On Saturday evening June 25, Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat, Toshiba Wave Warrior, towed a vessel and its skipper to safety, after it grounded on rocks, off Scarriff Bay on Lough Derg.

At 19.26hrs, Saturday June 25, Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat was requested to launch by Valentia Coast Guard, to assist a person whose vessel had grounded on rocks west of the Scilly Islands, in Scarriff Bay on Lough Derg. The lifeboat with helm Eleanor Hooker, Peter Clarke and Colin Knight on board, launched at 19.40hrs. Winds were southerly, Force 3, visibility was good. The lifeboat was alongside the casualty vessel, a 32ft cruiser, at 19.58hrs.

The person on board, senior but with a lifetime of boating experience, was quite unsettled by his experience, having misread his location. He was reassured by the lifeboat crew. After a thorough examination of the vessel, which was not holed, it was taken off the rocks and into safe water. With a crew member on board, the casualty vessel was taken under an alongside tow, via Scarriff Bay, up the Scarriff river in County Clare to his mooring. The vessel was tied safely alongside at 21.20hrs.

The lifeboat returned to station and was ready for service again at 21.40hrs.

The accident that left four divers stranded off the Wexford coast last weekend was caused by damage to their boat's hull.

Divernet reports that the accident occurred when a section of tubing at the RIB's bow broke away from the hull.

The search operation, which included four RNLI lifeboats, an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and shore unit, was launched last Friday night when the group of divers failed to return to shore.

The divers were rescued at 6am on Saturday morning near the Saltee Islands, where they were found clinging to their upturned RIB.

Dramatic video of the divers' rescue was posted earlier this week on Afloat.ie.

A Mayday alert prompted the immediate launch of both RNLI lifeboats based in Baltimore to avert a life threatening situation at sea when a 21 ft  potting boat with two persons on board was disabled and drifting down on a lee shore in the open waters of Roaring Water Bay in West Cork.

Valentia Coast guard first raised the alert at 08:48 this morning requesting the launch of the all weather lifeboat Hilda Jarrett, 3 minutes later the inshore life boat Bessie was tasked too and with it's superior engine power was first on scene. They found the potting boat within 50 metres of the rocks at the North West point of the Western Calf Island. The fishermen had set an anchor in an attempt to keep the boat off the rocks, but the anchor had dragged and they were  left holding into their pot lines for safety. A difficult task in Force 5 westerly winds with a 2 metre swell running.

Helm John Kearney manoevred the lifeboat into position and his crew threw a line to the fishermen. The lifeboat then towed the boat upwind and with the assistance of Schull inshore rescue removed the fishing boat from immediate danger.

The allweather lifeboat arrived on scene and stood by until it was clear that there was no further danger. The inshore  lifeboat then towed the pot boat to the safety of Schull harbour. The fishermen were unharmed. Helm John Kearney commented ' it was fortunate we arrived when we did another  5 minutes and we would have been pulling the men out of the water'.

Inshore lifeboat Crew : Helm John Kearney, crew Ronan Callanan & Tadhg Collins

Allweather Lifeboat : Coxswain Kieran Cotter, crew Aidan Bushe, Jerry Smith, Cathal Cottrell, Anthony Sheehy, Sean Mc Carthy, Colin Whooley. Slip crew Rianne Smith, Simon Duggan, Gerard Sheehy

Five sailors had a lucky escape when their yacht hit rocks off the coast of Galway in the early hours of Saturday morning, the Irish Examiner reports.

The crew of five, who had been taking part in the annual Around Aran Race, launched their liferaft when the boat ran aground and raise the alarm from the shore.

Galway's RNLI lifeboat was dispatched to the abandoned yacht in Galway Bay later that morning.

Three people were rescued in Killiney Bay this afternoon when their small boat capsized.  Both all weather and inshore RNLI lifeboats from Dun Laoghaire and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter rushed to the scene when the alert was raised at 2pm this afternoon.

