#watersafety – Limerick City Council is urging members of the public to report damaged, stolen, missing or retrieved ringbuoys after a lifebuoy box and pole were vandalised at Athlunkard Bridge.

A member of a local boat club last night reported the missing lifebuoy to the Council's Water Safety Development Officer who on inspection determined that the lifesaving device was either stolen or thrown into the River Shannon. The lifebuoy, which is due to be replaced in the coming days, is one of 16 lifebuoys to have been replaced around Limerick City since the beginning the year.

According to Valerie Stundon: "Lifebuoys are crucial to preventing drownings in Limerick's waterways. The damaging or removal of such vitally important equipment endangers lives which is why I urge members of the public to report such incidences directly to Limerick City Council or via www.ringbuoys.ie ."

Commenting on last night's incident at Athlunkard Bridge, the Council's Water Safety Development Officer said: "The lifebuoy box and pole were ripped from the ground and more than likely thrown into the river. A report was received from a member of Athlunkard Boat Club who reported that some people who have been jumping into the river have taken the buoy, got rid of the ring and have used the rope to make a swing by tying it on to a tree. I have now requested the Council's Roads Department to have a new pole, lifebuoy box and buoy erected during the coming days."

Ms. Stundon confirmed that a lifebuoy box and pole at Corbally Baths have recently suffered a similar fate as the Athlunkard Box and Pole.

She continued: "Keeping in mind that a stolen ringbuoy means a stolen life, it is regrettable that a very small minority of people continue to engage in stealing or vandalising ringbuoys, and fail to appreciate the potentially very serious consequences of their actions. The WSDO would ask members of the public to refrain from interfering with any lifebuoy around the City and only use them in the event of someone entering the river and requiring assistance. Lifebuoys are not a toy."

Limerick City Council has 53 lifebuoys located around the City. 45 replacements were made in total in 2012 with a recurrence for replacements of 3-4 times at some locations. 16 have replaced to date in 2013.

Members of the public are requested to report damaged, stolen, missing or retrieved ringbuoys via www.ringbuoys.ie , or by emailing [email protected] or calling 061-407100.

#Tourism - The world-class surfing hotspot of Sligo has failed to make the grade in Fáilte Ireland's long list of leading tourism towns for 2013, according to the Irish Independent.

The north-east county was among a surprise selection of areas known for their maritime and waterways attractions - such as Westmeath on the Shannon and Galway, host of last year's Volvo Ocean Race finale - that were not featured in the Irish tourism board's list of 45 towns and villages put forward for the Highly Commended Tourism Towns award, part of the National Tidy Towns Awards to be announced later in the year.

Counties on the water that did make the cut include Clare and Mayo, with five towns each on the list, Kerry with four - including last year's winner Portmagee - and Donegal and Waterford, represented three times each.

The top prize winner, to be announced by Fáilte Ireland in November, will receive €10,000 in supports for tourism marketing and development.

Though Sligo is conspicuous by its absence, Donegal's triple placing shows the north-east region is a big tourism attraction - and the Tripclocker blog says surfing is at the forefront of that.

With Ireland's exposure to the open Atlantic giving is "better waves more often", according to Killian O'Kelly of Bundoran's Turn n' Surf, there is a wide variety of surf beaches stretching from Donegal to Clare in particular with swells for all levels of experience.

MARINE NOTICE

No 60 of 2013

Shannon Navigation & Shannon Erne Waterway

Voyage Planning

G8 Summit

Waterways Ireland has been requested by An Garda to advise masters and owners to allow extra time if planning a trip to the Erne System between 0800hrs on Fri 14 and 1900hrs on Tues 18 Jun as security checks associated with the G8 Summit will be in place. Please also refer to Marine Notice No 27 of 2013.

C.J.Lawn
Lt Cdr (rtd)
Inspector of Navigation

13 Jun 2013
Tel: 353 90 6494232
Fax: 353 90 6494147

#Coastguard - What would have been the Irish Coast Guard's longest ever rescue mission was stood down at the last minute after the casualty in question was deemed to be in a stable condition.

