rnli – A sailor with suspected spinal injuries on a dismasted yacht is receiving hospital treatment this afternoon after a rescue operation on Dublin Bay involving the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat and Irish Coast Guard helicopter.

The incident occurred shortly after 11am when the 33-foot yacht was taking part in a regular Sunday morning race on Dublin Bay. The mast snapped in the breezy conditions and hit the crew-member leading to concerns for a possible spinal injury.

The Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin was alerted and the RNLI lifeboat at Dun Laoghaire was requested to launch along with the Irish Coast Guard helicopter at Dublin Airport at 1108am. The disabled yacht was located midway between the West Pier and the South Bull Wall.

The operation was complicated by the collapsed rigging hanging over the side of the boat that prevented the crew from using the engine. Lifeboat crew were able to board the vessel to deliver first aid treatment and the winchman paramedic from the helicopter was transferred on board to assess the casualty.

To minimise movement and prevent a worsening of the suspected injury, it was decided that the yacht would be taken in tow by the lifeboat to shore where a waiting ambulance transferred the casualty to hospital for full assessment and treatment. The yacht was towed to a yacht club in Dun Laoghaire where the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard unit winched the casualty to the waiting ambulance.

#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."

#RNLI - Due to popular demand, the RNLI Reindeer Run returns this year to raise funds for the lifeboat institution and its volunteer crews in Dublin.

The charity event encourages people to have fun while supporting the RNLI in their work saving lives at sea.

This year the Reindeer Run is being held on Sunday 30 November at Marlay Park, Rathfarnham with a Santa Saunter, 1.5km and 3km Rookie Runs for younger participants and 5km and 10km routes for runners and walkers. Registration for the event is now open.

Well-known author and adventurer Teena Gates will be present on the day to start the fun and put the participants through their paces, with a warm up before the event co-hosted with Rookie the Reindeer.

Since leaving 98fm as head of news, Gates motivates and inspires others through her challenges and passion for fitness through such challenges as her climb to Everest base camp.

"I can’t think of a better way to support the RNLI than coming out and having fun by walking or running around Marlay Park for the lifeboats," she said.

"I know first hand the incredible work the volunteer RNLI lifeboat crews carry out along the coast and I encourage people to turn up, show their support, get in some exercise and raise funds for this wonderful charity.

"So many people across Dublin are taking up exercise and events like these are a great way to blow off the cobwebs and give it a go. Last year hundreds of people from across Dublin, north and south, took part in the Reindeer Run and I hope we can beat that number this year.

"The sight of hundreds of people gallivanting around Marlay Park in their red Reindeer Run t-shirts with antlers on top of their heads was a sight I will never forget."

Speaking at the launch, Howth RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew member Lorcan Dignam said: "We are so grateful to the many people who raise funds to keep the lifeboats afloat in Dublin.

"The RNLI is a charity and relies on the generosity of the public to ensure that we can go to sea at any time to save lives with the best in equipment and training. People never know when they will need us but we will always be there."

Adding his voice to the call for registrations, Skerries RNLI crew Gerry Canning said: "The RNLI has been very busy this year and the demand for our services sees us helping many people off our coast.

"It’s not just people in boats that we help, but everyone who uses the water including swimmers, kayakers and people who get cut off by rising tides. Funds raised by the public go to support our training, kit and equipment."

Dun Laoghaire RNLI crew Damien Payne added: "Last year I did the 5km Reindeer Run in my full lifeboat kit and the support I received from the other runners and walkers along the route was fantastic.

"There are three Dublin RNLI lifeboat stations which are part of a ring of 45 throughout Ireland. Volunteer lifeboat crew are trained and ready to launch at any hour of any day, all year round, to respond to calls for help at sea and I am proud to be one of them.’

Last year Dublin lifeboats launched a total 124 times and brought 166 people to safety, 18 of those were young people. Registration is now open HERE or at rnli.org/reindeer or via email at [email protected] and costs €10 for the 1.5km and 3km Santa Saunters or €20 for the 5km and 10km.

#RNLI - Wicklow RNLI's inshore lifeboat launched at 11.25am yesterday morning (Thursday 16 October) to assist a small fishing boat with engine failure.

Speaking after the callout, lifeboat helm Graham Fitzgerald said: "We located the boat with two occupants drifting about one mile north of Wicklow Harbour.

"The fishermen were experiencing mechanical problems with the outboard engine. So we rigged a tow line and brought the vessel back to the harbour."

The crew on the callout were Fitzgerald, Alan Goucher and John Vize.

#dublinbay – A regular swimmer at the popular bathing place in Sandycove, Co. Dublin was hospitalised after being rescued from the sea this morning.

The man had been swimming from the 40-foot shortly after 9am when he encountered difficulties in the choppy seas between the bathing place and Sandycove Harbour.

The Dun Laoghaire RNLI inshore lifeboat was paged by the Irish Coast Guard's Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin at 9.37am and the three volunteer crew launched shortly afterwards.

A second swimmer had reached the casualty with a ringbuoy and was bringing the man towards the rocks when the inshore lifeboat arrived on scene. The man was carried ashore and treated for hypothermia and minor injuries by the lifeboat crew.

The second swimmer was checked by the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit and was unhurt.

A HSE ambulance was despatched to the scene and a decision was made to MEDEVAC the casualty to the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter due to his deteriorating condition.

#RNLI - Dunmore East RNLI launched yesterday (Saturday 11 October) to assist four people on a 6m rigid inflatable boat, or RIB, that got into difficulty off the Waterford coast.

The RIB, which was lost and suffering engine failure, was located two miles south of Hook Head Lighthouse.

The volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 10.25am at the request of the Irish Coast Guard. The people in the RIB raised the alarm by mobile phone and were unsure of their location.

