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Bangor RNLI Rescues Three People in Consecutive Call-Outs off the Coast of Down

10th September 2024
Bangor RNLI's Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Ruby Robinson
Bangor RNLI's Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Ruby Robinson

Bangor RNLI came to the aid of three people in consecutive call-outs yesterday (Monday, 9 September) after a report of a sailing boat with engine difficulty close to Bangor harbour and again later that evening to a sailor in distress in Belfast Lough.

At 4.42pm, the volunteer crew launched their Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Ruby Robinson following a request from Belfast Coastguard to assess a situation where a boat with two people onboard had encountered engine problems on its journey to Bangor.

The weather at the time was dry, slightly overcast with a choppy state and a strong breeze. The sky was clear and visibility was fair.

The crew made their way to the scene and located the casualty vessel one mile north of Bangor harbour. They then spoke to the people onboard and found them to be visiting from France. Both sailors were safe, well and both wearing lifejackets.

The crew assessed the situation and made a decision to tow the vessel to the nearest safe harbour at Bangor Marina as the casualty vessel had no means of propulsion in breezy conditions.

Speaking following the call out, Bangor RNLI Helm John Bell said: ‘The boat owner did exactly the correct thing by calling us out to help, which we were only too happy to do.'

Later on Monday at 8.50pm, the pagers activated once more and the lifeboat and crew were requested to launch by HM Coastguard to assist a sailor in difficulty after suffering damage to a foiling type dinghy. A member of Ballyholme Yacht Club (BYC) raised the alarm after the sailor, failed to return to the yacht club. The Ruby Robinson inshore lifeboat launched at 8.56pm, and the crew made their way to the lone sailor was alone, a call out that proved challenging as the vessel was without navigational lights at the time. Wind was blowing from the west, creating fresh breezy conditions, with slight to moderate seas, making the inshore search quite challenging.

For almost an hour, the lifeboat crew searched Bangor and Ballyholme bays and along the coastline in pitch-black conditions. Six white pyrotechnic flares were fired into the night sky by the crew to help illuminate the search area, which included Ballymacormick Point, a rocky headland devoid of any lighting and with a high risk of grounding on outcropping rocks.
At 9.52pm, a lifeboat crew member heard the faint call for help from the missing sailor which led to the successful location of the casualty near the headland. The sailor had managed to secure his vessel to a lobster pot marker buoy.

The lifeboat crew acted swiftly, rescuing the individual and bringing him safely aboard. He was safe but visibly shaken by the ordeal and cold. After ensuring the sailor's safety transported to Ballyholme Yacht Club,, the lifeboat returned to recover the dinghy, delivering it back to the yacht club.

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Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

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