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AfloatDigi 2018 CHMarine SafetySection

Search & Rescue, Water Safety - News from the Marine Safety Agencies
The scene at Portumna during the rescue of three people from a motorboat
Lough Derg RNLI was requested to launch on Sunday afternoon (2 February), by Valentia Coast Guard to reports of three people in difficulty on an 18ft motorboat in Portumna, at the northern end of Lough Derg. At 3.49 pm, the…
Greystones Harbour
The Office of Public Works (OPW) has applied for planning permission for a new coastguard station in Greystones Harbour — three years after plans for the Co Wicklow town were deemed ‘not viable’. Lack of funds was the reason given…
Country star Robert Mizzell will play the RNLI dance at the Allingham Arms next Friday 31 January
Country music stars Robert Mizzell and Kieran McAree are set to perform at the annual Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat Dance next Friday 31 January. The dance, held this year at the Allingham Arms Hotel in Bundoran, is the flagship fundraising event…
The RIB being towed to the safety of Carrickfergus by Larne RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat
Larne RNLI launched at 3.50pm on Saturday (18 January) to assist a RIB which had lost engine power half a mile south of Muck Island. The volunteer crew were requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard to the nine-metre RIB with…
The lifeboat crew from Castletownbere who are to receive RNLI Gallantry Awards for a rescue. L – R: Lifeboat crewmember John Paul Downey, Lifeboat Mechanic Martin O’Donoghue, Coxswain Dean Hegarty, Lifeboat crewmember Dave Fenton and Lifeboat crewmember Seamus Harrington
Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat crew are to be honoured by the charity for a dramatic rescue of a fishing crew that took place in challenging conditions and resulted in the lives of six fishermen being saved. Coxswain Dean Hegarty is to…
Photographer Jack Lowe with his more-than-a-century-old camera alongside Castletownbere RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Annette Hutton
Five years into his remarkable and challenging project to photograph all RNLI lifeboat station in the UK and Ireland with a Victorian-era camera, Jack Lowe has visited 147 stations and met more than 2,000 volunteers. And it’s not over yet,…
Rescue 116 pictured over Wicklow in August 2015
The Minister for Transport’s approval of a review of the Air Accident Investigation Unit’s draft final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has been described as “unprecedented” by the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) writes Lorna Siggins. The pilots’…
Graham Fitzgerald, coxswain Nick Keogh and Peter Byrne at the Wicklow RNLI New Year’s Day Annual Service of Remembrance
Wicklow RNLI held its annual Service of Remembrance on New Year’s Day (Wednesday 1 January) in memory of all deceased lifeboat volunteer members, sailors from the town and all those associated with the sea from Wicklow. The ceremony began with…
Brian Kehoe on board the Tamar class lifeboat Killarney
Brian Kehoe, station mechanic at Kilmore Quay RNLI, has retired from his position as full-time station mechanic and coxswain after serving over 50 years with the RNLI, half as a volunteer and half as an employee. Brian went afloat for…
The four Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopters based at Dublin, Shannon, Waterford and Sligo flew lover 770 missions last year,
Accidental activation of satellite beacons or expired equipment meant that the majority of almost 200 such alerts proved to be false alarms this past year, the Irish Coast Guard has said. In its end of year statement, the Irish Coast…
The RNLI in Crosshaven assisted the diver
A diver has died in hospital after taking ill during a dive to fix a mooring at a popular yacht anchorage area in Cork Harbour this afternoon. The Polish national, understood to be in his late 40s, was diving to fix a…
The RNLI Inshore boat at Howth
Howth RNLI launched their Inshore Lifeboat on Sunday to multiple reports of a Kitesurfer in difficulty in the waters just off the beach in Portmarnock. The RNLI pagers sounded at 11.40 am after multiple 112/999 calls from concerned members of…
RNLI Lough Derg look for two kayakers
Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat launched yesterday morning at the request of Valentia Coast Guard to reports of two kayakers in the water near Garrykennedy. The volunteer lifeboat crew with Helm, Owen Cavanagh and crew Doireann Kennedy, Joe O’Sullivan and Jimmy…
Arklow RNLI in the Co Wicklow town’s harbour on a calmer day
Volunteers from Arklow RNLI were called to the scene where two people were injured after a wave swept them from the upper deck of a pier in the Co Wicklow town yesterday (Sunday 22 December). As TheJournal.ie reports, it’s understood…
Irish Coast Guard & RNLI Christmas & New Year Safety Message
The Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI have called on the public to pay particular attention to their personal safety when engaging in any water-based or coastal activities over the Christmas and New Year period. The two organisations have also…
There will be a new moon on St. Stephen's Day causing higher tides
Water Safety Ireland has issued a warning over the dangers of strong tidal streams tides over the Christmas period. On St. Stephen’s Day there will be a new moon. A new moon will increase the range of our tides causing…

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.