Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched yesterday evening  to assist five people, on board a 40–ft cruiser hard aground, east of Illaunmor on Lough Derg

At 7.25pm, September 16, Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched following a request from Valentia Coast Guard to assist 5 people on board a 40ft cruiser that had grounded on a rocky shelf, east of Illaunmor. Winds were westerly, Force 2/3 gusting, visibility was very good but with nightfall imminent.

At 7.38pm, the lifeboat launched with helm Eleanor Hooker, Robbie Garland and Dom Sharkey on board. The lifeboat located the cruiser at 7.43pm, behind Illaunmor and in an area with many rocky shoals. The five people on board were safe and unharmed, and all wearing their lifejackets. Mr. Tierney, from Illaunmor, an experienced boatman, had launched his lakeboat and was on standby when the lifeboat arrived on scene.

The lifeboat transferred a crew member across who checked that the boat was not holed. The cruiser was found to be hard aground, and after two attempts to get the cruiser off the rocks were unproductive, the five persons on board were transferred to Mr. Tierney's lake boat to reduce the weight on the cruiser. The cruiser was then taken off the shoal and out to safe water. Following another thorough check of drives and propellors, the five crew were returned to their boat and Mr. Tierney returned to the island.

With an RNLI crew member remaining on board, the lifeboat accompanied the cruiser to Dromineer, where it was safely tied up alongside in the public harbour at 9.20pm. As the hour was late and none of the five people on board had had supper, the lifeboat had radioed ahead and the Whiskey Still public house in Dromineer village, kept their kitchen open to provide an evening meal for the five on board.

Peter Kennedy, Deputy Launching Authority for Lough Derg RNLI, advises boat users to ‘enjoy boating on the lake, and to be sure to study your charts and plan your passage before departure'.

The Lifeboat returned to station and was ready for service again at 9.45pm.

#RNLI - The Pistol Benefit Fund, set up in memory of Frederick (Fred) and Theresa (Terry) Pistol, has funded the new Larne RNLI D-class lifeboat, which will be named in an official ceremony at the East Antrim Boat Club this Saturday 19 September at 2.30pm.

All are welcome on the day for the decication of the lifeboat, which is to be named Terry in memory of Fred Pistol’s beloved wife Theresa.

The Pistol Benefit Fund has its origins in Frederick Pistol’s incredible life story. Fred arrived in the UK as a 19-year-old refugee fleeing the Holocaust in Austria, with nothing more than the clothes on his back, and worked as a fitter until the Second World War started.

He joined the army, eventually becoming a major, and returned to England in 1946 after serving abroad. He married Theresa, a pianist born in Westcliff-on-Sea, and discovered a passion for sailing, one that has been passed down through the family.

Every boat Fred bought was named Terry after his wife, and Larne RNLI’s new D-class lifeboat will also proudly bear the name.

The Pistol family has supported the work of the RNLI for many years, and Fred and Theresa’s son Neil will attend the naming ceremony in Larne along with his wife Viveca and two of their three children, Benjamin and Joshua.

Other close friends will also be travelling to Larne for the special occasion, which, in a happy coincidence, is being held on the date of Fred’s birthday, something which has delighted the family.

The D-class lifeboat remains the workhorse of the RNLI as it has for nearly 50 years. The inflatable craft is highly manoeuvrable and specifically suited to surf, shallow water and confined locations – often working close to cliffs, among rocks or even in caves. Importantly it can also be righted manually by the crew in the event of capsize.

Equipment includes fitted and hand-held VHF radio, night vision equipment and first aid, including oxygen. It has a maximum speed of 25 knots and can carry three crew members and five survivors.

Allan Dorman, Larne RNLI lifeboat operations manager, said: "We are grateful to the Pistol Benefit Fund for the generous gift which has funded our new lifeboat and we look forward to welcoming Neil and his family, along with friends of the Pistols to Larne.

"The funding that made our new lifeboat possible has come through a wonderful couple with an incredible history. We in Larne RNLI will remember Frederick and Theresa through the work of the lifeboat and the volunteer crew and we will be the proud custodians of it for many years to come."

#RNLI - Wicklow's all-weather lifeboat slipped her moorings at 11.42am yesterday morning (Sunday 13 September) to assist a broken-down fishing boat off Wicklow Harbour.

The fishing vessel, on passage north out of Arklow, sustained gearbox failure about one mile off Wicklow Port.

Wicklow's RNLI crew were alongside the drifting vessel three minutes after launch, and a towline was quickly established.

Conditions in the bay at the time recorded a sea state slight, overcast with squally showers and a southwesterly Force 4 wind.