Four people were on board the craft when they got into difficulties off Shanganagh cliffs between Killiney and Bray.  One person swam to shore to raise the alarm, two clung to a buoy while another was reported missing.

The RNLI's all-weather (ALB) lifeboat and inshore lifeboat launched at 14.08pm and proceeded to the scene, arriving 15 minutes later.

Dun Laoghaire RNLI volunteer crew recovered two of the casualties on board the inshore lifeboat while the Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter 116 located the missing person in the water. All three were transfered to the helicopter and taken to Tallaght Hospital for treatment.

Conditions were described as fresh with force four to five winds.

Just as most people were going to bed late on Friday night the volunteer crew of Wicklow Lifeboat were being alerted by pager and assembling at the Station. The alarm was raised after a yachtsman contacted the Coast Guard to say his vessel was fouled in ropes and was unable to make any headway. The lifeboat under the command of Coxswain Nick Keogh was launched immediately and located the yacht one mile south of Wicklow Head.
On scene weather conditions were described as wind westerly force 4 with a 3.5 metre swell. Lifeboat crew Terry Sillery and Brian Sinnot were quickly transferred onto the yacht and successfully cleared the rope obstruction in challenging conditions, a towline was rigged and the lifeboat took the yacht in tow back to Wicklow harbour. The yacht which was on route between Scotland and Plymouth with two people on board was secured safely alongside the South quay by 01-45am on Saturday morning. The lifeboat was then stood down and returned to station.
The crew were Coxswain Nick Keogh , Mechanic Lisa O Leary , Tom McAulay, Dave O'Leary, John Docherty, Tommy Murphy, Terry Sillery and Brian Sinnot.

After a quarter of a century of voluntary service, Ken Robertson is to retire as station coxswain with the RNLI at Dun Laoghaire from the end of May.  Mark McGibney has been selected as his successor from a panel of coxswains at the station.

Ken is a well-known local businessman, notably through his newsagents shop on Marine Road in Dun Laoghaire, a location that allowed him to respond quickly whenever the all-weather lifeboat (ALB) was called out.

Initially, he was appointed 2nd coxswain in 1986 and subsequently in 1989 became the successor to the late Eric Offer who was best known as the coxswain of the 'John F. Kennedy' lifeboat that was stationed in Dun Laoghaire from 1967 until 1990.

In 1995, Ken Robertson and the Dun Laoghaire station took delivery of the current station ALB, the RNLB Anna Livia, a state-of-the-art vessel that cost almost €2 million that is capable of reaching a casualty ten miles offshore within 30 minutes and has a range of 250 miles.

In the course of his long career with the RNLI, Ken has been responsible for many notable services including the rescue of a swimmer in Killiney Bay who was saved just yards from a rocky shoreline in gale force winds in 2007.  One of the longest calls ever was a 14-hour operation following the tragic loss of four sailors when their yacht, the Debonair collided with a ship close to Dublin Port in 2001.

Mark McGibney will be the new station coxswain effective 1st June.  A volunteer crew member and a coxswain since 2002, he is the Sailing Manager at the nearby Royal Irish Yacht Club and lives locally with his wife and two children.

"Ken Robertson is retiring after a long-career as station coxswain during which he saved dozens of lives and rescued hundreds more," said Stephen Wynne, lifeboat operations manager.  "All of us at Dun Laoghaire RNLI wish him well in retirement and also extend our gratitude to his wife Margaret who has been fully supportive in spite of the disruption to normal family life that voluntary lifeboat service brings."

During the course of Ken Robertson's service with the RNLI, the Dun Laoghaire ALB launched on service 535 times and saved 60 lives in addition to the rescue of many others.  In 2007, he received the Thanks of the Institution for the rescue of the swimmer at Killiney.

Red Bay RNLI's new Atlantic 85 lifeboat was officially named the Geoffrey Charles during a moving ceremony at the lifeboat station in Cushendall, county Antrim yesterday, (Saturday 28 May 2011).  The lifeboat was funded by Roger and Judith Colmer in memory of their son Geoffrey. The couple made the trip to Northern Ireland from their home in England with a group of family and friends to name the lifeboat and pay tribute to Geoffrey.

