Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Search

#Missing - The search continued today (Tuesday 19 September) for a sea angler who was swept into the sea from a popular but treacherous fishing spot near Doonbeg in Co Clare at the weekend.

According to TheJournal.ie, the missing man and a friend, both Russian nationals, had been fishing at Pulleen Bay around 6.30am on Saturday morning (16 September) when he went into the water.

When his friend’s attempt at a rescue was unsuccessful, he is believed to have panicked and driven 60km way to Limerick to raise the alarm.

“This has happened in the past in Clare where non-Irish nationals fishing in very dangerous areas, who have little English or no English … panic and have driven miles upon miles, passed Garda stations and people on the road to raise the alarm,” said local journalist Pat Flynn.

Naval Service divers and local diving clubs have joined a number of Irish Coast Guard units from the area in the search, which has been hampered by poor visibility due to heavy coastal fog.

Meanwhile, as the Clare Herald reports, coastguard search teams expressed their dismay over the weekend as several groups of anglers continued to climb out to the rocky head where the missing man was swept away.

Published in News Update

#Rescue116 - More than 100 divers have joined a major search since early this morning (Saturday 22 April) for Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith, the two Irish Coast Guard crew members still missing after the Rescue 116 tragedy over a month ago.

According to The Irish Times, an exclusion zone around the wreck site at Black Rock off Co Mayo has been lifted for the search, thought to be the largest ever co-ordinated dive in the history of the State.

Naval Service and Garda divers are joined by specialists in sub-sea search and recovery in combing the sea bed of at the western and south-western parts of the island, following the completion of a ‘360-degree’ terrain survey by the Army and Garda crime scene examiners.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastguard

#Rescue116 - The Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Centre in Malin will tomorrow (Saturday 8 April) assist with managing the surface search for the two missing crewmen of Rescue 116 by a large number of fishing vessels that have offered their services.

No trace of Paul Ormsby or Ciarán Smith was found when the wreck of the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter was lifted from the sea bed off Black Rock in Co Mayo last weekend, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

While underwater operations are ongoing, a fleet of fishing vessels from Killybegs this week pledged to sweep the Atlantic seaboard from first light tomorrow for any sign of the missing coastguard airmen, according to The Irish Times.

The South Donegal and North Mayo coast has been divided into a number of search areas, each under the direction of an RNLI or Irish Coast Guard asset. The Naval Service ship LÉ Ciara will be on scene ready to assist where required.

Meanwhile, the coastguard is requesting all mariners in the area to keep a good lookout for any debris in the course of their routine activities and to report any findings to the Malin Head Coast Guard Coordination Centre.

Coastguard officials expressed their ongoing appreciation to the many volunteers supporting the search, in particular coastguard members, lifeboat volunteers and Civil Defence, as well as local community support.

Update from the RNLI: Lifeboats from Ballyglass, Achill, Sligo, Bundoran and Arranmore, along with Killybegs and Killala Coast Guard, will be on scene for the day and will keep in communication with all vessels.

The RNLI wishes to join with the coastguard in stressing the importance of safety for every person taking part in the search. Each individual should be wearing a personal floatation device and have access to a working VHF for communications.

While engaged in the search, the RNLI lifeboats will remain on call and available for search and rescue operations. Should an RNLI lifeboat need to respond to an emergency elsewhere a designated deputy vessel will be appointed.

Commenting on the planned search, RNLI lifesaving manager Gareth Morrison said: “Since the loss of Rescue 116 our lifeboat crews from Ballyglass and Achill, later joined by Arranmore, Sligo and Bundoran have spent a huge number of hours out searching. This has been in conjunction with our colleagues in the Irish Coast Guard, Naval Service, Civil Defence and with local vessels.

“Most of our lifeboat crew are volunteers who have left families and jobs to engage in the search. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the RNLI lifeboat crews, station personnel and wider communities who have taken part.”

