#RNLI - Kilkeel RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crew responded early yesterday morning (29 June) to a 40ft two-masted glass fibre yacht reported to be burning out of control.

The owner of the yacht, anchored south south-east of Rostrevor Pier on Carlingford Lough, had been contacted and it was confirmed there were two gas cylinders aboard the yacht.

The Kilkeel lifeboat Frank William Walton was launched at 2.20am and quickly reached the stricken yacht, which very quickly was ablaze from bow to stern. There was a slight sea and good visibility with light and variable northerly winds.

One of the propane gas cylinders had already exploded so the lifeboat, with four firefighters from Warrenpoint and a mobile firefighting pump aboard, stood off at a safe distance.

When the fire had somewhat subsided the lifeboat returned to the yacht and the flames were extinguished. The lifeboat left the firefighters and the pump ashore at Warrenpoint and returned safely to the boathouse in Kilkeel at 6.45am.

Lifeboat helm Gerry Smyth said: "It was vital that the lifeboat crew, the firefighters and the lifeboat were kept out of danger whilst there was the possibility of the gas cylinders exploding.

"The yacht was extensively damaged and still afloat when we left the scene but importantly no lives were lost."

#RNLI - The crew of the Arranmore RNLI lifeboat were called on Wednesday afternoon 25 June to assist a fisherman involved in an accident on board a 12-meter fishing boat some 12 miles northwest of Tory Island.

Malin Head also dispatched the Irish Coast Guard helicopter from Sligo to assist in the evacuation of the injured fisherman in his mid-40s.

Anton Kavanagh, coxswain of the Arranmore lifeboat, said the transfer of the casualty went smoothly as the weather was good and the lifeboat had no problems manoeuvring alongside the fishing boat.

The casualty was transferred from his boat to the care of the lifeboat crew and taken to Burtonport, where he was transferred to Letterkenny Hospital by ambulance.

This is the fourth time in five days that the Arranmore lifeboat has been called out to render assistance. Two of the calls were medical evacuations from Arranmore who were transferred to Letterkenny Hospital by ambulance.

At the weekend, the lifeboat was called to search for a missing swimmer off Portnoo. Fortunately the swimmer was located by coastguard helicopter and the lifeboat returned to Arranmore.

Elsewhere, Rosslare Harbour's lifeboat and its volunteer crew launched at 7.30pm yesterday evening (26 June) to a reported sighting of two people stranded on a rock surrounded by water.

The alarm was raised by a concerned member of the public. Arriving at the scene within 15 minutes of launch, the lifeboat's daughter craft was deployed and it was soon clear that the two people were fishermen in no immediate danger.

Rosslare Harbour RNLI lifeboat press officer Jamie Ryan said: "The person who raised the alarm did the right thing. It is always better to call out the lifeboat and let them check on a person or situation of concern then to ignore it and risk a serious incident. 

"The lifeboat crew are volunteers and never mind being called out to check on a situation."

#rnli – The RNLI Annual Presentation of Awards took place on Saturday (21 June) in the Ballroom of Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park. It was a special occasion as it also marked the 190th anniversary of the charity that saves lives at sea and on inland waters. The awards recognise fundraising and operational volunteers from across Ireland for their role in raising funds and awareness for the RNLI and in doing so supporting the volunteer lifeboat crews in their work.

Guest of honour for the occasion was RNLI Chairman Charles Hunter-Pease, who handed out awards to sixty-one volunteers. Other attendees included the British Ambassador to Ireland Dominick Chilcott CMG, Commodore Hugh Tully, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, Breda Collins, Chairperson of Irish Water Safety and Yvonne Shields, Chief Executive of the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

This year the highest award the charity can bestow on a volunteer, an Honorary Lifeboat Governorship, was given to Buddy Valkenburg who was instrumental in the establishment of the Ballyglass lifeboat station in Mayo.

Awardees were present from all over Ireland representing lifeboat stations and branches in Dublin, Donegal, Sligo, Wicklow, Cork, Louth, Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Kerry, Galway, Clare, Mayo and Kildare. The awards presented included the Honorary Lifeboat Governorship, 5 Gold Badges, 8 Silver Badges, 9 Inscribed Statuettes, 2 Inscribed Binoculars, 20 Bronze Badges, 7 Supporter Awards and 9 Certificates of Thanks.

During his speech RNLI Chairman Charles Hunter-Pease spoke of the awardees that were to be honoured during the ceremony, He said, 'It all starts with the people who give their time, their donations and their expertise. Over the decades, as we have expanded our service and developed new craft and facilities; our volunteers, fundraisers and supporters have become more important than ever. Without them there is no lifeboat station, no lifeguard unit, no flood rescue team, and no coastal safety work preventing tragedies.'