Geoffrey was a scuba diving instructor and working in Thailand when the devastating 2004 tsunami struck the island of PhiPhi. He helped save many lives during that time by recovering people from the water and bringing the injured for urgent medical assistance. He also returned to the area to help bring comfort to many families who had lost loved ones by helping to get official identification for those lost in the tsunami.  Sadly Geoffrey died shortly after this at the age of 32 and his parents wanted to do something to recognise the work he did in saving lives. Along with other projects they have funded this Atlantic 85 lifeboat in Geoffrey's name.

During the ceremony Roger spoke about Geoffrey and the reason they funded a lifeboat in his memory.  "It is very fitting given that Geoffrey saved people from the sea that we are here today to dedicate and hand over this Atlantic 85 to the Red Bay station in Geoffrey's memory.  In the same way that he saved people from the sea we are confident that those trained and skilled with this craft will carry out the same courageous acts and rescue people around these shores.

This project has given us something positive to focus on and we wish to stay in very close contact with the station.  Geoffrey loved the sea and the natural environment and when we first saw this lifeboat we knew it would be like him – big, powerful, a little bit noisy and very confident. From our very first visit to Red Bay we knew that this was the place for the lifeboat to be stationed in his memory."

In another special tribute well known singer Frances Black, whose father was from Rathlin Island spoke of her love for the area and thanked the Colmers for their gift in Geoffrey's memory.  Frances said, "When we were children we used to spend a lot of time up and around this area  travelling back and forth on the seas around Rathlin Island.  When we were young we thought it was really exciting that the waves were the size of houses but as we got older we became very aware that the seas were quite treacherous in this area, beautiful as it is.

The RNLI have saved many lives up and around this area.  To save one life is a miracle but to save the amount of lives they have is fantastic.  The work the volunteers do and the dedication that they have is absolutely phenomenal.  I would like to say a very special thank you to both Judith and Roger.  It is very important we remember the legacy that Geoffrey has left on this wonderful day. He would be so proud of his family and of what they have done today."

Frances then gave a beautiful accapella rendition of the well known song Bright Blue Rose, which she dedicated to Geoffrey.

Red Bay Lifeboat Operations Manager Alan Murphy accepted the lifeboat into the care of the station, "The lifeboat is the main piece of equipment provided by the RNLI and in many cases this is thanks to the generosity of people like Rogerand Judith Colmer, to whom we are extremely grateful.  We at Red Bay are very proud of our new lifeboat and will keep the boat well maintained and always ready to launch when requested."

The lifeboat was named with a bottle of champagne poured over the side of the boat.  The honour was carried out by Judith and Roger's grandson Edward.

Six primary schoolgirls were rescued by an RNLI lifeboat when their canoes were pushed out to sea by strong winds yesterday afternoon.

The Irish Examiner reports that the girls were with an instructor from an adventure centre at Clogher Beach, Co Louth when they got into difficulty.

Lifeboat operations manager Declan Levins spotted the group in trouble from the Clogher Head Beach station and a rescue operation was immediately mounted. None in the group was harmed.

The RNLI's 30th Portrush Raft Race takes place this weekend promises to deliver the usual fun frolics and madness around the Harbour from 11am on Saturday 28th May right through to Sunday 29th!

The weekend kicks off with the Junior Raft Race at 11am at the harbour, followed by music, street entertainment, The RNLI Roadshow making its first appearance at the Raft Race and a real coup for the committee.
This year for the first time also the RNLI Lifeguard team will be joining the crew for a spectacular safety display at sea, showing how all sections of the RNLI operate together to save lives.

Radio Ulster's Alan Simpson will be the compere for the day bringing his own style of wit and humour and boundless knowledge of local characters, interviewing rafters, crew, committee and sponsors.
To round it all off local band 'Wipe-out' have reformed to bring back a flavour of the Old Raft Race days.....who can forget them playing in blazing sunshine on the balcony of the yacht Club?

