ask every member of the public to be aware that flares should only be used in a genuine emergency as it sets in train an operation involving a large number of RNLI volunteers and resources and members of other rescue services."

#RNLI - Fethard RNLI had a busy weekend, with their second callout in 24 hours seeing launch to reports of an unmanned vessel drifting a half mile off Fethard in Co Wexford.

The alarm was raised before 9.30am yesterday morning (Sunday 7 August) by a member of the public who saw the vessel drifting out to sea.

The lifeboat was launched and, once on scene, discovered that the 17ft pleasure boat had dragged its moorings and become entangled in ropes from nearby lobster pots.

One of the RNLI crew got out of the lifeboat and freed the vessel from the ropes, enabling it to be taken in tow to Fethard Harbour.

Weather conditions were good with a Force 3 to 4 south-westerly breeze, and visibility was clear.

"Vessels that drag or break free of their moorings can quickly become a problem as they move into busy areas or cause an obstruction to other marine traffic," said Fethard RNLI deputy launching authority Hugh Burke.

"We don’t know who owned the vessel in question but in bringing it in to the safety of Fethard Harbour there is now no danger it will be lost or cause an accident."

The callout came a day after the lifeboat crew rescued three from a 17ft punt drifting dangerously close to the shore at Ballyteigue beach, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The Courtmacsherry RNLI All Weather Lifeboat was called out at 5.15 pm yesterday afternoon to go to the aid of three men who got into difficulty in a Jet–ski and small pleasure boat just off the Seven Heads coastline in West Cork.

The Courtmacsherry Lifeboat under Coxswain Sean O'Farrell and a crew of six launched immediately and reached the area at 5.25pm as the three men had overturned in their crafts and were in the water.

The casualties were blown on to dangerous rocks at Seven Heads and the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat succeeded in taking all three men from the rocks and onboard the Lifeboat.

The Coastguard unit from Seven Heads, the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter and The Kinsale RNLI Lifeboat all participated in today's rescue

Crosshaven lifeboat was launched this afternoon after a member of the public alerted the Coast Guard to an inflatable Dinghy with thre persons on board being blown out to sea.

The lifeboat launched at 14.52 and made their way to Ringabella Bay arriving on scene at 3.10pm. No sighting of the dinghy initially was made, but the crew noticed a Supermarket type inflatable dinghy on the shore at Ringabella beach. A crew member swam ashore and talked to the owners who confirmed they were the 3 people that had left Fountainstown. As they were now ashore and safe all units were stood down.

The occupants were wearing swim gear apart from one who had a wetsuit and a bouyancy aid. The wind offshore was blowing force 5 to 6 although calmer within the bay. Crosshaven Coast Guard imparted safety information to the people involved.

Commenting on the service call, Patsy Fegan, Lifeboat Operations manager said "The use of inflatables and lilo's should only be used in the confines of a swimming pool. Luckily these people came to no harm, but with a force 5 wind they could have drifted well offshore”

As well as Crosshaven Lifeboat, other agencies involved were Rescue 117 helicopter from Waterford, The Naval vessel, LE Niamh which acted as a Radio Relay to the Coast Guard and the Crosshaven Coast Guard boat.

#RNLI - The volunteer lifeboat crew with Fethard RNLI were launched yesterday morning (Saturday 6 August 2016) just before 9am to reports of an anchorless 17ft punt with three people onboard in difficulty off Keeragh Island, Co Wexford.

Requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard to the initial location, reported as a half mile north-east of Keeragh Island, once on scene the lifeboat was not able to locate the vessel, whose VHF aerial was broken on top of suffering engine failure.

A short time later the lifeboat crew spotted the vessel getting washed ashore in the surf on Ballyteigue beach. Two of its crew had left the punt and were trying to prevent it getting completely beached.

As the Fethard lifeboat approached the shore, one of the lifeboat crew got into the surf and turned the punt around to establish a tow. Once the rope was secured, the lifeboat towed the vessel with its three crew onboard to the Coalyard at Cullenstown.

"The changing nature of this callout meant that the lifeboat crew and to react quickly to ensure a successful outcome, at one stage towing the punt through a very narrow channel between sandbars," said Fethard RNLI deputy launching authority Hugh Burke.

"I would urge all boat operators to ensure that they have a properly working anchor on their vessel and a means of calling for help. The most benign situations can turn in the blink of an eye and in these cases every second counts.

"Thankfully the weather was good and the lifeboat crew were able to assist and bring both the crew and the boat safely home."

#RNLI - Ballycotton RNLI rescued a child yesterday evening (Thursday 4 August) after an offshore breeze pulled her inflatable dinghy out to sea.

Ballycotton’s all-weather lifeboat, under coxswain Eolan Walsh, was launched around 5.30pm after the nine-year-old girl got into difficulty off Ardnahinch beach.

Valentia Coast Guard was quickly alerted and then requested the volunteer crew members from Ballycotton and Youghal RNLI to launch their all-weather and inshore lifeboats.

Although weather conditions were calm, an offshore breeze blew the inflatable dinghy out to sea with the girl clinging on.