The Gold Badges were received by Pat Lavelle in Galway, Dr. Damien Jennings in Howth, Valerie Good in Kinsale, Charley McCarthy in North Louth and Tom Purcell in Waterford. A Bar to Gold Badge and Gold Badge had been previously presented to Rupert Jeffares, Howth RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager and Audrey Irwin from the Donegal RNLI branch at the RNLI annual awards in London earlier in the month.

#RNLI - The RNLI brought two of its all-weather lifeboats into Belfast on Wednesday 17 June for the charity’s 190th anniversary of saving lives at sea.

To mark the milestone, the RNLI hosted an awareness day in the Titanic Quarter with a full display of their life saving equipment including the Severn and Trent class all-weather lifeboats, RNLI beach lifeguards and their vehicles and the Flood Rescue kit.

The lifeboats were crewed by volunteer lifeboat crew members from Northern Ireland lifeboat stations.

First Minister Peter Robinson visited the event to meet with the RNLI lifeguards and volunteer lifeboat crew, view the lifesaving equipment and learn about the work of the charity in Northern Ireland.

The First Minister also boarded the Severn class lifeboat for a short trip around Belfast Harbour.

"We wanted to bring a little bit of the RNLI to Belfast city," said RNLI divisional operations manager Gareth Morrison. "There is huge awareness of the work of the charity out on coast and at the inland stations where we are present but we wanted to bring our volunteers and equipment into the city for people to see.

"With the awards taking place in the Titanic centre it was a fitting way to mark 190 years saving lives."

The day culminated with the RNLI Annual Presentation of Awards for Northern Ireland fundraising and operational volunteers, which this year was held at Titanic Belfast.

RNLI volunteers and supporters from across Northern Ireland were recognised for their dedication and commitment to raising funds and awareness for the lifesaving charity and for playing a pivotal role in ensuring lifeboat crews and lifeguards can continue to save lives at sea.

Guest of honour and presenting the awards was RNLI chairman Charles Hunter-Pease, who was attending his first awards ceremony in Northern Ireland since taking up his role with the charity last year.

The awards included five gold badges, three silver badges, six bronze badges, 14 inscribed statuettes, six regional supporter awards and six certificates of thanks.

Among the gold badge recipients was Rita Jarvis from the Bangor branch, who was described as an outstanding volunteer who had worked tirelessly for over 20 years for Bangor RNLI.

Hubert Annett from Kilkeel was acknowledged as one of the station's characters, who had performed various roles including that of deputy launching authority over the last 20 years.

Guests heard how Kay Magee joined Maghera RNLI over 30 years ago and remained a driving force at the inland branch throughout.

Gavin Weatherall from Newtownabbey RNLI was acknowledged for his devotion to fundraising for over 25 years with roles including that of treasurer and more recently secretary of the branch.

Patricia Ritchie, the fifth of the gold badge awardees, was described as a highly devoted secretary at Portadown where she has worked tirelessly for more than 23 years.

Two gold badge recipients collected their awards at the RNLI’s annual presentation of awards in London last month. These included Lennie Lawson, deputy launching uthority at Portaferry RNLI and Patricia Crossley, chairman of the Ballymoney fundraising branch. Merwyn Hanna MBE from Kilkeel Fundraising Branch was made an Honorory Life Governor.

Praising the awardees, Hunter-Pease said: "It all starts with the people who give their time, their donation and their expertise.

"Over the decades, as we have expanded our service and developed new craft and facilities; our volunteers, fundraisers and supporters have become more important than ever.

"Without them there is no lifeboat station, no lifeguard unit, no flood rescue team, and no coastal safety work preventing tragedies."

#RNLI - Wexford RNLI came to the rescue of a woman who sustained a leg injury off the Point of Park yesterday (Friday 20 June).

The lifeboat launched at 11.44am and was on scene at 11.47am. Volunteer lifeboat crew member Matt Crispin, who is also an advanced paramedic, administered first aid on the lifeboat.

The woman was then brought to Wexford lifeboat station before being transferred to a HSE ambulance and taken to Wexford General Hospital.

1. RNLI helm David Maguire commented on the skills of the volunteer lifeboat crew: "With an advanced paramedic and three advanced first aid crew on board, the woman was in safe hands."

Crew on the call-out included helm David Maguire, Matt Crispin, Frank O'Brien and Martin Conway.