On Sunday there will be the Service of Thanksgiving followed by the madness and mayhem that is the Waiters Race....Come down and support your local bar people. This race gets so competitive it's unreal. Who will knock Sharman Crawford from the Ramore Wine Bar off his perch!

The Committee would like to thanks the Causeway SPAR retail group for their support both in time and money, and everyone else who has contributed to this 30th year of rafting!

Further details can be obtained by calling the Raft Race hotline 07969 814605

History - The First Portrush Raft Race

The Portrush Raft Race has its origins in a special relationship that existed between two Johns. One John (Scott) was closely involved in the day-to-day affairs of the Portrush Lifeboat; the other John (McNally) was the co-owner of the Harbour Bar in Portrush.

In summer 1981 John Scott brought into the Harbour Bar a Lifeboat Magazine containing an article about a Raft Race that the Oban Lifeboat Ladies Guild had successfully run as a fund raiser. John Scott showed the article to John McNally and both were in agreement that the West Bay would provide an ideal venue for running a similar fund raising event in Portrush. The matter rested for some months until there was a clearing-out of the bar shelves when the magazine re-appeared.

A letter was sent to the Oban Ladies Guild who were most helpful in providing copies of their rules and entry form along with some very valuable comments on their experience. The way was clear to start and all that was needed was some willing volunteers to help with the organisation. Regulars of the Bar offered their support and so the first Raft Race Committee was formed. Guinness offered to be the main sponsor which significantly helped in bringing the Portrush Raft Race to the public's attention. The spring bank holiday weekend was selected as it tied in with the Coleraine Borough Council's idea of having a Spring Bank Holiday Fair in Portrush.

An idea was hatched to have a Le Mann type start from the West Beach with crews standing at the water's edge and then sprinting up the beach to collect their rafts and head for the sea with the finish line at the Lifeboat in the harbour. It was agreed from the start that the focus would be family entertainment, rather than speed, with special emphasis being placed on raft design and crew costume.

The first race, which was held on Saturday 29th May 1982, attracted 39 entries with a number making a very special effort to design their rafts attractively. The rafts ranged from the most basic design to the resplendent Quinquireme of Nineveh complete with galley slaves, skeleton, albatross and shark. The ladies of the Fantasy Island also attracted considerable interest with their palm tree, grass skirts and badly fitting coconut shells. The sun shone and the wind from the South West was fresh providing a welcome assist for the tired crews.

The first across the line was the aptly named Portrush Flyer (J Porter, C Irwin, W Green, W Gallagher, N Gaile and N Gibson see above) followed by Titanic Raft 1 and Leonora. The first all ladies raft was also Leonora which was crewed by the girls from Dunluce School, Bushmills ( K Hunter, K Diamond, W Torrens, P McConaghy, S Boswell and M Parke). The best designed raft was Quinquireme of Nineveh ( B Magowan, C Woffinoin, D McKeown, A Creelman, N Adams and C Thompson) and the best costumed crew were Fantasy Island (M McFadden, V Haslam, J Sutchliffe, G Douglas, E Thompson and E Sutcliffe). There were other awards eg most humorous Titanic 1, Perseverance Titanic 2 and most important of all most sponsorship which went to the boys of Dunluce School Bushmills whose raft Big Berta raised over £650.

The first Raft Race rose over £3000 which was way beyond the committee's expectation and guaranteed the continuation of the event. In the 22 years that the two John's were involved the race grew from a Saturday afternoon event to an action packed Raft Race Weekend. Their involvement ceased after the death of John Scott in 2004. It is wrong to single out individuals but particular mention must be made of John and Fay Scott who gave the event the life that made it so enjoyable for all involved in the organisation. Margaret and Alan McFadden who also showed everyone how to enter the spirit of the event and have great fun. Finally mention must be made of Rosie Kirker Millar who sadly recently passed away. Rosie epitomised a can-do spirit and gave so much energy to the committee.

J McNally
May 2011