Displaying items by tag: Wexford
Search Resumes For Lobsterman Missing Off Wexford Coast
#RNLI - The search for a lobster fisherman missing off the Wexford coast was set to resume this morning after it was suspended at sunset last night.
RNLI lifeboats from Kilmore Quay, Rosslare and Fethard launched yesterday afternoon (Monday 25 November) to search for the fisherman after his boat was found empty at Shoal Rock, at the bottom of Great Saltee Island off Wexford.
The alarm was raised at 12.50pm after another fisherman in the area noticed that the boat had been stationary in the water for some time.
Kilmore Quay RNLI co-ordinated the sea search, and along with lifeboats from Rosslare and Fethard they were joined by up to 25 local boats in the search for the missing man.
The search was also joined by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter and divers from the Naval Service, who were taken to the scene onboard the Rosslare lifeboat.
Weather conditions yesterday were described as good and visibility was excellent.
Fishing Dispute Grounds Wexford Trawler Crews
#Fishing - The crews of 15 fishing vessels in Wexford operated by the O'Flaherty brothers have been temporarily laid off in a dispute over regulations, as RTÉ News reports.
It's emerged that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority last week issued orders for all 15 boats in the O'Flaherty fishing fleet to cease operations immediately, days after two boats were recently questioned over alleged infractions of fishing regulations.
The Department of Agriculture and the Marine has not commented on the reasons for issuing cessation orders to the O'Flahertys.
Seamus O'Flaherty - one of four brothers who operate the Kilmore Quay-based fleet - was in the news this time last year when he gave away free monkfish to the public on the quayside after exceeding the EU quota with his catch.
Jimmy Byrne, skipper of the O'Flaherty-owned Saltees Quest, defended the display as a protest against the EU mandate to discard all over-quota fish at sea - a practice that is hoped will come to an end with the new Common Fisheries Policy.
Wexford, Wicklow and Courtown Lifeboats Have A Busy Few Days
#RNLI - Wexford RNLI rescued two people late on Monday night (26 August) after their yacht went aground on a sandbank on the way into Wexford Harbour.
The volunteer lifeboat crew responded to the report of the yacht which had grounded near Ravens Point around midnight on Monday. Weather conditions at the time were good with a calm sea state and a north westerly force three wind.
But a fast-flowing tide of four knots meant that the inshore lifeboat and crew of the yacht had to work hard to refloat that boat.
Wexford RNLI lifeboat helm Peter Scallan commended the action of the yacht's crew, who he said were experienced sailors.
"The yacht's crew had taken all the correct precautions with the appropriate equipment on board to ensure their safety. They co-operated greatly with the lifeboat crew and as a result both they and their yacht were rescued."
Lifeboat crew member Alan Keville went onboard the vessel to assist in the manoeuvre to get the yacht off the sandbank, which involved using the mast to get the vessel on its side as the keel was stuck hard in the sandbank. The yacht was under tow at 1.14am and back in Wexford at 2.30am.
Elsewhere, the Courtown lifeboat launched on Sunday afternoon (25 August) to a report of a swimmer missing off Ardamine beach.
The lifeboat crew, who were in the harbour at the time, launched within minutes and commenced a search of the area. Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 was also tasked to the scene, along with the Courtown coastguard unit.
After a thorough search of the area between Glasscarrig and Courtown pier, all rescue services were stood down as nothing was found. Courtown RNLI thanked all the members of public who helped and provided information during the call out.
The day before, the Wicklow RNLI inshore and all-weather lifeboats were launched after a member of the public reported seeing a small craft with two people drifting off Brittas Bay beach.
While the lifeboats were on route to Brittas Bay, they were requested to stand down and return to station by the coastguard as the boaters managed to make their own way ashore.
Speaking after the call-out, Wicklow RNLI lifeboat operations manager Des Davitt said: "While this turned out to be a false alarm with good intent, we are delighted that the public are being vigilant and contact the coastguard immediately when they suspect someone is in trouble on the water."
Busy Thursday For Wicklow & Wexford Lifeboats
#RNLI - It was a busy afternoon for RNLI lifeboats on the east coast on Thursday 8 August with separate call-outs in Wicklow and Wexford.
