#RNLI - Alan Goucher and Graham Fitzgerald, volunteer crew at Wicklow Lifeboat Station, have received letters of commendation from George Rawlinson, operations director of the RNLI, for their quick actions in a rescue over the summer.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, on 2 July both Wicklow lifeboats were launched at 3.20pm and proceeded south to Silver Strand to a report of a woman in difficultly in the water at the beach, one mile south of Wicklow Head.

The Wicklow inshore lifeboat crew found it difficult to locate the casualty and following a search, with help from a member of the public on the shore, the lifeboat crew found the woman at the rear of a cave close to the beach.

Goucher entered the water and swam into the cave to assist the woman. He placed her in a lifejacket before assisting her from the cave to the waiting inshore lifeboat and the crew started to administer first aid, as she was showing signs of hypothermia.

They then transferred the casualty to the all-weather lifeboat a short distance away, which returned to the shore and was met by an ambulance.



In his letter to Goucher, Rawlinson wrote: "Your willingness to swim into the cave and use of your local knowledge to extricate the casualty safely ensured a good outcome on this rescue. I commend your commitment and professionalism.

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The inshore lifeboat returned to the area and the volunteer crew was informed that two people who had earlier tried to assist the first casualty had injured themselves on rocks while trying to return to the beach. They also requested the all-weather lifeboat to return to the scene and the lifeboat crew began to administer first aid.

They were joined on scene by the Dublin Coast Guard helicopter, and the two people were winched on-board and taken to hospital.



In his letter to helm Fitzgerald, Rawlinson said: "During the rescue, you demonstrated calm and sound command of the incident, quickly gaining the required information and assessing the risks involved in committing your crew member to enter the water."



While returning to the inshore lifeboat, a crew member was made aware of a further person who needed assistance after they became unwell following their attempt to go to also go to the aid of the first casualty.

Due to the lack of access for an ambulance, the coxswain requested the casualty be transferred by lifeboat and was taken ashore and met by ambulance. 



In the letter of commendation to the station volunteers and crew, Rawlinson concluded: "I would like to thank everyone concerned for their teamwork, high level of competence and adaptability. Their management, assessment and diligence ensured all the casualties were recovered quickly and safely."

#RNLI - Three members of Lough Swilly RNLI recently made a very special trip to check on the progress of the station’s new state-of-the-art Shannon-class lifeboat.

The group visited Lymington in England, where the finishing touches are being put to their new €2.4 million lifeboat in time for its arrival into Inishowen next year.



Lough Swilly lifeboat operations manager John McCarter, coxswain Mark Barnett and mechanic Gregory McDaid were invited by the RNLI to see their new Shannon under construction via a full guided tour by RNLI fleet staff coxswain Martin Phillips.  



The new all-weather lifeboat was at the ‘topping out’ stage, where the superstructure was about to be joined with the hull and the lifeboat would then take on the shape that the public recognise today.

All systems in the hull were fitted out and the lifeboat had just received its first distinctive coat of the orange paint that is present on all lifeboats.



Commenting on the visit, McCarter said: "It was incredible to see our lifeboat taking shape in the boatyard. It was completely exposed and you could see up close the minute detail that goes into every single part of the lifeboat.

"In just a few short months that lifeboat will be steaming into the Inishowen peninsula to take up residence here and give support and assistance to many people over its lifetime."



Barnett added: "This is a very special occasion in the life of our station and I am delighted with how our new lifeboat is coming along. We were shown around the boatyard and saw the Shannon-class lifeboats that were being built for other stations in the RNLI. 

"However, ours will be the first to go on service in Ireland and for that reason it is extra special. 

"I was standing in the bare wheelhouse of our new lifeboat, knowing that soon it would be fitted out with the equipment and seats that will give our volunteer lifeboat crew the tools they need to carry out their roles in all weathers off our coastline." 



Adding to the praise for the new lifeboat, Gregory McDaid said: "I have a different view point from the other crew. My role is to make sure that the lifeboat can safely bring the lifeboat crew out in all weathers at any hour, handle anything that is thrown at it and of course bring everyone home safely. With this in mind I was very keen to see the engines on the other Shannons that were in their final stages of construction.

"This lifeboat is the first modern generation all weather lifeboat to run on water jets rather than propellers. This allows the vessel to operate in shallow waters and to be intentionally beached. The two 650hp engines help the lifeboat achieve 25 knots and each one has its own 1,370 litre fuel tank. That engine room will be my new home soon."


Excitement has been mounting locally since the RNLI announced in September that the Lough Swilly lifeboat station in Buncrana, Co Donegal was to be the first in Ireland to receive the new Shannon class lifeboat.

The Shannon is the first class of lifeboat to be named after an Irish river, recognition by the charity of the role of Irish lifeboat crews and volunteers throughout the 190 year history of the RNLI.

The new lifeboat is on course to arrive into Buncrana next April with a vigorous training schedule for the lifeboat crew to commence in January.

