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Wicklow lifeboat launched at 10.07am on Sunday morning ( 25th July) to assist a 32 foot yacht with mechanical problems. The yacht was at located 11.00am 13 miles North East of Wicklow harbour becalmed and unable to motor. The lifeboat crew quickly established a towline and the yacht with 3 people onboard was taken back to Wicklow Harbour, the vessel was safely alongside the quay by 1.15pm and the lifeboat returned to station. Crew list - Coxswain Nick Keogh, Mechanic Lisa O Leary, Brendan Kavanagh  Wayne Jones, John Docherty and Brian Sinnot.

A few hours later pagers were activated to alert the volunteer crew and the lifeboat put to sea again at 3.42pm, this time to give assistance to a rigid inflatable boat that had broken down with 5 people onboard near the Silver Strand. The lifeboat located the 5 metre Rib South of Wicklow head. 3 children were taken onboard the lifeboat and the Rib was towed back to Wicklow harbour, where all 5 people were landed safely.
Crew list: Coxswain Ciaran Doyle, Mechanic Lisa O Leary, Tommy McAulay , Barry Spencer, Tommy Murphy and John Docherty.

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Wicklow Lifeboat Launches at the Weekend. Photo: courtesy Wicklow lifeboat

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Published in RNLI Lifeboats
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Ballycotton lifeboat was called on to lend assistance to a 23 metre fishing vessel in difficulties, 31 miles south of Ballycotton today. The Irish registered vessel, with five on board, contacted the emergency services when they fouled their propeller. The Ballycotton lifeboat, Austin Lidbury, arrived on scene at 12:00 and established a towline. The vessel was safely towed to Ballycotton harbour.

Related Safety posts

RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Safety News


Rescue News from RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Coast Guard News from Ireland


Water Safety News from Ireland

Marine Casualty Investigation Board News

Marine Warnings

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

Castletownbere Lifeboat was launched this afternoon at 12.20pm to go to the assistance of a 43 ft fishing vessel taking on water 17 miles south west of Castletownbere in county Cork. To view the RNLI Video scroll down to the bottom of the post.

When the lifeboat crew arrived on scene they saw that the three crew had got into a liferaft as their fishing vessel was taking on a considerable amount of water and was in danger of sinking.  

Conditions were described as fair with a large 4 metre groundswell. The Coast Guard helicopter from Shannon winched two of the fishing crew off the liferaft but a third man was in the water.  Castletownbere lifeboat crew immediately recovered the man onto the lifeboat.   With the casualty safely on the lifeboat, two RNLI crewmembers brought a salvage pump on board and proceed to pump the water from the fishing vessel.  It was then taken under tow by the lifeboat and brought back to the harbour.  

The rescued man did not need any further medical attention. The Irish Navel vessel the LE Eithne was also on scene during the rescue.   Commenting on the callout Castletownbere RNLI crewmember Paul Stevens said, “ This callout thankfully resulted in a happy ending with three men being brought to safety.  We were also able to bring the fishing vessel ashore in one piece.  I am sure the three men are in shock but they had a lucky escape.”

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Related Safety posts

RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Safety News


Rescue News from RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Coast Guard News from Ireland


Water Safety News from Ireland

Marine Casualty Investigation Board News

Marine Warnings

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

Baltimore RNLI inshore lifeboat Bessie, was launched this morning to assist a yacht that had gone aground at an area called the Sound, North West of Baltimore Harbour. The alarm was raised at 11:52am when the 36ft Sun Odyssey yacht was seen aground across the Harbour. Helmsman Youen Jacob with his crew of Kieran Collins and John McDonagh made their way to the stricken vessel on an RNLI twin engine Atlantic 75 RIB. On arrival at the scene they found the crew hauling on their anchor line in an attempt to pull themselves off the rocks. The inshore lifeboat gave assistance by creating a wash which lifted the boat from its rocky perch. The lifeboat then escorted the yacht back to Baltimore Harbour. The yacht did not suffer any significant damage and all four passengers on board, two men and two women were uninjured.

Related Safety posts

RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Safety News


Rescue News from RNLI Lifeboats in Ireland


Coast Guard News from Ireland


Water Safety News from Ireland

Marine Casualty Investigation Board News

Marine Warnings
Published in RNLI Lifeboats
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At 5.45pm yesterday evening Monday July 5th, Fenit RNLI Lifeboat launched to assist a 40 foot Catamaran which was taking on water. The vessel which had left Donegal en route to France was 20 miles west of Loop Head and there were 2 people on board.

On arriving at the location of the stricken vessel volunteer crew members with Fenit RNLI Lifeboat immediately boarded the catamaran with a salvage pump and proceeded to pump the water from the vessel. Once they were happy that this process was working satisfactorily they put the vessel on tow and proceeded towards Fenit.

On arrival back in Fenit just before 1am this morning, arrangements were in place by Fenit RNLI members on shore and the catamaran was lifted onto the Pier by the Fenit Harbour Board Crane.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

A stricken vessel was located in trouble on Lough Erne using lat/long data from an iPhone. 

 

A 999 call from the Motor Cruiser ‘Wee Rascal’ on Lough Erne in the early hours of this morning called on all the investigative powers of Belfast Coastguard as the vessel wasn’t even close to its reported position.

The vessel was on passage from Kesh to Enniskillen in windy, wet conditions when it called 999 to ask for assistance. Despite an extensive search of the area around its reported position neither the Enniskillen RNLI Inshore Lifeboat nor Erne Coastguard Rescue Teams could find the vessel.