According to the Irish Independent, the Shannon-based coastguard rescue helicopter was dispatched on the 300-nautical-mile mission to retrieve a man in his 70s from a cruise liner en route to Cobh from the United States.

The distance was so great that the helicopter, the new Sikorsky S-92 with the call sign Rescue 115, was forced to land on an offshore oil rig 180km off Kerry to refuel.

While there the chopper experienced a technical issue and was grounded for safety reasons while an engineer was sent to the oil rig on board Waterford's Rescue 117.

However, in the meantime a second doctor on board the MS Marina determined that the patient - who was feared to have had a stroke - was in a stable enough condition to be transferred to hospital upon the ship's arrival in Cobh early today.

The Irish Examiner confirms that the casualty was a 79-year-old American.

#InlandWaterways - Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners that a green starboardhand navigation mark is reported missing just south of Athlone Lock on the eastern side of the Shannon Navigation opposite the old Athlone Canal entrance.

Masters should proceed with caution when navigating this section of the river.

Elsewhere on the Shannon, a triathlon swimming training course is now set out in Lough Key between Castle Island and the mainland to the west, in an area off the navigable channel.

This will be in place until the end of September and is marked by four yellow buoys. When swimmers are on the course they will be accompanied by a safety boat and will be wearing high visibility swim hats.

Training will take place Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7am till 8am and Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm till 8pm. Masters are requested to navigate at slow speed and with a low wash when passing the area.

Further information may be had from Donal Kennedy of Lough Key Triathlon Club at 086 109 2626 or [email protected].

Meanwhile, a swimming event will take place on Sunday 9 June from Shannon Harbour to Banagher Harbour.

Masters are requested to navigate at slow speed and with a low wash when passing the area during the event, which will take place between 1pm and 3.30pm.

For more details contact Jerry O’Meara of Shannonside Sub Aqua Club at 087 776 4252 or [email protected].

#Angling - The battle to stem the decline of salmon stocks in Ireland's inland waterways has taken a step forward in Limerick with the news that net fishing on the River Feale will be banned from the end of July.

As the Limerick Leader reports, the end of licensed net fishing on the Feale - and important salmon spawning watercourse that flows from the Mullaghareirk Mountains in Cork through Limerick and Kerry to the mouth of the Shannon - has been welcomed by local stakeholders as "a vital step towards restoring depleted fish stocks on the embattled river".

Salmon stocks in the Feale alone have reportedly collapsed by more than 10,000 in just six years.

Local angler Brendan Danagher said that the decision to ban net fishing would also encourage anglers to accept other restrictions for conservation on the river - which include a maximum catch of one fish per person per day, with a total of three catches allowed per individual till the end of the season.

“If they’re bringing in new bylaws, they must have the goodwill of anglers," he added.

The Limerick Leader has more on the story HERE.

#RNLI - Kilrush RNLI launched twice on Tuesday 19 March to a reported flare or red smoke sighted off the coast on the River Shannon.

On both launches at 12.15pm and later at 9.27pm, both crews quickly assembled and set off to the locations along the river outlined by Valentia Coast Guard. 



On the first callout, the volunteer lifeboat crew searched from Querrin Point to Cappa village following accounts from the public that a small aircraft had been seen aflame while on approach.

Shannon helicopter and crews from the Kilkee and Mallow coastguard who were involved with another incident in Ballybunnion, crossed the waters and joined in the search.



After two-and-a-half hours the search was stood down as the Aviation Department stated there were no aircrafts in the region. The conclusion thus far is that the object seen was a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere. 



Shortly before 9.30pm, the inshore crew was paged again by Valentia Coast Guard to launch in response to members of the public who saw flares in the Kilrush area. 

The lifeboat launched and after an hour was stood down as there was no evidence along the shore from Cappa to the Moneypoint area. The unit of the Kilkee Coast Guard also carried out an intense shore search.


Kilrush RNLI helm and volunteer lifeboat press officer Pauline Dunleavy praised the members of the public who put these calls into action, even though in this case they turned out to be false alarms.

"We would urge anyone who does see anything suspicious out on the water to dial 999 without delay," she said. "It could be the reason a life was saved."