#RNLI - Wicklow RNLI's all-weather lifeboat launched yesterday morning (Sunday 23 November) to assist a fishing vessel with mechanical problems seven miles north of Wicklow Harbour.

The lifeboat, under the command of second coxswain Ciaran Doyle, located the 10-metre vessel with three fishermen on board shortly after 10am near the Breaches Buoy.

Weather conditions in the area were slight sea with westerly wind force two.



A towline was established and the fishing boat was taken in tow back to Wicklow. The lifeboat arrived back in the harbour at 11.20am and secured the fishing vessel with three crew safely alongside the south quay.



The crew on this callout were Doyle, mechanic Brendan Copeland, Carol Flahive, Kevin Rahill, John Vize, Alan Goucher and Peter McCann.

Elsewhere over weekend, the volunteer crew of Bundoran RNLI lifeboat were launched on Saturday evening (22 November) to reports of a surfer in difficulty at the town's Main Beach.

As darkness was beginning to fall, the crew were paged at 4.06pm by Malin Head Coast Guard and launched within minutes in rough conditions, making their way to beach. But on approach they were advised that the surfer had made his way ashore and were stood down.

Speaking on their return to the station, volunteer crewman Brian Faulkner said: "We are thankful that this is another callout that had a happy ending.

"As we head into the winter, the sea is getting rougher and evenings are getting shorter – conditions can change at a moments notice and we would always urge water users to be mindful of this."

#Wexford - Wexford RNLI recovered the body of man last night (Saturday 22 November) following a 90-minute search operation after reports of a man who had fallen from his boat at the Crescent at Wexford Quay.

The lifeboat launched at 4.23pm seconds after the alert by the Irish Coast Guard. Its volunteer lifeboat crew were already in their full kit with the lifeboat on the slip as they had just come back to the station following an exercise.

Within a minute the lifeboat was on scene, where they were given reports of the person's location. A lifeboat crew member entered the water and the crew performed extensive searching of the area, assisted by local vessels from Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club. 
 


Coastguard helicopter Rescue 117, Rosslare and Curracloe Coast Guard and Garda units joined in the search, with divers from Slaney Search and Rescue arriving on scene when the man's body was found. 
 


Wexford RNLI lifeboat crew recovered the casualty at 6.10pm and brought him back to Wexford lifeboat station. 

The Irish Times reports that the man is thought to have lost his footing while on a boat and slipped into the water.

#RNLI - Two members of Castletownbere’s RNLI lifeboat crew were honoured at Irish Water Safety’s national award ceremony in Dublin Castle this week.

Lifeboat mechanic Martin O’Donoghue and crewmember and Garda Dave Fenton, together with his colleague Garda Caroline Guest, were among 35 people honoured at the ceremony on 18 November.

Irish Water Safety says the actions of these 35 people saved the lives of 22 people who got into difficulty. Last year there were 91 drownings in Ireland, the lowest since 1936.



On 4 May last at The Pier in Castletownbere, Gardaí Fenton and Guest were on patrol when they received a call that a man had fallen into the water.

They rushed to the scene where Garda Guest threw a lifebuoy to the man while Garda Fenton secured a rope ladder to the pier and climbed down into the water to the casualty. He managed to get the man to hold onto the ladder while using the ringbuoy as a buoyancy aid. 

Garda Guest telephoned O’Donoghue to assist them.

While Garda Guest reassured and waited with the casualty, Garda Fenton and O’Donoghue launched a boat and were able to get alongside the casualty and pull him out of the water.

They then brought him to safety and waited with him until emergency services arrived. The man subsequently made a full recovery.

Tony O’Sullivan, lifeboat operations manager at Castletownbere Lifeboat Station congratulated the award recipients, saying: "The comprehensive and rigorous training undertaken by crewmembers in the RNLI was most certainly a factor in this successful rescue."

#RNLI - A lifeboat training exercise in Carlingford Lough over the weekend turned into a real life callout for the volunteer lifeboat crew of Newcastle RNLI when they were tasked by Belfast Coastguard to go to the assistance of a man in a 26ft fishing vessel with engine failure.

The callout on Sunday morning (16 November) was the first for crew member Richard Burgess since he was appointed a station coxswain.



While on a crew training exercise, the all-weather lifeboat Eleanor and Bryant Girling was alerted by Belfast Coastguard to a man in a fishing vessel at Block House Island, whose boat had suffered engine failure and who was subsequently unable to make it to shore safely.



The lifeboat came on scene at 3.15pm and took the vessel under tow to Carlingford Harbour, arriving at 4pm. There they were met by Greenore Coastguard and the vessel was moored alongside the harbour wall. 



The callout was a special one for crew member Richard Burgess, as it was his first in his new role as a station coxswain at Newcastle RNLI.

"It is nice to get the first callout over as coxswain and to know that it ended well with everyone safe," he said. "I’ve been on the lifeboat crew for a few years now but it has been a huge honour to be appointed one of the station’s coxswains. 

