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Displaying items by tag: Mizen Head

#RNLI - Baltimore RNLI assisted two sailors yesterday evening (Monday 14 August) after their yacht lost power off Mizen Head in West Cork.

The alarm was raised earlier in the afternoon following a report from the crew of a 26ft yacht that they had lost all battery power.

At the time, the occupants were comfortable sailing the yacht towards Baltimore, so the lifeboat was put on standby until they were closer.

However, due to a confused sea in a strong tideway, the yacht was making very little progress towards land and required assistance to get to port.

The inshore lifeboat, helmed by Micheal Cottrell and with crew members Ryan O’Mahony and Colin Rochford on board, left station at 7.20pm and met the yacht three miles west of Cape Clear Island just before 8pm.

Weather conditions at the time were relatively good, with a Force 3 south-westerly wind and a one-metre sea swell.

One of the lifeboat crew went aboard the yacht to assist with rigging a tow and, once that was established at 8.05pm, a course was set for North Harbour in Cape Clear where the vessel was moored safely at 8.55pm.

Speaking following the callout, Cottrell said: “The sailors did the right thing in initially alerting people ashore to their predicament and then seeking the assistance of the lifeboat before darkness when their situation wasn’t improving.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#coastalnotes – Following on from Winkie Nixon's blog a fortnight ago about the Sailing and boating wonders of West Cork, here's a selection of aerial views from the Baltimore Beacon to Mizen Head taking in Lough Hyne, Ballydehob, Foil na Muc, Bantry House, Mount Gabriel, Cadogans Strand, Schull Community Inshore Rescue Headquarters and Barleycove on the way.

The Video was shot from a Octocopter UAV platform with a GoPro Hero 3+ and uploaded to youtube by the Eye in the Sky.

Published in Coastal Notes
The full report of the investiation into the loss of a crewman from the fishing vessel Janireh earlier this year is now availble online.
Egyptian national Nadi Sehsaah died after falling overboard from the trawler some 20 nautical miles south west of Mizen Head. It is believed he was not wearing a floation device at the time of the accident.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has said there is an onus on the fishing industry to improve safety standards across the board, accoring to the Irish Examiner - which has more on the story HERE.
The MCIB report is available to download HERE.

The full report of the investigation into the loss of a crewman from the fishing vessel Janireh earlier this year is now available online.

Egyptian national Nadi Sehsaah died after falling overboard from the trawler some 20 nautical miles south west of Mizen Head. It is believed he was not wearing a flotation device at the time of the accident.

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has said there is an onus on the fishing industry to improve safety standards across the board, according to the Irish Examiner - which has more on the story HERE.

The MCIB report is available to download HERE.

Published in Water Safety

About Pamela Lee, Irish Offshore Sailor

Ireland has produced some of the world’s most dedicated offshore sailors, and Pamela Lee of Greystones is one of them. She has made a name for herself in the sailing world, having worked as a mate on a charter Super-yacht for two and a half years. After coming ashore, she has been fully committed to her offshore sailing ambitions since 2019.

Lee has raced in various craft, including Figaro 3s, Class 40, Tp 52s, and multihulls, and has eight transatlantic crossings under her belt. In partnership with Kenny Rumball, Lee supported Rumball’s La Solitaire du Figaro sailing campaign to secure the Irish berth in the proposed Mixed Offshore Keelboat event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

One of Lee’s stated main aims is to promote female empowerment in sport, and she set out to establish a double-handed Round Ireland speed record with Englishwoman Cat Hunt in the winter of 2020. This campaign gained much publicity, and Lee expressed pride in bringing sailing and offshore sailing, in particular, into the conversation for 2020.

To further her offshore sailing career, Lee moved to France, where she has recently secured a place to skipper a yacht in the Transat Jacques Vabre Challenge in October 2023. Lee’s passion and dedication to offshore sailing are inspiring, and her achievements are a testament to her hard work and perseverance.