#RNLI - Lough Ree RNLI has announced its Lap of Lough Ree charity cycle will take place on Sunday 6 March.

As it has for the past two years, the cycle will start and finish at The Bounty at Buccaneers Rugby Club in Athlone, and will travel north through Ballymahon, cross the Shannon at Lanesboro Bridge and complete the 85km lap of Lough Ree travelling south on the Roscommon side, via Kilteevan, to cross again at Athlone Bridge.

Lough Ree RNLI relies entirely on public donations to fund its operation, and the Lap of Lough Ree is an important fundraising event for the charity organisation.

Lough Ree Lifeboat Station was the busiest station in Ireland in 2014 and rescued the highest number of people in 2015, so maintaining a high standard of service in the area is vital.

Brendan Finnegan, Lough Ree RNLI fundraising committee chairman, said: "We run a variety of events throughout the year to raise funds and we are privileged to have a huge level of support in the community.

"The cycle has proved very popular since we first organised it two years ago and it is a pleasure to run events that participants can get actively involved in. We are hoping for a big turnout again this year."

Registration for the event will take place from 9am on Sunday 6 March at The Bounty, with the cycle starting at 10am. Snack packs will be provided to all entrants and refreshments will be provided midway, at Lanesborough and also at The Bounty afterwards on return. Subject to numbers interested, an extended route may be arranged for cyclists who enjoy a more challenging ride.

The fee for entry is €25 on the day, but early entry is €20 via the Facebook entry form.

#RNLI - Howth RNLI was unveiled this week as SuperValu Sutton’s Charity of the Year for 2016.

A series of fundraising activities will take place in store throughout 2016 to support the work of the local lifeboat station, contributing to the training of the volunteer lifeboat crew members, the provision of lifejackets and crew kit, the maintenance of the two lifeboats and the station's running costs.

Rose Michael, chair of the Howth RNLI fundraising branch, expressed her thanks and gratitude to the management, staff and customers for their support.

"We are delighted to be announcing a local fundraising partnership with SuperValu Sutton," she said. :Their support and the generosity of their customers will help us to continue our lifesaving work in the community this year.

"We have a fantastic group of people who devote their time and energy, and make sacrifices to enable us to launch the lifeboats. Our volunteer crew are incredibly brave and we want to make sure that when they go to sea to save lives that they are highly trained with the best of equipment.

"When they go out on a recue they don’t know what risks they will face, and it is our priority that they come home safely."

Neville Raethorne, store manager at SuperValu Sutton, also commented: "The lifeboat in Howth provides an important service to our customers in the locality and many of the crew members shop here. We look forward to developing a successful fundraising partnership with Howth RNLI over the coming year."

With 60 launches, rescuing 58 people, Howth RNLI was the busiest coastal lifeboat station in Ireland in 2015 – a year that saw stations nationwide launch to more than 1,000 incidents.

#Rescue - Lagan Search and Rescue's RIB is set to return to action this weekend after a crowdfunding campaign helped fund repairs, according to BelfastLive.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the rescue boat for the Belfast area was forced out of service after vandals pulled a hydraulic ram out of its steering system, causing damage that was "both labour intensive and costly".

But after a crowdfunding effort raised nearly £900 (€1,176) – including a single £500 (€653) contribution – the necessary repairs were made this week, with only stress tests remaining before the Atlantic 21 lifeboat can return to the water.

BelfastLive has more on the story HERE.

#Rescue - Lagan Search and Rescue's RIB has been forced out of service after its motor was vandalised, as BelfastLive reports.

Over the weekend team members found that a hydraulic ram had been pulled out of the steering system of the the Atlantic 21 lifeboat, which covers the Belfast area and was docked in a secure marina at the time.

What's more, with the vandals' additional damage to the boat, getting it ready to return to the water will be "both labour intensive and costly", according to a spokesperson for the rescue service.

BelfastLive has more on the story HERE.

#RNLI - Following the dramatic rescue of a dog who fell from sea cliffs on Howth Head at the weekend comes news from Skerries of another pooch stranded off the shore by high tide yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 12 January).

Mollie, a border collie cross, had been missing since the previous evening after becoming frightened and running away. She was finally spotted yesterday morning in the Red Island area in Skerries.

However by the time her owners had located her, she had made her way onto the rocks behind the lifeboat station and had been cut off by the rising tide.

At the time, a combination of the location and conditions meant that launching the lifeboat and attempting a rescue from the sea was not an option.

But Skerries RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew David Knight and AJ Hughes were able to wade safely out to the rocks from the shoreline wearing their personal protection equipment and using a safety line.

Once recovered, Mollie was handed over to her grateful owners at the shoreline who took her straight to the vet for a full check-up.

#RNLI - Portrush RNLI had their first two callouts of 2016 in quick succession yesterday today (Sunday 10 January).

The all-weather lifeboat (ALB) was first launched around 2.30pm following reports of kayakers in difficulty at Kinnego Bay in Donegal.

The weather conditions at the time were difficult as the wind was in a northwesterly direction. Sea conditions were rough and it was bitterly cold.

Fortunately, before the lifeboat and its volunteer crew reached Kinnego Bay, Greencastle Coastguard reported that they had located the kayakers and were transporting them back to safety.

Less than an hour after returning to base, Portrush RNLI had their second call out of 2016, and the ALB was launched at 4pm to reports of a boat in difficulty at Benone Beach.