Elsewhere, it was a busy Thursday evening for Lough Ree RNLI on 19 June when they received three lifeboat callouts in succession.

The first call for help was made at 4.25pm by a sailing boat standing by a cruiser on the rocks on the Long Shoal. The Lough Ree lifeboat was launched at 4.33pm and was on scene 10 minutes later.

The casualty was a 38ft cruiser with two adults and three children on board. The cruiser was refloated and checked over. There was no damage and she continued on passage with two other craft in convoy.

The volunteer crew had just finished preparing the Dorothy Mary for continued service when another call-out was received at 5.20pm by the Irish Coast Guard for a cruiser aground in Blackbrink Bay.

The lifeboat was launched at 5.23pm and was on scene at 5.39pm. This time the casualty was a 32ft cruiser with five adults on board. She was refloated and examined and was able to continue her journey.

A third and final callout was received at 7.25pm, and concerned a speedboat with two adults and three children on board that had broken down while crossing the lake from Hodson Bay.

The lifeboat was launched at 7.30pm and was on scene 15 minutes later. One adult and the three children were taken on board the Dorothy Mary, which then towed the casualty, and the remaining adult, back to Hodson Bay, departing the scene at 8.21pm.

After dropping the speedboat and her party, the lifeboat crew carried out a training exercise that had been planned for that evening, arriving back at the station at 9.20pm.

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI launched on Monday afternoon 16 June to a swimmer in difficulty off nearby Red Island.

The volunteer crew launched their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Louis Simson shortly after 4.30pm.

The lifeboat, helmed by Joe May with crew members Eoin Grimes and Stephen Denny on board, made their way directly to the springboards bathing area, from where Dublin Coast Guard had received reports of a swimmer in difficulty.

Arriving on scene, the lifeboat carried out an immediate search of the area. It was quickly discovered that a member of the public, with the aid of a life ring, had managed to assist the swimmer back to shore.

The man was taken on board the lifeboat where first aid was administered. He was then brought back to the station where he was handed over to paramedics.

Weather conditions at the time were calm with a Force 1 southerly wind.

Speaking after the call-out, Joe May, May said of the casualty: "He was a very lucky young man that the life ring was in working order and that someone acted quickly.

"We would advise people to swim close to shore and remember that there can be very strong tidal currents around our coast."

In other lifeboat news, volunteer crew and fundraisers turned out in force at Kinsale RNLI on Sunday 15 June to welcome the annual visit by Sally Anne Odell.

Affectionately known as 'the godmother' to Kinsale RNLI, Odell was accompanied by a group of family and friends and arrived on a cruise ship in Cobh early on Sunday 15 June, where she was met by Kinsale lifeboat operations manager John O’Gorman and other volunteer crew members.

Odell and her guests were brought to the lifeboat station where they spent several hours chatting with crew members and inspecting the lifeboat Miss Sally Anne Baggy before returning to Cobh to rejoin the cruise.

O’Gorman said: "It is always a privilege and a pleasure to welcome Sally Anne home to Kinsale. We can never thank her enough for her generosity in providing Kinsale with its own lifeboat and our magnificent station. 

"It is thanks to people like Sally Anne that the RNLI is able to maintain its role as the charity that saves lives at sea.  She keeps in touch with us between visits is very well informed about what we do here. That’s why she is affectionately known as 'the godmother'."

#rnil – As Afloat.ie reported earlier Crosshaven Lifeboat were paged at 6.08pm (14 June) to a Dive Boat near Roches Point with an unresponsive diver on Board. The lifeboat met with the Dive Boat off Fort Camden and transferred volunteer Ian Venner, who immediately took over first Aid. The lifeboat was met ashore by Dr John Murphy and Crosshaven Coast Guard. First Aid continued until the patient was handed over to the ambulance service. Helicopter Rescue 117 from Waterford was also tasked.

Sadly, the diver later died in Cork University Hospital. Our Sympathies go to his Family and Friends.

#RNLI - The Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat launched yesterday (Tuesday 10 June) to assist a yacht that fouled its propeller on a mooring on the northern side of Cheekpoint in the Waterford Estuary.

At lunchtime the Irish Coast Guard's Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Dublin requested Dunmore East RNLI to launch to assist the French couple on board the yacht.

Shortly after launch, the Trent class lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald arrived on scene and transferred one of its volunteer lifeboat crew on board the casualty vessel, where he managed to free the yacht from the mooring.