"We have a strong team here in Newcastle RNLI and it is great to know that when you are heading out to sea, there is a highly trained and competent crew with you."

The lifeboat crew on the callout were coxswain Richard Burgess, deputy coxswain Alan Jones, mechanic Jim Polland, navigator Niall McMurray and crew members Gary Agnew and Daniel Rooney.

#RNLI - Last Thursday 13 November, Union Hall RNLI in West Cork responded to its first callout since becoming operational.

The volunteer lifeboat crew Anthony Walsh, Lee Miles and Tim Forde launched their B Class Atlantic 75 lifeboat, Maritime Nation, at 12.03pm to aid two small leisure craft drifting aground at Mill Cove in Rosscarbery.

No persons were found on board and the crew returned to the RNLI station shortly before lunchtime. Weather conditions were poor, with Force 4-5 winds and a south-easterly swell.

The callout marked the voluntary crew’s first emergency response since the lifeboat station became operational in Union Hall two months ago.

“I’m very happy with the response time and performance of the lifeboat crew and the shore crew," said lifeboat operations manager John Kelleher. "They have been training consistently every week, it’s a big commitment and we are glad to see that has paid off on our first call out."

Meanwhile, fundraising for the lifeboat continues with a weekly series of three Friday night table quizzes taking place in Union Hall, with the first tomorrow 21 November. A painting of the lifeboat by local artist Avril McDermott will be raffled at Dinty's Bar on the final quiz night on 5 December.

The fundraising branch has stocked local shops with RNLI Christmas cards and extend their thanks to Myross Rowing Club for a recent donation of €2,500, raised by members who competed in two charity rowing events.

#RNLI - Tramore RNLI's volunteers were involved in a rescue operation with a difference recently when they worked alongside Tramore Coast Guard and Waterford Animal Welfare to bring a stranded bull to safety after he had fallen from a cliff and taken refuge on a rocky ledge.

The drama unfolded after 5pm on Sunday evening (16 November) when local gardaí contacted Tramore RNLI to inform them that a bull had fallen from a cliff near well known local landmark, the Metal Man, and had swam to a rocky ledge near Newton Cove a few hundred metres away.

Tramore RNLI were joined by the local coastguard unit on shore and Wateford Animal Welfare were contacted for their advice.

The RNLI and coastguard crews tried to approach the bull but his position was hard to access in fading light and rising tides and it was deemed by all present that it was too difficult to carry out a rescue at that time.  It was decided to wait until the following morning before trying again.

At first light the next morning, Tramore Coast Guard contacted the Tramore RNLI lifeboat crew and, along with Andrew Quinn from Waterford Animal Welfare, they were on scene in minutes with a plan to bring the bull to safety.

A rope was secured to the animal by a member of the coastguard team and passed to the lifeboat. The oars of the lifeboat were used to gently usher the bull down off his rocky ledge and into the water. Once there, he started swimming and came alongside the lifeboat before being guided by the crew and Andrew into a nearby cove.

Conditions at the time were calm, and the bull was able to exit the water unaided to be met with his owner.

Commenting on the unusual callout, Tramore RNLI helm Dave O’Hanlon said: "We have a bit of a history here in Tramore RNLI with animals. Over the last few years we have gone out to a calf, a whale, a dolphin and a group of puppies. 

"We are pleased that the animal was not too distressed by the ordeal and that working with our colleagues in the other services we were able to render assistance and bring about a happy outcome. 

"Our thoughts were to try help the poor animal but also to prevent anyone trying to carry out a rescue themselves without the correct advice or equipment. Bulls are very strong and could easily cause an injury. I was also surprised to learn they are good swimmers too!"

#ChineseLanterns - With Halloween celebrations kicking off this evening as soon as the sun goes down, Bundoran RNLI has a timely reminder for anyone considering lighting Chinese lanterns.

A simple courtesy call to the Irish Coast Guard to let them know in advance of any release of lighted lanterns into the sky will hopefully avoid any false alarm launched by coastguard and lifeboat rescue teams who could easily mistake the lights for distress flares.

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI assisted three periwinkle pickers who were in danger of being completely cut off by the rising tide on their return from Shenick Island last Friday evening (24 October).

The volunteer lifeboat crew launched their Atlantic 85 Inshore lifeboat Louis Simson at 6.30pm following reports to Dublin Coastguard from members of the public that several people appeared to be stranded on Shenick Island, just off the North Co Dublin town.

With David Knight at the Helm and crew Eoin Grimes, Peter Kennedy and Stephen Crowley, the lifeboat proceeded directly to  the island and carefully manoeuvred into the shallow waters nearby.

Two crew members made their way ashore to assess the situation. The three periwinkle pickers were then assisted in wading through the water back to shore by the crew, with Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 providing illumination from its powerful search lights.

In addition, the Skerries Coast Guard unit was waiting ashore to offer any further assistance required.

Speaking after the callout, Knight said: "We would remind anyone planning on walking along the shore or around the coast to make sure that they check the local tidal information before setting off."