Fifteen minutes after launch, the Trent Class lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald located the vessel. All four people on board, who were wearing buoyancy aids, were transferred onto the lifeboat.

The casualty vessel was then towed into the safety of Dunmore East Harbour at 11.55am.

Speaking following the callout, Dunmore East RNLI coxswain Michael Griffin said: "Luckily the conditions today were very good. I would like to remind people to plan their trip carefully and to be sure to carry all the proper safety equipment needed."

#rnli – The RNLI are inviting the public to a meetingabout plans for a permanent Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station in Dromineer . The public will meet the architects/engineers at a consultation on the Station plans for Lough Derg. The meeting will take place at Lough Derg Yacht Club, Wed. October 15 from 7-9pm.

The Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station, began operations from the premises of Lough Derg Yacht Club at Dromineer, halfway down the east shore of the lake in County Tipperary. Now that plans for our new permanent Station in the village are well underway, it is important the the public become engaged with the consultation process for the new permanet station location in their locality.

On May 25, 2014, the Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station celebrated its tenth birthday. In those ten years, the lifeboat has launched 240 times, 60 of those at night. Volunteer crews have rescued 340 people and saved the lives of three people.

Following a rescue August 13 of this year, the Skipper of the vessel wrote this letter to our Lifeboat Operations Manager, Mr. Liam Maloney (quote used with kind permission).

The lifeboat reached us within 20 minutes of my call and towed us to the safety of Shannon Sailing Dromineer. [...]
It would be hard to do justice to the spped and manner in which all those people concerned responded to my emmergency call, including the operator who answered my radio call.

For many years the RNLI and the lifesaving work of its volunteers, have enjoyed the strong support of the people of Nenagh through the tireless efforts of campaigners in the RNLI's expanding fund raising committee, chaired locally by Niamh McCutcheon. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives, it does not receive Governent grants and relies entirely on the contributions and legacies from the public to continue its vital operations.

Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station is one of forty four RNLI Stations operating in Ireland. A local application to station an RNLI lifeboat on Lough Derg, led by Charles Stanley Smith and Teddy Knight, became reality, when, on 25 May 2004, the Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat officially began service. In the preceding year and a half, volunteer crews and members for the Operations Committee were recruited and underwent intensive training on the water and in the classroom, with RNLI Divisional Trainer Assessor Helena Duggan - our Trainer Assessor to this day.

Lough Derg is one of three RNLI inland Stations in Ireland, the other two are located at Lough Erne Yacht Club, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and our sister Station on the river Shannon, at Lough Ree.

Lough Derg is the lowest, and at twenty-seven miles long, the largest of the series of lakes on the river Shannon, the longest river in the Republic of Ireland. The shores of Lough Derg are bordered by three counties with the most outstanding countryside. It has secluded lagoons that can be accessed by narrow rivulets and many public and private harbours.

It is a beautiful, serene and charming freshwater lake. However, it can be provoked by high winds that funnel between the hills that border its southern narrower stretches of water. With little warning Lough Derg suddenly becomes an unforgiving sweep of water. At Parker's Point, where two stretches of the lake meet from the west and from the south, the water depth decreases sharply from one hundred and twenty feet to less than twenty feet. In a south westerly these factors combine to produce extremely confusing seas, with waves that come from the two directions at once to produce treacherous steep 'pyramid' waves. It is at this point on the lake that vessels frequently get into difficulties.

In the past Lough Derg was a major conduit for the passage of people and trade goods along the river Shannon. Nowadays the lake is used for pleasure by fishing and sailing boats, cruisers and barges. By necessity the rescue services must be present and ready to deal with increasing traffic and any possible difficulties that might ensue. Lough Derg is ready to do that, with volunteers on call twenty fours hours a day, every day of the year

#RNLI - Two people were rescued by Wexford RNLI in the early hours of Friday morning (3 October) after one was seen entering the water in the county town's harbour and another, a trained lifeguard, entered to assist.

1. The volunteer crew was alerted at 1.29am and the lifeboat launched within six minutes of the pagers going off.

Both men were rescued alongside Wexford Quay and brought back to Wexford lifeboat station, where a HSE ambulance was waiting.

Speaking after the incident, a spokesperson for Wexford RNLI said: "The quick response by the lifeguard, Gardaí and lifeboat saved lives last night.

"If anyone see someone in distress in the water they should ring the coastguard on 112 or 999 which will ensure the fastest response by the Wexford lifeboat."

#RNLI - At 5.25pm yesterday evening (Tuesday 30 September) the Bangor RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew received a request from Belfast Coastguard to assist two people onboard a 28ft trimaran-type yacht.

The multihull vessel, consisting of a main hull and two out-rigging hulls, had experienced engine failure two nautical miles north of Black Head on northern shores of Belfast Lough.

Within minutes of the rescue pagers being activated, the volunteer crew had launched the lifeboat, which proceeded at full speed towards the stricken vessel.

Upon arrival, the crew found that the two people on board the yacht were experienced yachtsmen. They had followed procedure and made the correct decision to call for assistance at the first sign of trouble.

With weather conditions on scene deteriorating, and a moderate to rough sea state, one of the lifeboat crew was transferred to the yacht to assist in rigging a tow line.

The vessel was then taken under tow and after two-and-a-half hours arrived safely at Bangor Marina.

RNLI volunteer helmsman Connor Lawson used this rescue to highlight a RNLI safety message when he said: "We always urge everyone going afloat to make sure their engine and fuel systems and are well maintained and in good working order.

"Engine failure close to shore and commercial shipping routes could lead to a life threatening situation."

He added: "We're happy that everyone is now safely ashore."