As the propeller was still fouled, and with the vessel in close proximity to a busy shipping lane and a strong run of tide, it was decided to take the yacht under tow.

Shortly before 5pm the yacht was brought into the safety of Dunmore East Harbour.

Dunmore East RNLI coxswain Paulie Daniels said after the callout: “The couple were lucky that although they were just inside a busy shipping channel, the weather conditions at the time were good and they were wearing lifejackets."

#RNLI - Volunteers from Arklow RNLI in Co Wicklow are to feature in RTÉ's Irish language programme Abhainn.

The TV series features the rivers of Ireland, and this episode (to be broadcast in September) looks at the Avoca River from its source high up in Wicklow Mountains to the river mouth at Arklow.

An RTÉ film crew spent the afternoon and evening of Thursday 5 June filming at what is the oldest of the RNLI's lifeboat stations in Ireland.

During the day the film crew had the opportunity to experience firsthand and get a glimpse of the level of training required by the highly skilled and efficient RNLI volunteers in their lifesaving work, which can often be difficult and sometimes dangerous.

New station operations manager John Tyrrell said: "Filming with RTÉ was a great opportunity to showcase the commitment of volunteers not only in Arklow but in the many other coastal and inland water communities across Ireland."

He added that the RNLI wouldn’t exist without fundraising. The charity is totally reliant on the generosity of the public and indebted to the work of fundraisers at station branches as well as those raising money inland.

"It is because of the willingness and selfless nature of our volunteers, who will readily swap leisure, comfort and sleep for cold, wet and fatigue, that the charity can provide an on-call, 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service here," said Tyrrell.

#RNLI - Friends of Andrew Bridge, the 21-year-old skipper of the lost yacht Cheeki Rafiki, are setting sail in his memory to raise money for the RNLI.

And donations to their fundraising page for the lifeboat charity have reached £20,000 in their first 24 hours of fundraising.

Nicky Evans, Roger Swift and Kate Dawes were due to take part in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race this August on the Cheeki Rafiki with Andrew.

Sadly, the loss of the Cheeki Rafiki in May means that this will no longer happen, but Andrew’s friends are determined to carry on as a tribute to him and the other men who were lost, Paul Goslin, Steve Warren and James Male.

Evans, a sign language interpreter from London, was the person who set up a petition calling on the US Coast Guard to resume the search for the Cheeki Rafiki crew.

The petition was signed by 243,095 people, helping galvanise public support for the missing men.

Evans, Swift and Dawes had sailed with Andrew many times, including taking part in the famous Fastnet Race last year on the Cheeki Rafiki.

Swift, a retired police officer from Kent, said today: “We wanted to do the Round Britain and Ireland Race in memory of Andy who should have been with us.

“It will be a bittersweet occasion for us. Even just getting together to train for the first time next weekend will be bittersweet.

"Cheeki Rafiki should have been back in her home port of Southampton and we should have been out training on her with Andy. I think it will be particularly hard for Nicky as when we last sailed with Andy she was very ill and he really looked after her.

“We are just overwhelmed, humbled really, by how much people have donated already. It’s something we will really be thinking about when we set off. We are looking forward to doing this for Andy and hopefully raising even more.”

Swift added: “The RNLI is the most obvious charity under the circumstances; we are all passionate believers in the RNLI tradition of lifesaving.

“I remember from the Fastnet Race, that when you are out on a boat in the middle of the night and the weather’s bad, it’s a very comforting thought knowing that the RNLI are not that far away should you need help.

“When we are taking part in the Round Britain and Ireland Race, and we’re out on the West Coast of Ireland or up round the Shetlands, we will know the RNLI is out there too.”

Along with the fundraising started by Andrew Bridge’s sailing friends, an RNLI tribute fund has been set up by the families of the Cheeki Rafiki crew.

They want to raise money to promote the work of the RNLI and to fund personal locator beacons for RNLI crew. This tribute fund will remain online indefinitely, as a memorial for the men.

Other fundraising challenges have also been started to collect funds for it. Among them, Adele Miller, partner of James Male, will be abseiling the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

Cressida Goslin, wife of Paul Goslin, said: “I’m grateful to all those ensuring that Paul, James, Steve and Andy are not forgotten. We’ve set up our own Forever by the Sea fund to raise money for the RNLI in memory of our loved ones.

"Others, like Nicky Evans and her Round Britain and Ireland crew, are also raising money for the RNLI in their memory.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with people’s responses to the loss of the Cheeki Rafiki, both during the search and now with people donating so generously. It means a great deal to us and we’d like to say thank you to everyone for their efforts.”