Because the vessel had no flares, flash lights or VHF Radio on board to show rescuers where it was, Belfast Coastguard resorted to mobile phone technology. A locator i-phone application finally gave rescuers the vital latitude and longitude they needed to locate the vessel

The vessel was finally located 25 miles away from its reported position, dangerously amongst the rocky shoreline off Eagle Point. It was carefully brought away from the rocks by the skill of the  Enniskillen RNLI Inshore Lifeboat crew and taken to the safety of Beleek marina.

Coastguard Watch Manager Steven Carson said:

“A combination of luck and technology saved these four people from imminent danger this morning. They had charts onboard but obviously no real idea of how to get to their destination or how to report their position in an emergency.

“Vital hours were wasted eliminating one possible location after another, time that we wouldn’t have had if the vessel had struck the rocks and sunk. I hope that this experience will help the crew to realise why navigation training is essential for all mariners, whether you’re on a Lough or the open sea.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats
Tagged under

A 999 call from the Motor Cruiser ‘Wee Rascal’ on Lough Erne in the early hours of this morning called on all the investigative powers of Belfast Coastguard as the vessel wasn’t even close to its reported position.

The vessel was on passage from Kesh to Enniskillen in windy, wet conditions when it called 999 to ask for assistance. Despite an extensive search of the area around its reported position neither the Enniskillen RNLI Inshore Lifeboat nor Erne Coastguard Rescue Teams could find the vessel.

Because the vessel had no flares, flash lights or VHF Radio on board to show rescuers where it was, Belfast Coastguard resorted to mobile phone technology. A locator i-phone application finally gave rescuers the vital latitude and longitude they needed.

The vessel was finally located 25 miles away from its reported position, dangerously amongst the rocky shoreline off Eagle Point. It was carefully brought away from the rocks by the skill of the  Enniskillen RNLI Inshore Lifeboat crew and taken to the safety of Beleek marina.

Coastguard Watch Manager Steven Carson said:

“A combination of luck and technology saved these four people from imminent danger this morning. They had charts onboard but obviously no real idea of how to get to their destination or how to report their position in an emergency.

“Vital hours were wasted eliminating one possible location after another, time that we wouldn’t have had if the vessel had struck the rocks and sunk. I hope that this experience will help the crew to realise why navigation training is essential for all mariners, whether you’re on a Lough or the open sea.”


Published in Coastguard

Members of Ballyglass RNLI responded to an emergency callout yesterday (Sunday 20 June 2010) afternoon for a man reported missing after he went swimming in a remote mountain lake outside Bangor Erris in County Mayo.  The volunteer lifeboat crew were unable to take their inshore lifeboat inland to the lake as the location was extremely remote but they are trained in search and rescue techniques and were called on to assist.

The request for help was received by Ballyglass RNLI Coxswain JT Gaughan from the Gardai at 4.10pm yesterday (Sunday 20 June 2010) when the girlfriend of the man reported him missing after he had gone for a swim in Stoney Lake.  The mountain lake is three miles from the nearest road and in very rough terrain.  The lifeboat crew along with the Gardai, Belmullet Sub Aqua Club, the Coast Guard and members of the North Western Regional fisheries board immediately went to give assistance.

Due to the remote access of the lake the Irish Coast Guard helicopter carried the search and rescue teams as near to the location as it could safely land and a search of the lake commenced.  The search was called off at 10.30pm and was resumed first thing this morning.  A man was recovered at approximately 10am and pronounced dead at the scene.  His body has been taken to Castlebar hospital.

Commenting on the callout Ballyglass RNLI Coxswain JT Gaughan said,  "this was a very sad and difficult callout for all involved.  Everyone in the community and the various search and rescue agencies worked together in extremely challenging conditions to search for the young man.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends."

Published in RNLI Lifeboats
Tagged under
21st June 2010

Man Found Safe and Well

The man whom had been thought missing near Baltimore in West Cork has been located safe and well. All rescue services have been stood down. It is a reminder of the importance of letting people know where you are and where you are going.


Published in RNLI Lifeboats
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Both the all-weather lifeboat and inshore lifeboat based in Baltimore Harbour were called to give assistance on Saturday evening 19th June.

The inshore lifeboat Bessie was called at 18:45 to standby a 58ft motor yacht that was disabled and adrift in Glandore Harbour having hit a rock. Helmsman Youen Jacob assisted by crewmen Kieran Collins and Diarmuid Collins stoody by alongside the Courtmacsherry lifeboat as the motor yacht was towed to safety in Union Hall.

The inshore lifeboat has just been returned to its compound on the pier, when a second alert was raised at 22.25. This time the all-weather lifeboat Hilda Jarrett, responded to a medical emergency on Cape Clear Island. The Public Health Nurse stabilised the casualty prior to the young man being taken on board at North Harbour on Cape Clear Island.. The ambulance service met the lifeboat on its return to Baltimore to transfer the casualty to hospital. The lifeboat was returned to base at 00.10 on Sunday morning. Coxswain Kieran Cotter, was assisted by his crew of Micheal Cottrell, Don O’Donovan, Diarmuid Collins, Brian Ormond, Simon Duggan and John O’Flynn. Remarkably Baltimore lifeboats newest recruit, Diarmuid Collins, attended at  both calls.

These two incidents demonstrate the versatility of the RNLI lifeboat capacity at Baltimore. The inshore lifeboat is a twin engine Atlantic 75 RIB, purpose designed for rapid response to inshore emergencies, whilst the larger all-weather lifeboat is suited to long range calls and medical evacuations.


Published in RNLI Lifeboats
Page 157 of 158

Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

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