The fishing vessel, with two crew, was towed into Wicklow Harbour and safely secured alongside the south quay shortly after noon.

This was the second callout in 24 hours for the volunteer crew, which on this mission comprised second coxswain Ciaran Doyle, second mechanic Lisa O'Leary, Terry Sillery, Kevin Rahill, Carol Flahive, Dean Mulvihill and Peter McCann.

Tramore RNLI officially named their new D-class lifeboat Isabella Purchase during a ceremony at the National Lifeguard Training Centre in Tramore on Saturday. The honour of naming the new lifeboat went to Mrs Sally Mongey, wife of the late Finn Mongey. Finn was the Lifeboat Operations Manager for Tramore RNLI Lifeboat Station from when it re-opened in 1964 until his retirement in 1984.

The lifeboat was named in honour of Mrs. Ivy Purchase, who was known as Isabella, and who died in September 2012, leaving her estate to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to provide a lifeboat in her name. She lived in Midhurst, West Sussex and was a long-time supporter of the charity. The new lifeboat, which has already launched four times on service since its arrival, replaces the Trá Mhór lifeboat, which was placed on service on 30 June 2005 and launched 127 times, rescuing 100 people, over its lifetime.

Tramore RNLI was the first Irish lifeboat station to receive the original of the D-class lifeboats in 1964. They were specially developed by the RNLI for inshore rescues carried out close to land and hard to access areas.
The D-class lifeboat is built at a cost of €62,000 and has been the workhouse of the charity for nearly 50 years. It is inflatable, robust and highly manoeuvrable, capable of operating much closer to the shore than the all-weather lifeboats. It is especially suited to surf, shallow water and confined locations, often close to cliffs, among rocks or caves. It measures five-metres in length and can carry three crewmembers on board. It has an endurance of three hours at sea, at its maximum speed of 25 knots.

Peter Crowley of the RNLI Irish Council accepted the lifeboat on behalf of the Institution before handing her over into the care of Tramore Lifeboat Station. Speaking during the handover he said,

‘As marine leisure activity around our coast increases, the demand for our rescue services grows in tandem with this increased activity. In Tramore the station’s lifeboat crew have rescued a total of 54 people in the last five years. One can only imagine the life changing impact of these rescues on both the casualties and the volunteer crew members who performed them. I thank you for your invaluable contribution and I am in awe of your selflessness and dedication.’

A photo posted by Afloat Magazine (@afloat.ie) on Sep 13, 2015 at 3:42am PDT

Mrs. Sally Mongey, wife of former Tramore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Finn Mongey officially names the station’s new D-class lifeboat ‘Isabella Purchase’ assisted by the station’s current Lifeboat Operations Manager Derek Musgrave

‘Every naming ceremony for a new lifeboat is a special occasion and today we are honouring Mrs. Isabella Purchase and her generous life-saving gift to the Institution and the people of Tramore.
‘We couldn’t operate our lifeboat without the dedication of our volunteers. The crew in Tramore provide an outstanding service to their community. There is nothing greater that a person could offer and they deserve nothing less than the best in lifeboats, equipment and training that the RNLI offers. May our lifeboat crew come home safely in the Isabella Purchase and may they bring many home to safety.’

Among the platform party at the service were Mr. Len Bell, Chairman of Tramore Lifeboat Station who welcomed guests and opened proceedings; Peter Crowley, RNLI Irish Council member who accepted the lifeboat on behalf of the RNLI and handed her into the care of the station; Derek Musgrave, Tramore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, who accepted the lifeboat on behalf of the station; Frank Nolan, President of the Tramore Lifeboat Station, who proposed the Vote of Thanks and Mrs Sally Mongey, who officially named the lifeboat.

Fr. Shane O’Neill and The Very Reverend Maria Janssen lead the Service of Dedication and music was provided by the Doirdan Male Choral Ensemble, Mr. Damien Kehoe, Mrs Claire Musgrave and Mrs. Cecelia Kehoe.

In a special moment during the ceremony three of Tramore RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew received their Long Service Badges and Certificates for 20 years’ service to the life-saving charity. They were Raymond Cowman, Brian Kavanagh and Stephen Murray.

Tramore RNLI has a proud and distinguished record in the RNLI, receiving 13 Silver Medals for Gallantry and the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum on five separate occasions. The lifeboat station was opened in 1824 with the first lifeboat rowed by a crew of eight lifeboat men. The station closed in 1924 but was reopened again in 1964 with a D-class lifeboat; this class of lifeboat has been on service since then with improvements made to successive lifeboats.

#RNLI - The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival has chosen the RNLI to be its 2015 official charity partner.

