Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

AfloatDigi 2018 CHMarine SafetySection

Search & Rescue, Water Safety - News from the Marine Safety Agencies
#WaterSafety - Shore angler Colm Plunkett, who credits his lifejacket with saving his life after he was swept into the sea earlier this year, is supporting a water safety campaign launched this week by the RNLI throughout Ireland and the…
Volunteer lifeboat crew at Red Bay RNLI launched at 5am this morning (5 November) to assist a two man American crew aboard a 40 ft yacht that had run aground off Waterfoot Pier near Red Bay in county Antrim. The…
#RNLI - Ballycotton RNLI rescued a kitesurfer who got into difficulty on Ballycotton Bay on Monday afternoon (2 November). The volunteer crew were requested to launch both their all-weather and inshore lifeboats by the Irish Coast Guard at 12.30pm and…
#RNLI - Red Bay RNLI has rescued three men yesterday afternoon (Sunday 1 November) after they got into difficulty on a 4m speedboat which was drifting out to sea off the North Coast. The volunteer lifeboat crew was alerted by…
#Rescue - Kayakers paddled to the rescue of a man in his 60s spotted floating in the sea off Co Clare on Saturday morning (31 October). According to The Irish Times, the man – thought to have fallen into the…

Yesterday marked 100 years since Rosslare RNLI saved six crews in 24 hours. As vessels were being blown into dangerous...

Posted by RNLI on Sunday, 1 November 2015
#RNLI - Today – 1 November 2015 – marks 100 years since the end one of the most daring days in the history of Rosslare RNLI, when the station's volunteers rescued six crews within a single 24-hour period. With the…
An extensive search is being carried out of an area south west of the Isle of Man after an emergency code was received from an unknown aircraft. UK Coastguard is overseeing the search after the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at…
#BeachRescue - Irish Water Safety has posted a compilation video from last month's National Beach Rescue Championships, which took place at Spanish Point in Co Clare. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the beach at Spanish Point was among the safest…
#RNLI - Wexford RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crew rescued a man within a minute of him entering the water near Wexford Bridge on Wednesday afternoon (28 October). The boat was just about to launch for an assessment of two prospective crew…
#RNLI - Holyhead RNLI lifeboat volunteers' training turned into a real-life rescue last night after distress calls were heard from a boat carrying three men a baby in the Irish Sea. At 6pm crew members were at the lifeboat station…
#Rescue - A woman is in stable condition in hospital after she was rescued from a sea cliff in Islandmagee on Tuesday (27 October) an operation that "wasn’t straightforward", as the News Letter reports. It's believed the woman had been…
#Rescue - The Connacht Tribune reports that 10 were rescued from a twin-mast sailing boat on Lough Corrib last night after the vessel hit rocks near the village of Cong in Co Mayo. All 10 people on board, including four…
#RNLI - Lifeboats from Bangor, Donaghadee and Larne were launched last night (Tuesday 27 October) as part of a major operation after a flight out of Belfast declared an emergency. Police, fire and ambulance crews were also involved in the…
#RNLI - Rosslare Harbour RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crew participating in an exercise on Sunday morning (25 October) in Rosslare Bay were diverted to a fishing vessel with an injured crewman on board. The fishing boat was a mile northeast of…
Enniskillen RNLI looking for new volunteers
#RNLI - Enniskillen RNLI is looking for new volunteer crew members to join its search and rescue service on both Upper and Lower Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh. The lifeboat station currently has 40 volunteers to cover its inshore service…
Lough Ree RNLI donation
#RNLI - Organisers of the Athlone River Festival and Food Village have presented a cheque for €850 to Lough Ree RNLI. The Athlone River Festival & Food Village took place on 12-13 September and included myriad activities showcasing Athlone’s culinary,…

Every Year Ireland's Search & Rescue Services deliver emergency life saving work on our seas, lakes and rivers.

Ireland's Water Safety Agencies work hard to provide us with the information we need to keep safe, while enjoying all manner of water based activities.

There's no better fun than getting out on the water but being afloat is a responsibility we all need to take seriously.

These pages detail the work of the rescue agencies. We also aim to promote safety standards among pleasure boaters, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible, the loss of life at sea and on inland waters. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]

Think Before You Sink - Wear a Lifejacket

Accidents can happen fast on water and there may not be time to reach for a lifejacket in an emergency therefore don't just carry a lifejacket - wear it; if it's not on you, it can't save your life.

Irish Water Safety's Safe Boating Alert:

Check condition of boat and equipment, hull, engine, fuel, tools, torch.

Check the weather forecast for the area.

Check locally concerning dangerous currents and strong tides.

Do not drink alcohol while setting out or during your trip.

Carry an alternative means of propulsion e.g. sails and oars or motor and oars.

Carry a first aid kit on board and distress signals (at least two parachute distress rockets, two red hand flares).

Carry a fire extinguisher, a hand bailer or bucket with lanyard and an anchor with rope attached.

Carry marine radio or some means of communication with shore.

Do not overload the boat - this will make it unstable.

Do not set out unless accompanied by an experienced person.

Leave details of your planned trip with someone ashore - including departure and arrival times, description of boat, names of persons on board, etc.

Wear a Lifejacket at all times.

Keep an eye on the weather - seek shelter in good time.

In Marine Emergencies, call 999 or 112 and ask for Marine Rescue.

Lifejackets Checklist

Ensure Cartridges have not been punctured and are secured firmly.

Ensure all zips, buckles, fasteners and webbing straps are functioning correctly and adjusted to fit the user.

Check that fitted lights are operating correctly.

Ensure that Automatic Inflation devices are fully serviced and in date.

Check that the valve or lifejacket is not leaking.