Ballycotton's inshore boarding boat was first to arrive on scene, shortly followed by the all-weather lifeboat.

The girl was brought onboard the inshore lifeboat where she was assessed and found to be safe and well but in a distressed state. She was assisted by the crew member and brought back safely to her parents on the beach.

"This was a frightening experience for the young girl and her family and we would like to wish them all well following their ordeal," said Walsh after the callout.

"Thankfully, the alarm was raised quickly and the casualty was wearing a suitable buoyancy aid which attributed to a positive outcome."

Walsh added that "while the coast is a great place for young people and families to enjoy, we would remind everyone to respect the water, to understand the risks and to stay safe.

"When using a dinghy, always make sure you wear an appropriate lifejacket or buoyancy aid; always carry a means of calling or signalling for help.

"Check the weather forecasts and tide times before you go and if on your own, tell someone about your plans – where you intend to go and when you expect to return, and know how to contact the coastguard."

RNLI lifeguards created an exclusion zone up to 300m on Murlough Beach on Monday afternoon following the discovery of an old mortar bomb.

Senior lifeguard Peter Kinkaid and lifeguard Tommy Murphy were moving the RNLI’s red and yellow flags at approximately 2.30pm when they discovered what they believed to be an old bomb a short distance from the water’s edge between the flags which are used to mark the safest area to swim.

Peter took a photograph of the item and sent it to the local Coastguard unit who shared his view that the object might be an old mortar bomb. The PSNI and the bomb disposal unit were subsequently contacted.

Peter, Tommy and fellow lifeguard Sean McConvey red flagged the relatively quiet area at 3.15pm, before continuing to maintain patrol of the rest of the beach working to keep the small number of visitors away from the area concerned.

On arrival the bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion at 5.20pm before the red and yellow flags were put out again at 5.30pm with normal patrol resuming.

Speaking following the incident, Jason Nugent, RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor said: ‘There have been a number of similar discoveries in recent times with the lifeguards dealing with mortar bomb finds on the beach last summer also. The beach was relatively quiet at the time of this discovery but throughout the operation, the lifeguards maintained patrol of the remainder of the beach and worked to assist and reassure people visiting.

‘While this is nothing to be alarmed about, we would encourage any visitors who may come across any unusual items while on the beach to let us know so we can notify the relevant authorities who can deal with it.’

The RNLI beach lifeguard unit on Benone Strand on the North coast has been vandalised for a second time this season.
A member of the public reported that at approximately 10pm on Monday night last (1 August), they spotted damage being caused to the beach lifeguard unit near the entrance to the beach.
On further investigation, the charity’s lifeguards discovered on Tuesday morning that the vandals had damaged the roof of the beach lifeguard unit having stripped off the brackets that secure an essential VHF aerial.
Ideal for the harsh beach environment, lifeguards rely on handheld VHF radios to communicate with each other when on patrol and to communicate with their colleagues in the Coastguard in the event of an emergency.
RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor Karl O’Neill said: ‘While we were fortunate to find the wire wasn’t damaged on the aerial which would have rendered our VHF communications off service, the damage was such that given the poor weather we have been experiencing the signal could have been affected.’
Prior to the peak season commencing this summer, a window door entrance was smashed in the hut during the Easter period.
It is estimated that the repairs to the beach lifeguard unit will run into hundreds of pounds for the charity.
The RNLI is working closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland in an attempt to prevent further damage being done to the beach unit for the remainder of the season.
‘We would appeal to those doing this damage to be mindful that the RNLI is a charity’, Karl continued. ‘Our lifeguards are an essential part of what is a seamless rescue service that saves lives from the beach to the open sea. Our lifeguards’ primary role on Benone Strand as on all eight lifeguarded beaches on the Causeway Coast is to make sure the beach can be enjoyed safely by the public.
‘We hope that these acts of vandalism will cease and that our lifeguards can continue to operate from the unit safely.’

#RNLI - The volunteer crew of Youghal lifeboat were requested to launch on Saturday afternoon (30 July) to reports of a dive boat with engine failure south of Ram Head with two people onboard.

With an updated position received from the Irish Coast Guard, Youghal RNLI located the vessel with the two men safely onboard and wearing their lifejackets.

The lifeboat, with helm Jason Ansbro and crew members Erik Brooks, Kevin Daly and Liam Keogh, took the boat under tow to Knockadoon Pier.

While en route, the crew received a call from the lifeboat station to say there was a dog swimming out to sea at Pilmore beach. After securing the vessel at Knockadoon, the lifeboat proceeded to Pilmore in search of the dog, locating it with the help of the Youghal Coast Guard unit on the beach and recovering the animal onboard the lifeboat.

After some reassurance, the dog seemed happy and unharmed by his adventure, and he was returned to the safety of the beach.

It later emerged that the dog and its owners were walking on Pilmore beach exercising an injury from the previous week, when the dog broke free from his lead and made a dash for the water.

Weather conditions at the time were dry with a light north-westerly breeze and calm sea.

Speaking after the event, lifeboat helm Jason Ansbro said: "When walking dogs on the beach, people should be vigilant as they can get into difficulty very quickly, and to make sure and not go into the water after them if they do."