Skerries RNLI launched yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 4 March) after Dublin Coast Guard made them aware of a swimmer in difficulty at Red Island headland in Skerries.
The volunteer crew launched the Atlantic 85 lifeboat shortly after 12pm and proceeded to the area that the swimmer was reported to be in (see video HERE).
Arriving on scene, the lifeboat discovered that swimmer had made their way ashore on the rock and the winchman/paramedic from the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 had already reached them.
Two volunteer crew were put ashore to see if they could offer any assistance to the coastguard. The swimmer was uninjured, however the low tide at the time meant that walking across the sharp rocks was not possible in bare foot.
The decision was taken to winch them aboard the helicopter before landing on Red Island where local coastguard volunteers had set up and secured a landing area. The casualty was then transferred to an ambulance to be assessed.
The crew returned to the lifeboat and they stood by while the winch operation was carried out before standing down and returning to the station.
Speaking about the callout, volunteer lifeboat press officer Gerry Canning said: “The swimmer made the right call to head for shore and look for assistance as soon as possible. This was a good outcome today and it’s always great to see how well the different rescue services work together.”
The incident came nine days after Skerries RNLI’s first callout of the year, responding to the activation of an emergency beacon at sea.