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Displaying items by tag: Topper

A fleet of 66 Toppers took to the waters of Carlingford Lough for their National Championships ten days ago, with Blessington sailor Finn Lynch taking control of the series to count nothing but podium finishes on his way to the national title.

In the 4.2 rig fleet, Strngford sailor Peter Gilmore burst out of the traps with four straight bullets in the first four races of the series giving him an unassailable lead.

Lynch's top challenger in the 58-boat full rig fleet was Robbie Robinson from Plymouth, who posted two bullets but couldn't match the consistency of Lynch.

The results (slightly confusing due to mixed classes) are HERE.

Published in Youth Sailing
Blessington Topper sailor Finn Lynch received an Evening Herald School Sports award on Tuesday for his achievements in the class in Ireland and abroad.

The ceremony, which recognises sports from GAA and Rugby, to Waterpolo and Sailing took place with students, parents, teachers and governing bodies seated together at tables in the Hogan Stand of Croke Park.

Des Cahill, RTE sports presenter, kept the crowd entertained acting as MC for the event. Luke Fitzgerald, Irish rugby star and Ciaran Whelan, former Dublin GAA star presented the awards to the young sports stars including Blessington Sailing Club's Finn Lynch.

The Lynch family have been active participants of the ISA Performance Pathway in previous years with Finn's older brother's Ben and Rory also doing very well in sailing. The fourteen year old talented sportsman was previously presented with a special award from his school, St. Mary's Academy, CBS, Carlow for his outstanding sailing achievements last year.

Finn Lynch has secured several firsts at sailing championships along with being the first ever Irish sailor to win a UK Topper event. Lynch also cleared up at the ISA Youth Nationals winning seven out of eleven races in Schull this year and came second overall at the Gul Topper Worlds in 2009.

Finn was delighted with his achievement and proudly left with his Evening Herald Young Sports Star of the year award and newspaper sports bio.

The Evening Herald were thanked for recognising and supporting school sports in their weekly column and at the awards ceremony yesterday.
Published in News Update
Page 13 of 13

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.

© Afloat 2020