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Displaying items by tag: missing

A group searching for a woman missing near the Cliffs of Moher has contacted Afloat.ie in an appeal for her whereabouts.

Pauline Walsh was last seen on Tuesday 6 August in the Hag’s Head area in Co Clare, and since then family and friends have been searching the coastline from Black Head to below Doonbeg, the group says.

According to the Irish Mirror, the 54-year-old from Tullamore in Co Offaly is described as five feet seven inches in height, of a medium build, with blue eyes and short blonde hair.

When last seen she was wearing a pink fleece, black tracksuit bottoms and black runners with pink writing and trim.

Anyone sailing or fishing in the relevant areas of Co Clare and Galway Bay who might have any information about Pauline Walsh’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Garda at Tullamore or any Garda station, or call the confidential line at 1800 666 111.

Published in Coastal Notes

Lifeboats from Clogherhead, Newcastle and Kilkeel were involved in the search for a woman missing in Carlingford Lough at the weekend, which came to a sad end yesterday afternoon (Monday 18 March) with the discovery of a body in the water off Greenore.

Newcastle RNLI was tasked to divert from a morning training exercise on the Co Down coast to join the major search operation which began on Sunday (17 March), concentrating on the entrance to Carlingford Lough and outlying islands.

During this search the all-weather lifeboat located a casualty in the water and, working with volunteer lifeboat crews from Clogherhead and Kilkeel RNLI, the casualty was taken ashore to Greenore Harbour by the Kilkeel lifeboat and placed in the care of An Garda Síochána.

The casualty was shortly after confirmed to be the remains of Ruth Maguire from Newcastle, who went missing during a hen party in Carlingford on Saturday night (16 March).

Speaking following the search, Newcastle RNLI coxswain Nathan Leneghan said: “On behalf of Newcastle RNLI I wish to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the woman who was recovered from the water this afternoon.

“The thoughts and prayers of the everyone involved in the search are with them at this sad time. I also wish to commend the volunteer crews for their commitment and professionalism.”

Kilkeel RNLI lifeboat operations manager John Fisher added: “This was not the outcome we or the family wanted and at this difficult time our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the casualty.

“At this time I would also like to thank the volunteer crew for their commitment and energy. We train for such an incident but always pray that it has a better outcome.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#Missing - A body was recovered yesterday evening (Monday 10 September) in the search for a missing man on Lower Lough Erne, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

A major search operation was launched in Sunday afternoon after an incident involving a personal watercraft in Muckross Bay.

One man was rescued after swimming to shore but a second had disappeared.

Searches continued into Monday, with the PSNI confirming the body of a man was recovered from the lough later in the day.

“It would appear that what had started out as an exciting afternoon on a jet ski unfortunately has now ended with a fatality,” said Ulster Unionist MLA Rosemary Barton.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Missing - The PSNI and emergency services launched a major search operation yesterday afternoon (Sunday 9 September) when a man was reported missing after an incident with a personal watercraft on Lower Lough Erne.

According to RTÉ News, one man was rescued after swimming to the shore following the incident in Muckross Bay around 5.30pm.

An RNLI spokesperson said the search for the second individual is ongoing, and involves the PSNI boat and the Irish Coast Guard’s Rescue 118 helicopter from Sligo as well as fire and mountain rescue services.

Elsewhere, The Irish Times reports that a 12-year-old boy was rescued after falling on rocks at Bullock Harbour in Dalkey yesterday afternoon. The child, with a suspected ankle injury, was airlifted to hospital by the Dublin-based coastguard helicopter.

Published in News Update

US emergency services have suspended the search for a Limerick man missing after going swimming at a New York beach earlier this week.

As Independent.ie reports, Neil Gibbons, 30, disappeared after he and friends got into difficulty in the water off Long Beach in the early hours of Monday (25 June).

It’s understood that the incident occurred close to where 10-year-old Ramell McRae Jr went missing while swimming last week.

The body of a young boy was recovered in the search for McRae on Monday.

The US Coast Guard announced on Tuesday (26 June) that it has suspended the search for Gibbons “pending any new information”.

Independent.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Galway - A body was found this morning (Friday 13 April) in the search for a swimmer missing off Salthill in Galway since yesterday.

The Irish Coast Guard’s Shannon-based helicopter Rescue 115 spotted the body on the seabed in shallow water offshore around 10.15am this morning as part of the ongoing search operation.

The body was recovered into Galway RNLI’s inshore lifeboat for transfer to Galway University Hospital. Pending formal identification, the search will be stood down. 

Search units involved included An Garda Síochána and Civil Defence teams, and volunteer divers provide by the Irish Underwater Council.

Published in Galway Harbour

#Missing - Emergency responders recovered a body a last night (Thursday 23 November) in the search for a missing fisherman off Galway.

The body was found on the shore in Oranmore Bay, some five nautical miles east of where a fishing boat was discovered adrift yesterday hours into the search.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the major air and sea operation was launched after a fisherman was reported missing on Wednesday night.

RTÉ News says the body found last night was brought to University Hospital Galway for a post-mortem examination and identification.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Missing - RTÉ News reports that a major air and sea rescue operation has been launched for a fisherman reported missing off Galway last night (Wednesday 22 November).

A fishing boat was found adrift with no occupant west of Blackrock in Salthill shortly after the search resumed at first light this morning.

RNLI lifeboats from Galway and the Aran Islands are involved in the search with the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter in the search, and they have since been joined by local fishing boats.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#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

#Missing - Emergency services are scouring the coastline around Scarborough in north-east England after a yacht with no crew ran aground near the town early this morning (Tuesday 16 May).

According to the Guardian, the yacht, named Don’t Panic and with two on board, left Scarborough around 5.30pm yesterday evening. A local fishing crew reported seeing the boat aground off the West Pier some 11 hours later.

Almost a year ago, the same vessel prompted a warning to fellow sailors over its lack of radio and safety equipment after its skipper telephoned for help over engine failure.

Published in News Update
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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

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