“With everyone involved in the search on Saturday staying vigilant and safe and following the directions from the on scene coordinators we will cover a huge area safely. We also ask that people continue to keep a lookout for any debris and report findings to the coastguard.”

Morrison concluded: “Our thoughts remain with the families and colleagues of the crew of Rescue 116.”

Published in Coastguard

#Missing - RTÉ News reports on the ongoing search for a man in his 50s reported missing in Wicklow Harbour this morning (Tuesday 27 December).

Wicklow RNLI, the Irish Coast Guard and gardaí are all involved in the operation that began around 10.30am.

The news comes two just days after a man was rescued from the River Liffey in Dublin city centre on Christmas morning, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in News Update

#Missing - BBC News reports that the search has resumed for two teenagers missing in the Irish Sea off north-west Wales since yesterday afternoon (Sunday 7 August).

The two boys, ages 14 and 15, had got into difficulty while swimming at Barmouth Beach in Cardigan Bay and were separated from their group, comprising members of the Somali and Yemeni communities in Birmingham.

It's understood one member of the group attempted a rescue but was unsuccessful.

In a separate incident, HM Coastguard and RNLI lifeboats from Cardigan and New Quay launched to reports that a man had been swept off rocks at Mwnt on the southern side of Cardigan Bay.

It was reported that two men had been walking when they were cut off by the tide and one of them fell into the sea from rocks.

Published in News Update

#BlackLough - The body of a woman has been recovered from Dungannon's Black Lough in the search for a missing person, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Planned searches were ongoing in and around the Dungannon area in Co Tyrone yesterday morning (Tuesday 5 July) when the grim discovery was made around 10.30am.

The PSNI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the woman, named locally as 68-year-old Hilda Kyle from Moygashel. The Belfast Telegraph has more HERE.

Published in News Update

#CliffsofMoher - Searches continued this week for a man thought to have fallen from the Cliffs of Moher at the weekend, according to the Irish Mirror.

Coastguard teams went into action last Friday (13 May) when staff at the area's visitor centre noticed a car parked overnight.

It's believed that the missing man is in his 60s, from Dublin and a regular pundit on TV and radio.

In other news, a man was hospitalised on Sunday (May 15) after attempting to swim to Dalkey Island.

As The Irish Times reports, the man in his 40s was recovered from Dalkey Sound by the Dublin Coast Guard and treated for mild hypothermia.

Published in News Update

#Galway - BreakingNews.ie reports that post-mortems on two bodies recovered from Galway waters over the weekend are scheduled for today (Monday 18 April).

Gardaí have confirmed that the body of soldier Private Ben Garrett (21), who was missing since 31 March, was recovered from Galway Docks on Sunday morning (17 April).

Another body was found in Galway Bay on Saturday morning (16 April) in the search for Anthony Henehan, last seen entering the water at Wolfe Tone Bridge in Galway city on 10 March.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Search - The search remains ongoing for a man seen entering the water at Galway's Wolfe Tone Bridge 10 days ago.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the man in his 30s prompted a widespread search in the city's waters after going missing on the night of Thursday 10 March.

Today (Sunday 20 March) was expected to be significant in the search due to particularly low water levels in the docks and surrounds, according to Galway Bay FM.

And an appeal has gone out for volunteers to assist the new Oranmore-Maree Coastal Search Unit from the shore around Galway Bay from Salthill to Tawin Island.

In other news, the body of a woman was recovered from a car that entered the water in Howth Harbour on Friday morning (18 March). TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Search - Galway Bay FM reports that coastal searches resumed this afternoon in Galway for a man who was spotted entering the water last night (Thursday 10 March).

The search began in Galway Docks after the man, believed to be in his 30s, was seen entering the water at Wolfe Tone Bridge over the Corrib, but no trace has been found.

A separate search for a person calling for help on the shoreline near Mutton Island has also yielded no results thus far, and it is not yet known if the two events are related.

Published in News Update
Page 2 of 5

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