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#sailability – On the 26th June four sailing cruisers from Lough Foyle will set off from Greencastle in Donegal on a round trip passage of Ireland stopping at each Sailability Club around the coastline of Ireland. This is to promote Sailability - sailing for disabled people in Ireland. Sailability Ireland is the new name for the Irish Disabled Sailing Association (IDSA) which was established in 1980 to introduce and encourage people of all ages with disabilities to take up sailing. Thirty years later, Sailability Ireland members are involved in all levels of the sport, from regular club racing, through international championship, to Paralympic Campaigns.

The cruisers will arrive in Dun Laoghaire for the day on Monday 29th June where they will be hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Sailability. D/L Sailability run a very successful programme of courses for disabled children throughout the Summer. 35-40 children are involved in the sailing thanks to the support of the four waterfront clubs, the Royal St. George, the National, the Royal Irish and the DMYC, as well as their instructors and volunteers.

To mark the occasion Sailability sailors from Dun Laoghaire will meet the Lough Foyle Crews for a BBQ at the Royal St. George and then head off in local cruisers at 6pm and accompany the Lough Foyle as far as Dalkey Island or perhaps Killiney Bay as they head towards the next port of call Kinsale.

Sailing for disabled people in Ireland has blossomed over the last few years and there are now centres in all provinces in Ireland. In Dun Laoghaire the programme started 6 years ago and has grown every year to the extent that all of the events this season are full, from the regular Sunday morning sailing to the week courses in June and August .

This year the Royal Irish are hosting the Presidents Cup an all-Ireland competition for disabled sailors with a team from each Province competing in 4 different types of boats. the event will be held in Dun Laoghaire harbour on 22nd and 23rd August

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Published in Sailability

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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