The announcement was made in Cork city yesterday (Thursday 10 September) as the RNLI launched a fundraising prize draw that will see raffle tickets sold throughout Cork and beyond in the run up to this year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival from 23-26 October.

Tickets cost €5 with entrants in with a chance of winning one of three top prizes: a trip for two for five nights to New Orleans including flights and accommodation; two tickets to Van Morrison and one night's bed and breakfast at the Radisson Blu St Helen’s Hotel in Dublin; and a two-night midweek bed and breakfast break at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.

The RNLI has eight lifeboat stations in Co Cork located in Youghal, Ballycotton, Crosshaven, Kinsale, Courtmacsherry, Union Hall, Baltimore and Castletownbere. Last year alone, Cork RNLI lifeboats launched 163 times to a variety of callouts bringing 255 people safely to shore.

Mary Creedon, RNLI community fundraising manager, said the lifesaving charity was delighted to be chosen as the festival's 2015 charity partner.

"We are delighted to be associated with the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival which brings thousands of people to Cork every year.

"The RNLI’s fundraising raffle will take place on Sunday 25 October and the proceeds raised will go a long way in helping the RNLI to equip its lifeboat stations and train its volunteer crews in Munster so they can continue to save lives at sea.

"In addition, the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival will provide an excellent platform for the RNLI to raise awareness of its search and rescue service and safety education and we are pleased with that."

Crosshaven RNLI helm Ritchie Kelleher added: "As volunteers we rely on the generosity of the public to fund the work we do - to train, to respond to our pagers, to fuel our lifeboat, to run our station, and most importantly to help anyone who gets into difficulty at sea."

Meanwhile, Fiona Collins, chair of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival said: "The RNLI plays a huge role in Co Cork with lifeboats spread from Youghal to Castletownbere as well as across the surrounding counties of Kerry, Waterford and Clare.

"We felt it was a good time to show our support for a charity that does such great work in saving lives at sea and it is our hope that people will show their support for the RNLI in Munster by digging deep and buying a raffle ticket ahead of the upcoming festival."

Baltimore All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) 'Alan Massey' was launched today to act as back-up for Baltimore inshore lifeboat, which was tasked to go the aid of a boat that went onto rocks on the island at Tragumna.

The male occupant of the 18ft punt managed to scramble ashore onto the island. When the ilb crewed of Youen Jacob, Kieran Collins and Jason Pavrey arrived on scene they dropped an anchor, so that they could safely veer the lifeboat through a heavy swell and a wave washed shoreline to rescue the boats occupant.

The casualty was then passed over to Baltimore alb for his comfort and safety on the journey back to his departure point. The lifeboats were aided by Toe Head CG who assisted in recovery of the boat, which was then towed by Baltimore ilb to its mooring in Trá na mBhó.

The alb was crewed by Aidan Bushe coxswain, Cathal Cottrell mechanic, Sean McCarthy, Don O' Donovan and Ronnie Carthy.

#RNLI - Galway RNLI's lifeboat launched yesterday evening (Tuesday 8 September 2015) to rescue two people from a 25-foot powerboat that got into difficulty off Salthill on Galway Bay.

The cabin cruiser went aground west of Blackrock Tower at about 6.40pm as the tide was going out.

Galway's lifeboat crew launched at 7pm and, on arrival at the scene, two crew members disembarked and swam to the powerboat, where a father and son were still on board.

The lifeboat voluntreers then anchored the boat and escorted the two men safely to Blackrock. Much later that evening the lifeboat returned to the powerboat to refloat it at high water.

Galway RNLI helm David Oliver says the two people were not hurt in the incident. “They were new to boating and it was a lesson learned for them,” he says.

The volunteer lifeboat crew on this callout were Oliver, Dan King, Stephanie Carr and Ian O’Gorman.

#RNLI - The Courtmacsherry RNLI all-weather lifeboat was called out at 2.20am this morning (Monday 7 September) to go to the aid of a swimmer that had got into difficulty in a dangerous rip current off Garrettstown Strand near the Old Head of Kinsale in West Cork.

The lifeboat, under coxswain Sean O'Farrell and a crew of six, were away very quickly and proceeded at pace to the location of the incident. Also tasked were the coastguard unit from the Old Head of Kinsale and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter from Waterford, Rescue 117.

As the lifeboat arrived on scene within 15 minutes, under the cliffs off Garrettstown Strand, the crew used their searchlights to light up the area.

The swimmer got ashore and, with the assistance of the Old Head Coast Guard Unit, was transferred to the coastguard rescue vehicle until the HSE ambulance and Rescue 117 arrived. The casualty was then transferred by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.

