Skerries RNLI were tasked on Saturday afternoon (17 September) after Dublin Coast Guard received reports from kayakers that a fishing vessel had sunk off Loughshinny in north Co Dublin and a man was in the water.
The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Louis Simson was launched by the volunteers in Skerries shortly before 3pm when they were asked to investigate reports of a man in the water clinging to debris.
As they were arriving on scene, they received an update that the man had been picked up by another fishing boat from Loughshinny and was ashore safely.
One of the volunteers on board is a local doctor, so the lifeboat proceeded into Loughshinny so that he could carry out an assessment of the casualty. However, no further medical assistance was required.
At the request of Dublin Coast Guard, the crew then located the sunken vessel, a razor fishing boat, and recorded the GPS coordinates before recovering any large debris floating on the surface to prevent any further hazards to navigation.
As the boat was on its way back to the station, one of the volunteer shore crew spotted a member of the public having a medical emergency beside the station.
The woman and her family were brought into the station where the volunteers began to administer first aid and called for an ambulance. The lifeboat arrived back and dropped the doctor on board ashore to help with the emergency in the station.
Skerries Coast Guard unit were also on scene and assisted with the casualty care before managing the traffic for the ambulance and assisting with the recovery of the lifeboat to the station.
Speaking about the callout, volunteer lifeboat press officer Gerry Canning said: “We are very proud of our volunteers for their vigilance and professionalism in two very different but equally stressful situations.
“We also saw another fine example of all the emergency services working together, with volunteers and professionals seamlessly pulling together to try and ensure the best outcome.”