The weather conditions were difficult as the wind was in a southwesterly direction; sea conditions were moderate but the wind chill made it bitterly cold.

The search continued for some two hours with the coastguard combing the beach and a helicopter deployed to assist. The crew searched an area ranging from Benone beach over to Greencastle and Shrove off the Donegal Coast.

However, with the light failing rapidly and no sign of either a boat or persons in the water, the search was stood down for the night.

Portrush RNLI lifeboat operations manager Robin Cardwell said: "We couldn’t believe that we received another call out so soon after our first one of 2016, but once again the crew responded without hesitation. Our volunteers are always ready to go when the pager goes off, even on a bitter January afternoon.

"We searched the designated area for nearly three hours in very cold conditions. This is exactly the type of situations our volunteer crew are trained to do."

#RNLI - Clifden RNLI's inshore lifeboat Granuaile launched yesterday afternoon (Saturday 9 January) to assist a walker and her six dogs who had been stranded on Omey Island on the Connemara coast by the rapidly incoming tide.

The popular walking destination is widely accessible by car and on foot at low tide, but the speed of the incoming tide is notoriously deceptive and strandings of this kind are not uncommon in the area.

Clifden RNLI helm Joe Acton, who recently received an award of long service for 20 years as a volunteer, said: "When we arrived on the scene, the lady and her six dogs had already abandoned her van and made their way back to the shore. We were more than happy to return them all safely to the shore."

Also on the callout were Clifden RNLI volunteers Alvin Bell, David O'Reilly, shore crew Ian Shanahan and driver Neil Gallery.

#RNLI - Dunmore East RNLI launched on Friday (8 January) to assist a 50ft fishing vessel with five people on board.

The vessel suffered engine failure eight miles from Dunmore East Harbour.

Just before 5pm the volunteer lifeboat crew at Dunmore East RNLI launched their all-weather lifeboat at the request of the Irish Coast.

Some 15 minutes later, the Trent Class lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald arrived on scene and the casualty vessel was then towed into the safety of Dunmore East Harbour, just after 7pm.

Speaking following the callout, Dunmore East RNLI coxswain Paulie Daniels said: "Our crew responded very quickly to the pagers and thankfully it turned out to be a very straight forward tow.

"Conditions were tough with rain throughout and wind and sea freshening."

#RNLI - Kilmore Quay RNLI assisted four fishermen to safety in the early hours of this morning (Friday 8 January) after they feared their vessel was in danger from taking on water.

The volunteer crew was requested to launch their all-weather lifeboat at 11.10pm last night following a Mayday call that a 13m steel fishing trawler was taking on water at Baginbun to the east of Hook Head in Co Wexford.

The four crew onboard were fishing for herring when they got into difficulty and raised the alarm. Weather conditions at the time were challenging, with a Force 8 fresh gale, a rough sea and driving rain.

The all-weather lifeboat, under coxswain Eugene Kehoe and with six crew on board, launched within minutes and made its way to the scene around 8.5 nautical miles from Kilmore Quay.

Once on scene, the lifeboat crew observed that the vessel wasn’t taking on water but that in the challenging weather conditions, some of the pound boards used to keep the fish from moving freely, had given way.

This caused a substantial amount of herring to move towards the stern of the vessel, forcing it down so that the deck level ended up in the water.

The lifeboat crew assessed the situation and contemplated transferring the fishermen onto the lifeboat. However, a decision was made to closely monitor the situation with the lifeboat moving to the weather side of the vessel to create a lee and provide shelter to the vessel before escorting it to Kilmore Quay.

The Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 was also on scene providing essential light overhead to guide the vessel into the harbour at Kilmore Quay.

Speaking following the callout, Kilmore Quay RNLI mechanic Brian Kehoe said: "The fishermen rightly raised the alarm when they got into trouble and, taking our advice, they made a good decision given the weather conditions, to change their passage, turn around and head for Kilmore Quay with our escort.

"This was a slow process which took just over two hours in severe weather conditions but thankfully everyone was returned safely to shore."

#RNLI - Lough Ree RNLI received their first callout of 2016 on Sunday 3 January when a man living aboard a barge was marooned by a strong river current on the River Shannon in Athlone.

The barge is moored below the old railway bridge in Athlone, where rising waters have covered the jetty, leaving the man on board surrounded by water and unable to safely reach the shore except by use of his tender dinghy.

The river was flowing fast at this location and the dinghy broke free. It was later retrieved downstream and tied up at a nearby location. However, the man on the barge was unable to reach it.

Lough Ree's lifeboat was paged at 2:35pm and made its way to the scene. Progress was hampered first at the motorway bridge, where the crew found the clearance greatly reduced, but they succeeded in passing through at low speed.

Progress towards the ‘White Bridge’ was slow because of the amount of debris in the water, and also because navigation markers were difficult to sight, being almost totally submerged.

Manoeuvring through the White Bridge required further care and skill, due to the speed of water flow and the narrowness of the navigable section of the bridge.

Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat helm Stan Bradbury said: "The river is moving very fast in Athlone at the moment, and contains debris of various sizes. Even shallow waters can be very dangerous under these conditions.

"We were glad to be of service in retrieving the tender and further securing the barge to its underwater moorings."

Flooding along the length of the Shannon remains a serious concern since heavy rains from December's winter storms saw the river breach its banks in a number of areas.