Wicklow RNLI's all weather lifeboat Annie Blaker was launched at 3.15pm to answer a call for assistance from a lone yachtsman experiencing mechanical difficulties off Wicklow Head.
As the crew assembled at the station, another call for assistance was received from a boat with four people in the same area.
The lifeboat launched immediately and located the small boat with four on board near Brides Head a short time later, but the occupants were in no immediate danger, so no further assistance was required as the boat was able to return safely to more sheltered waters under its own power.
The lifeboat then proceeded to the stricken yacht, located about two miles east of Wicklow Head shortly after 3.30pm. Weather conditions in the area at the time were described Force 4 with a south west wind.
The boat with the lone sailor was escorted back to Wicklow by the lifeboat. One of the lifeboat crew was transferred onto the yacht outside the harbour to assist with mooring the boat alongside the east pier.
Meanwhile in Co Wexford, the volunteer lifeboat crew at Rosslare Harbour RNLI launched their all weather lifeboat at 11am to assist an 11-metre fishing boat in difficulty.
The Arklow boat became entangled in fishing gear while north of Raven Point on the Wexford coast and lost all power. The fishing boat contacted the coastguard and the Rosslare Harbour RNLI lifeboat was launched and quickly on scene.
The weather conditions were described as good with a southerly Force 3 wind.
The lifeboat crew took the fishing vessel under tow as far as Cahore Point where the Arklow RNLI all-weather lifeboat took over the tow and brought them on to Arklow.
Speaking after the call-out, Rosslare RNLI volunteer deputy press officer Jamie Ryan said: “The emergency services reacted swiftly and help was on scene quickly. The three fishermen took the correct action in contacting the coastguard."
Kilmore Quay & Wicklow RNLI In Separate East Coast Assists
#RNLI - Kilmore Quay RNLI has assisted a fisherman after his boat got into difficulty off the Wexford coast, while Wicklow RNLI attended to a fishing boat in trouble south of Wicklow Harbour.
The Kilmore Quay all-weather lifeboat was requested to launch at 9.04am on Monday morning (29 July) to go to the assistance of a local lobster boat with one person on board,
The fishing boat had fouled its propeller while hauling pots a mile to the south-east of the Little Saltee Island.
Weather conditions at the time were blowing a light southerly breeze and there was good visibility.
When the lifeboat arrived on scene, a tow was set up and the vessel was brought safely to the harbour at Kilmore Quay.
Shortly afterwards, Wicklow RNLI launched at 9.30am in response to a call for assistance from a fishing vessel in difficulties six miles south of Wicklow Harbour.
The vessel with three crew was fishing north of Brittas Bay beach when a rope got fouled in the propeller and she lost steering. The skipper contacted the coastguard for assistance.
Wicklow town's lifeboat, under the command of coxswain Nick Keogh, located the vessel drifting close to the Wolf Rock 20 minutes after launching.
A towline was quickly established and the stricken vessel was towed back to Wicklow Harbour, where she was secured safely alongside the East Pier at 10.40am.
The crew on the call out were coxswain Nick Keogh, mechanic Brendan Copeland, Tommy McAulay, Kevin Rahill, Carol Flahive, Paul Sillery and Graham Fitzgerald.
#RNLI - The volunteer lifeboat crew of the Courtown lifeboat launched last Wednesday evening (24 July) to a report of a small fishing boat that was overdue on its time to return to Cahore Pier.
The Courtown RNLI lifeboat, Cahore Inshore Rescue, the Rosslare RNLI lifeboat and the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 were all tasked at 7pm to search the area of Cahore on the north Wexford coast, where the boat was last reported fishing.
After searching for some time, the small fishing boat made contact to say they had beached their boat some eight miles north of Cahore Pier at Kilgorman Beach. Both men were safe and well and all rescue services were stood down.
The Courtown lifeboat has since urged all boat users carry a proper means of communication - ideally a VHF radio - and to keep friends and family up to date on their location, especially if they decide to change their location.
That same evening, Rosslare Harbour RNLI was involved in a search for two fishermen after they reported getting into difficulty off the Wexford coast.
The volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 7.30pm to assist in the search following a request from the coastguard to attend a fishing boat that was reported to be taking on water.
Weather conditions at the time were described as good, with a southerly force three wind.
The fishing boat had set out from Cahore Harbour before getting into trouble. The two crew raised the alarm using a mobile telephone.
