Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Lough Neagh Rescue

On Sunday 5th June lifeboats went to the aid of a jet ski with two people on board in difficulties on the River Blackwater which flows into the south western corner of Lough Neagh. It was towed to Maghery where the casualties were handed over to the Coastguard team.

And on the same day the Lifeboats were tasked by Belfast Coastguard to attend a vessel with five people on board that had broken down on its way from Ardboe on the western shore of the Lough to Sandy Bay Marina on the east. By the time the Lifeboats attended the scene the casualty vessel had managed to start the engines and were able to make their own way back to Sandy Bay, escorted by the Lifeboats.

On Thursday 9th there was another call out to a vessel with two on board which had broken down near Kinnego Bay in the south of the Lough and it was towed back to the Marina

And on 11th June, the lifeboats and shore crew were tasked to search for a vessel that had lost steering on the River Bann. But as information was limited both the Upper and Lower River Bann (which flow into both the North and South ends of the Lough) were searched.

The casualty vessel with two on board was located on the Lower Bann and after a side tow was secured, the vessel was brought to the jetty at the lock gate where it was inspected for damage and the steering problem was resolved. With steering and propulsion checked a crew member remained onboard the casualty vessel whist the lifeboat escorted it from the River Bann to its mooring in Ballyronan marina.

Tagged under

On Monday, May 2 Lough Neagh Rescue was alerted by Belfast Coastguard to reports of an overturned Jetski in Antrim Bay on the Northeast corner of what is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles and Ireland.

Two casualties were taken from the water onboard the lifeboat and then were transferred to Antrim Marina where they received medical attention before being handed over to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

Also at the scene was the Lough Neagh Coastguard Rescue Team which is based at Kinnego Marina on the Southeast corner of the Lough.

Lough Neagh Rescue is a voluntary search and rescue organisation based on the shores of Lough Neagh.

Published in Rescue

Seven people were rescued from two vessels that ran aground on Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland on Saturday night (12 September).

Lifeboats and shore crew were quickly tasked by Belfast Coastguard to the scene at Coney Island, where the vessels were in just 1-2 feet of water.

Their position in the shallows — plus an onshore wind creating a lot of swell — made access difficult, according to Lough Neagh Rescue.

The team decided to carry out a lee shore rescue, with two crew entering the water to rig a tow on the first casualty vessel, with three on board. This boat was bright to safety in Maghery, east of Dungannon.

Next, Lough Neagh Rescue launched its swift water boat from the slip at Maghery to bring the four people on the other grounded vessel to safety.

With all seven back ashore, rescue crews returned to the grounded boat to try to remove it from the rocks — an effort that was eventually successful. Once refloated, the boat was taken under tow to safe mooring at Maghery.

Lough Neagh Rescue also launched last night (Sunday 13 September) to a broken-down vessel on the Blackwater River.

Two people on board the vessel, which was half-way between the Maghery and the M1 motorway bridge, were taken onto the lifeboat while a rescue team member set up a tow for the stricken vessel.

Published in Rescue

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award

This unique and informal competition was inaugurated in 1979, with Mitsubishi Motors becoming main sponsors in 1986. The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs. 

In making their assessment, the adjudicators take many factors into consideration. In addition to the obvious one of sailing success at local, national and international level, considerable attention is also paid to the satisfaction which members in every branch of sailing and boating feel with the way their club is run, and how effectively it meets their specific needs, while also encouraging sailing development and training.

The successful staging of events, whether local, national or international, is also a factor in making the assessment, and the adjudicators place particular emphasis on the level of effective voluntary input which the membership is ready and willing to give in support of their club's activities.

The importance of a dynamic and fruitful interaction with the local community is emphasised, and also with the relevant governmental and sporting bodies, both at local and national level. The adjudicators expect to find a genuine sense of continuity in club life and administration. Thus although the award is held in a specific year in celebration of achievements in the previous year, it is intended that it should reflect an ongoing story of success and well-planned programmes for future implementation. 

Over the years, the adjudication system has been continually refined in order to be able to make realistic comparisons between clubs of varying types and size. With the competition's expansion to include class associations and specialist national watersports bodies, the "Club of the Year" competition continues to keep pace with developing trends, while at the same time reflecting the fact that Ireland's leading sailing clubs are themselves national and global pace-setters

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award FAQs

The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs.

A ship's wheel engraved with the names of all the past winners.

The Sailing Club of the Year competition began in 1979.

PR consultant Sean O’Shea (a member of Clontarf Y & BC) had the idea of a trophy which would somehow honour the ordinary sailing club members, volunteers and sailing participants, who may not have personally won prizes, to feel a sense of identity and reward and special pride in their club. Initially some sort of direct inter-club contest was envisaged, but sailing journalist W M Nixon suggested that a way could be found for the comparative evaluation of the achievements and quality of clubs despite their significant differences in size and style.

The award recognises local, national & international sailing success by the winning club's members in both racing and cruising, the completion of a varied and useful sailing and social programme at the club, the fulfilling by the club of its significant and socially-aware role in the community, and the evidence of a genuine feeling among all members that the club meets their individual needs afloat and ashore.

The first club of the Year winner in 1979 was Wicklow Sailing Club.

Royal Cork Yacht Club has won the award most, seven times in all in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2015 & 2020.

The National YC has won six times, in 1981, 1985, 1993, 1996, 2012 & 2018.

Howth Yacht Club has won five times, in 1982, 1986, 1995, 2009 & 2019

Ireland is loosely divided into regions with the obviously high-achieving clubs from each area recommended through an informal nationwide panel of local sailors going into a long-list, which is then whittled down to a short-list of between three and eight clubs.

The final short-list is evaluated by an anonymous team based on experienced sailors, sailing journalists and sponsors’ representatives

From 1979 to 2020 the Sailing Club of the Year Award winners are:

  • 1979 Wicklow SC
  • 1980 Malahide YC
  • 1981 National YC
  • 1982 Howth YC
  • 1983 Royal St George YC
  • 1984 Dundalk SC
  • 1985 National YC (Sponsorship by Mitsubishi Motors began in 1985-86)
  • 1986 Howth YC
  • 1987 Royal Cork YC
  • 1988 Dublin University SC
  • 1989 Irish Cruising. Club
  • 1990 Glenans Irish SC
  • 1991 Galway Bay SC
  • 1992 Royal Cork YC
  • 1993 National YC & Cumann Badoiri Naomh Bhreannain (Dingle) (after 1993, year indicated is one in which trophy is held)
  • 1995 Howth Yacht Club
  • 1996 National Yacht Club
  • 1997 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 1998 Kinsale Yacht Club
  • 1999 Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club
  • 2000 Royal Cork Yacht Club (in 2000, competition extended to include class associations and specialist organisations)
  • 2001 Howth Sailing Club Seventeen Footer Association
  • 2002 Galway Bay Sailing Club
  • 2003 Coiste an Asgard
  • 2004 Royal St George Yacht Club
  • 2005 Lough Derg Yacht Club
  • 2006 Royal Cork Yacht Club (Water Club of the Harbour of Cork)
  • 2007 Dublin Bay Sailing Club
  • 2008 Lough Ree YC & Shannon One Design Assoc.
  • 2009 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2010 Royal St George YC
  • 2011 Irish Cruiser Racing Association
  • 2012 National Yacht Club
  • 2013 Royal St George YC
  • 2014 Kinsale YC
  • 2015 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 2016 Royal Irish Yacht Club
  • 2017 Wicklow Sailing Club
  • 2018 National Yacht Club
  • 2019 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2020 Royal Cork Yacht Club

©Afloat 2020