It was a busy 12 hours for Courtmacsherry RNLI as earlier on Sunday evening (6 September) at 6.25pm, it was tasked by Valentia Coast Guard to go to an area where two kayakers were reported to be in difficulty off the Seven Heads in Courtmacsherry Bay.

A member of the public had reported the incident and again the lifeboat with a crew of seven were away in minutes.

They carried out an extensive search of the Seven Heads coastline and it was soon established that the kayakers had got ashore safely.

Speaking on the Strand in Garrettstown this morning, Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat operations manager Brian O'Dwyer said: "I want to say a hugh thanks to the fast response of the lifeboat crew and all the rescue services who rose from their beds quickly at 2.20am this morning to respond to a potentially very dangerous incident here off Garrettstown.

"We had enough for two volunteer lifeboat crews responding within minutes and great credit is due to these, who always respond immediately whether the call is by night or day and in all types of weather condition, when the lifeboat pagers alert them."

#RNLI - Following an alert by pager on Saturday afternoon (5 September), Arklow RNLI’s lifeboat Ger Tigchleaar was launched within minutes to the aid of the casualty vessel that was reported to be taking on water and at risk of sinking.

The volunteer lifeboat crew proceeded to the scene and after locating the fishing vessel 2.4km east of Mizen Head, it was established that the 44-metre mussel dredger was taking on large volumes of water, but was not in immediate risk of sinking as the vessel's own pumps were keeping it afloat.

The skipper of the mussel vessel requested the Arklow lifeboat to standby to assist should the situation worsen and escort the them back to Arklow Harbour.

Upon arrival back at Arklow, where all crew came ashore safely, the vessel was grounded on the slipway to prepare for repairs to be made. At this point the casualty vessel's pumps failed.

Immediately the Arklow lifeboats crew rendered assistance and put crew and a salvage pump aboard to help empty the hull of water. They assisted in stemming the ingress of water and making a temporary repair using one of the lifeboat crew's trademark yellow wellies as part of the temporary fix.

Speaking following the incident, Arklow RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer Mark Corcoran said: “Thankfully the skipper of this vessel made the call for help early. When you are going to sea in any vessel always plan for the worst, always carry a means of calling for help and never hesitate in making the call to 999 or 112 or contacting the coastguard via marine VHF.:

Arklow RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew for this callout were Brendan Dillon, Michael Fitzgerald, Geoff Kearnes, Jimmy Myler, Eddie McElheron, Leigh Downey and Craig O’Reilly.

Volunteer lifeboat crew with Dun Laoghaire RNLI, Rory Bolton and Dr. Sarah Brookes, set sail on a new life together after tying the knot this weekend. The couple shared the big day with family and friends and their eighteen-month old daughter Alice before being brought in style to their reception on board the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat.

Love blossomed for the couple after senior lifeboat helm Rory left Lifeboat Medical Advisor Sarah out of a crew training email and she let him know she was not impressed. He responded by sending her a very special invite to station training and a quick coffee after the exercise saw the pair eventually falling for each other. Rory popped the question over a game of scrabble, spelling out the words asking Sarah to be his bride and the rest is history.

Sarah was no stranger to the RNLI when she volunteered for the lifeboat in 2009. Her late father Dr. Donald Brookes was the station’s previous Lifeboat Medical Advisor, a volunteer position that looks after the lifeboat crew’s medicals and can also offer medical assistance on a lifeboat callout. Rory is the senior helm on the inshore lifeboat and the third mechanic at the station, he has volunteered with the life-saving charity since 2000.

Since the couple have had their beautiful daughter Alice, Sarah has stepped back from her role on the lifeboat but still carries out her medical duties for the station. The big day would not have been complete without a lifeboat connection and the couple arrived to their reception on board the all-weather lifeboat courtesy of their colleagues with Dun Laoghaire RNLI.

Commenting on the day the proud groom Rory Bolton said, ‘Thankfully there wasn’t a lifeboat callout at the time or we would have had to keep our guests waiting while we went to help. Both Sarah and I love volunteering for the RNLI and of course it’s even more special now as it’s how we met.’

Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Stephen Wynne added, ‘On behalf of everyone at Dun Laoghaire RNLI we would like to wish Rory and Sarah a long and happy life together. They are both fantastic volunteers and I’m delighted that it was our lifeboat station that brought them together.’

The lifeboat involvement did not stop there however, as Dun Laoghaire RNLI received a callout later that night while the reception was in full swing. Groom Rory left his new wife’s side to race down to the lifeboat station metres away but Coxswain Mark McGibney sent him straight back as he had a full crew complement and felt that Rory deserved his wedding night off-call.