Rosslare Harbour RNLI and lifeboats from Courtown RNLI and Cahore, along with the Rescue 117 helicopter, joined in the search.
At 7.50pm, Rescue 117 located the two fishermen safe and well and their vessel on the beach at Glasgorman, near Cahore.
Speaking after the call-out, Rosslare Harbour RNLI deputy volunteer lifeboat press officer Jamie Ryan said: "The emergency services responded swiftly and were on scene quickly.
"The two fishermen did the right thing by raising the alarm when they got into difficulty and thankfully they were both found safely ashore."
Rosslare RNLI Praises Emergency Caller Despite False Alarm
#WaterSafety - Rosslare RNLI has given credit to the quick-thinking member of the public who raised the alarm over what they believed to be a swimmer in difficulty - even though the call-out turned out to be a false alarm.
Lifeboats from Rosslare Harbour and Wexford RNLI were involved in the sea search on Friday evening (19 July) after a swimmer was reported to be in difficulty off Curracloe beach in Co Wexford.
The Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 and two local fishing vessels were also involved in the search, which was stood down after an hour and 45 minutes upon coastguard request as no one was reported missing.
Speaking after the call-out, Rosslare RNLI deputy launching authority Dave Maloney said: "The member of the public who raised the alarm this evening deserves credit for doing so."
He added: "We would always encourage the public to alert the emergency services if they see anyone they believe to be in trouble or any signs of danger."
The message is particularly important in a fortnight that has seen a shocking 10 drownings around the island of Ireland - resulting in a big rise in emergency call-outs over the 2012 mid-summer period.
Elsewhere on the same day, the Ballycotton RNLI lifeboat was requested to help search the water off Ballinamona Strand in Ballycotton Bay, Co Cork, for a missing five-year-old girl.
The little girl was playing on the strand when her family lost sight of her. Emergency services were alerted and a search of the area commenced, but thankfully a short while later the little girl was located safe and well.
In other water safety news, the Irish Coast Guard has issued a public appeal for help locating a training mannequin that was lost in Galway Bay during an exercise off Blackhead in North Clare last week.
The Connacht Tribune reports that five coastguard mannequins were placed in the water to acts as people who jumped overboard from a ship fire - but only four were recovered afterwards.
Wexford Gets On The Surfing Map With First Surf School
#Surfing - Wexford now has its first ever dedicated surf school - thanks to two enterprising brothers.
The Wexford People reports on The Surf Shack in Curracloe, established by Chad and Jack-Tim Murray in an effort to put the Sunny South East on the Irish surfing map.
"Everybody knows that there are good waves on the West Coast," says Jack-Tim, referring to popular surf spots like Lahinch, Mullaghmore and Bundoran, "but most people don't even know that surfing exists on Ireland's east coast, let alone in Wexford."
The brothers aim to entice beginners to the sport, highlighting the smaller surf and safe swimming at Curracloe beach as the perfect environment for novices to ride the waves.
The Wexford People has more on the story HERE.
Busy Times For RNLI At Courtmacsherry And Courtown
#RNLI - Courtmacsherry RNLI assisted two people after their yacht got into difficulty at the weekend.
The volunteer lifeboat crew was called out at 5.15pm on Saturday (13 July) to go to the aid of a yacht off Courtmacsherry Harbour in West Cork.
The all-weather lifeboat with a crew of six was underway within minutes and proceeded to the area where the casualty had developed mechanical failure. The lifeboat arrived on the scene in 10 minutes and proceeded to take the yacht with two people on board in tow.
Both the lifeboat and the stricken vessel were subsequently berthed at the pier in Courtmacsherry village.
This has been a busy week so far for Courtmacsherry RNLI with today's call-out being the fourth in five days.
The others were on Tuesday 9 July to an overdue jet ski in Clonakilty Bay, Thursday 11 July to the aid a windsurfer off Garrettstown, and Friday 12 July to a reported dingy off the Old Head of Kinsale which turned out to be a dead and upturned whale in the sea.
Elsewhere, Saturday was a busy evening for the Courtown lifeboat in Co Wexford.
- lifeboat was launched to a report of two vessels aground in a cove south of Courtown Harbour, quickly locating the vessels – a 15ft speedboat and a personal water craft (PWC) – just south of the harbour in the area known as Salt Rock.
