#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.