There were two people with the vessels and the speedboat was grounded but swamped.
The lifeboat took both casualties, who were very cold, back to the harbour and then returned first to recover, bail out and tow the speedboat back, and then out to tow the PWC back into the harbour.
The lifeboat then returned to station and refuelled, ready for the Sea Sunday celebrations the following day.
#laser – Ryan Glynn in the Radials with straight firsts was the stand-out performance at last weekend's Laser Leinster Championships in Wexford Harbour Boat Club.
Conditions were 5-15 knots and shifty on Saturday then blowing stink Sunday, all in a fantastic warm, but unstable westerly breeze that reduced racing on Sunday to just one race.
Chris Penney and Mattie O'Dowd had a titanic struggle at the top of the Standard fleet and in the 4.7s, Conor O'Beirne of the Royal St. George YC came through in the last race with a nice confidence boost before he heads off this week to Hungary for the 4.7 European championships.
Results below from Wexford Harbour Boat Club
Laser Leinster Championship Std 2013
Entries: 17 Races Sailed: 4 Discard: 1
Series Place | Sail No | Type of Boat | Class | Helm | Club | Series Points | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 |
1 | 201566 | S | Chris Penney | East Antrim BC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
2 | 181999 | S | Mathew o'Dowd | Royal St. George YC | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
3 | 185104 | S | Conor Simms | Royal Ulster YC | 10 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | |
4 | 198554 | S | Conor Byrne | Royal St. George YC | 11 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
5 | 193562 | S | Oisin McClelland | Ballyholme YC | 19 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 1 | |
6 | 197364 | S | Sean Murphy | Kinsale YC | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 10 | |
7 | 178335 | S | M | Sean Craig | Royal St. George YC | 20 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 11 |
8 | 201365 | S | M | Stephen Penney | East Antrim BC | 20 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 6 |
9 | 155068 | S | M | Ross o'Leary | Royal St. George YC | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 14 |
10 | 191670 | S | M | Colin Galavan | Royal Irish YC | 24 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 7 |
11 | 185043 | S | Peter Cameron | East Antrim BC | 25 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 8 | |
12 | 198560 | S | Henry McLaughlin | Carlingford Lough YC | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
13 | 181674 | S | M | Troy Hopkins | Howth YC | 39 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13 |
14 | 173164 | S | M | Timmy Washington | Wexford Harb. B&TC | 40 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
15 | 178689 | S | M | Tommy Fallon | Wexford Harb. B&TC | 43 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 18 |
16 | 180237 | S | M | Paul Ebrill | Wexford Harb. B&TC | 47 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
17 | 137120 | S | Don Ryan | Wexford Harb. B&TC | 54 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Laser Leinster Championship Radial 2013
Entries: 32 Races Sailed: 4 Discard: 1
Series Place | Sail No | Type of Boat | Class | Helm | Club | Tally | Series Points | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 |
1 | 198552 | R | Y | Ryan Glynn | Ballyholme YC | 64 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
2 | 190758 | R | Y | Dougie Power | Waterford Harb. SC | 19 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 |
3 | 183948 | R | Y | Ross O'Sullivan | Kinsale YC | 76 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
4 | 203715 | R | Y | Tim Brow | Ballyholme YC | 72 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
5 | 181428 | R | Y | Ronan Jones | Wexford Harb. B&TC | 74 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 33 |
6 | 200637 | R | Y | Ruairi Finnegan | Waterford Harb. SC | 85 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 33 | 6 |
7 | 191247 | R | Y | Andrew Penney | East Antrim BC | 45 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 14 |
8 | 198780 | R | Y | Tadhg o'Loingsigh | Tralee Bay SC | 87 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 33 |
9 | 201603 | R | Y | Conor o'Farrell | Carlingford Lough YC | 63 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 4 |
10 | 190755 | R | John Flynn | Dungarvan Harb. SC | 12 | 27 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |
11 | 199054 | R | Y | Gary Fekkes | East Antrim BC | 93 | 27 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
12 | 187591 | R | Y | Kevin Harrington | Courtown SC | 99 | 28 | 18 | 17 | 6 | 5 |
13 | 197362 | R | YL | Erica Ruigrok | Rush SC | 75 | 29 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 18 |
14 | 198556 | R | Y | Mark Bolger | Royal St. George YC | 53 | 31 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 15 |
15 | 190759 | R | Y | Conor Murphy | Kinsale YC | 6 | 31 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 7 |
16 | 196533 | R | Y | Sam Wilkinson | Ballyholme YC | 91 | 32 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 8 |
17 | 175356 | R | Y | Patrick Cahill | Royal St. George YC | 55 | 43 | 16 | 22 | 16 | 11 |
18 | 190774 | R | YL | Aoife Hopkins | Howth YC | 54 | 46 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 13 |
19 | 192602 | R | YL | Suzanne Flannigan | Ballyholme YC | 78 | 52 | 33 | 18 | 18 | 16 |
20 | 192333 | R | Y | Daire Cournane | Kinsale YC | 8 | 55 | 25 | 16 | 20 | 19 |
21 | 201828 | R | Y | Luke Murphy | Royal St. George YC | 2 | 59 | 17 | 23 | 19 | 33 |
22 | 178328 | R | Y | Thomas McGrath | Royal Cork YC | 100 | 62 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 33 |
23 | 200745 | R | Y | Scott O'Sulivan | Kinsale YC | 52 | 65 | 24 | 20 | 33 | 21 |
24 | 191319 | R | YL | Sorcha Donnelly | Ballyholme YC | 47 | 65 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 20 |
25 | 201678 | R | L | Jessica Rutherford | Hollywood YC | 90 | 67 | 20 | 26 | 21 | 33 |
26 | 197894 | R | Y | Nathaniel Gillett | Royal St. George YC | 98 | 69 | 33 | 28 | 24 | 17 |
27 | 198526 | R | Y | Charlie Edgar | Donaghadee SC | 79 | 73 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 33 |
28 | 143122 | R | Y | Dermot Wildes | Courtown SC | 69 | 86 | 26 | 27 | 33 | 33 |
29 | 186795 | R | Y | Gregory Fay | Dungarvan Harb. SC | 43 | 86 | 28 | 31 | 27 | 33 |
30 | 167852 | R | Y | Conor Clery | Greystones SC | 71 | 86 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 33 |
31 | 196018 | R | Y | Colm Moloney | Courtown SC | 66 | 87 | 29 | 32 | 26 | 33 |
32 | 96255 | R | Y | Aaron Jones | Greystones SC | 73 | 87 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 33 |
Laser Leinster Championship 4.7 2013
Entries: 16 Races Sailed: 4 Discard: 1
Series Place | Sail No | Type of Boat | Class | Helm | Club | Tally | Series Points | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 |
1 | 183231 | 4 | Y | Conor O'Beirne | Royal St George YC | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
2 | 198435 | 4 | YL | Cliodhna o'Regan | Kinsale YC | 86 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
3 | 180938 | 4 | Y | Richard Thompson | Royal Cork YC | 70 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
4 | 179328 | 4 | Y | J.D. Elmes | Royal Cork YC | 14 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
5 | 203716 | 4 | Y | Ciaran Finnegan | Waterford Harb. SC | 88 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 3 |
6 | 201557 | 4 | YL | Jocelyn Hill | County Antrim YC | 84 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 8 |
7 | 190754 | 4 | Y | Conor Sherriff | Courtown SC | 94 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 17 |
8 | 19736 | 4 | Y | Richard Hogan | Howth YC | 38 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
9 | 189372 | 4 | Y | Billy Duane | Royal Cork YC | 59 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
10 | 172360 | 4 | YL | Eva Donworth | Royal Cork YC | 77 | 27 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 5 |
11 | 172172 | 4 | L | Rebekah Rutherford | Hollywood YC | 92 | 31 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 17 |
12 | 198783 | 4 | YL | Caoimhe Cotter | Wexford Harb. B&TC | 57 | 31 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 11 |
13 | 163142 | 4 | Y | Luke McGrath | Royal Cork YC | 61 | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 17 |
14 | 188461 | 4 | YL | Blathnaid o'Connell | Royal St George YC | 62 | 38 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
15 | 177879 | 4 | Y | Robert Wynne | Dungarvan Harb. SC | 83 | 43 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 9 |
16 | 190672 | 4 | YL | Kate MacAdorey | Carlingford Lough YC | 89 | 45 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 |