#LIFEBOATS - The volunteer lifeboat crew at Trearddur Bay in Anglesey, north Wales have received a kind donation and a thank-you card from the owner of Daisy, a cow recently rescued after falling from a cliff into the Irish Sea.

Danielle Bosustow, aged eight, was so touched that the crew had rescued her pet she put pen to paper to thank them. Her thank you card reads: "Thank you so much for your help rescuing my cow Daisy. I am so happy to see her again."

Along with the thank you card was a kind donation from Danielle’s grandfather, a local farmer who visited the station to show his gratitude to the RNLI.

The volunteer crew sprung into action on 22 October last, following reports that a cow had fallen from a cliff at Porthdafarch.

The lifeboat launched and with the help of the local farmer, Daisy was located and towed to safety using a bridle. She was taken to a bay close by where she could safely reach dry land.

Alf Pritchard, press officer for Trearddur Bay RNLI said: "We were shown some photographs which were taken after Daisy’s ordeal and it was good to see she is none the worse for her experience.

"It’s so nice when people come back to let you know that what you have done is appreciated. As a charity, the RNLI also very much appreciates the donation."

#LIFEBOATS - Volunteers with Douglas RNLI in the Isle of Man were presented with Diamond Jubilee medals from the Queen last week in recognition of their tireless service to saving lives in the Irish Sea.

And they couldn't have found a better place to present them than the Fort Anne, the former home of RNLI founder Sir William Hillary.

The medal recipients included lifeboat crew Neal Corran (Coxswain); Juan Howland (Emergency. Cox); Tony Radcliffe (Mechanic); Peter Cowin (Emergency Mechanic); Donald Bottomley Emergency Mechanic); Simon Bushe (Emergency Mechanic); Peter Washington (Emergency Mechanic); Emily Heaton; Richard Coase; J Noel Farrell; Mark Versluijs; Richard Forrest; Graeme Cushnie; and Nigel Smallwood; plus shore crew Mary Corran (LOM); Paul Cunningham (Head Launcher); Alex McBride (Winch Operator); Robert Corran MBE; John McCreadie; and Paul Zywicki.

#LIFEBOATS - Two teens were rescued from rocks off north Co Derry on Wednesday afternoon, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

The 13-year-old boys were stranded by the incoming tide in the East Promenade area of Portstewart.

PSNI officers called to the scene around 4.30pm managed to persuade one of the boys to cross to the shore, but the coastguard was tasked to lift the other boy from the rocks by the RNLI, according to UTV News.

Police inspector Mick Wood said that the incident "serves as a reminder to us that tides are extremely unpredictable".

#LIFEBOATS - Holyhead RNLI's all-weather lifeboat was dispatched late on Wednesday night (24 October) in response to a distress call from a yacht in the Irish Sea.

The volunteer crew received the request from Holyhead Coastguard after a mayday call from the skipper of a 24-yacht off the northwest coast of Anglesey in North Wales.

The man, who was the only person aboard the vessel, was on his way to the Canary Islands when he made the call for assistance. 

A helicopter from RAF Valley stood by the casualty until the lifeboat crew arrived to rescue him and tow his vessel back to Holyhead.


The yacht reportedly started to sink as it was towed into Holyhead harbour, but the lifeboat crew managed to secure the vessel alongside the boatyard slip.

#LIFEBOATS - The Larne Times reports that Larne RNLI will be involved in a major maritime exercise in Belfast Lough this Sunday 23 September.

As many as 365 people will take part in 'Exercise Diamond', which involves vessels from the UK coastguard along with lifeboats, helicopters, search and rescue co-ordinators and other emergency services.

The exercise is intended to "test the major incident plans for all the organisations that would be involved should a major maritime incident happen in Northern Ireland," said controller Steve Carson.

#COASTGUARD - Mayo's mountain rescue unit has reported its busiest ever period with an "unprecedented" 14 call-outs in just six weeks, according to The Irish Times.

Irish Coast Guard personnel assisted Mayo Mountain Rescue on four of the total, helping to winch people who had fallen while descending Croagh Patrick on the south side of Clew Bay.

The injury toll on the mountain - accounting for 10 of the 14 recovery efforts - has prompted Mayo County Council to seek planning permission for a helicopter landing pad higher up the 2,500-foot peak.

The news comes just after Enniskillen RNLI was names the busiest lifeboat station in the island of Ireland, with 23 launches between its two inshore lifeboats and two rescue water craft over the summer months.

#LIFEBOAT - The Galway Advertiser reports that the Galway RNLI lifeboat came to the rescue of a mother and child from a small dinghy near Kinvara in the south-eastern corner of Galway Bay yesterday.

High winds and an offshore breeze caused the dingy to drift onto Mulrooney Island between Kinvara and Parkmore Pier, stranding the Dublin woman and her four-year-old son, who are holidaying in the area.

The lifeboat crew were dispatched to the scene by the Irish Coast Guard after being notified by a canoeist in the area who assisted the family. Both were wearing lifejackets at the time of the incident, and were taken back to shore unharmed.

#LIFEBOATS - The crew of the Sligo Bay RNLI lifeboat rescued two people from a 31ft Norwegian flagged yacht at the weekend.

The volunteer lifeboat crew was tasked by Malin Head coastguard shortly after 3.30pm on Saturday 18 August following a report that the vessel had got into difficulty.

Crew on board the inshore lifeboat Elsinore proceeded to the scene eight miles off Ballyconnell in Co Sligo. Weather conditions were good at the time with strong tides.

A man and a woman onboard the yacht had been on passage from the Labrador Coast in Canada on the final stretch of a voyage from their home in Oslo via the Caribbean and the east coast of America when they got into difficulty across the Atlantic.

Both of the yacht’s main sails were shredded in a gale and it subsequently suffered engine failure.

Arriving on scene, the lifeboat crew established a tow and took the vessel into Sligo Harbour, arriving after three hours. When the yacht was safely secured, the couple were brought into the Sligo Bay station where they were made comfortable.

Sligo Bay RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Willie Murphy said: "The couple were tired after being at sea for 21 days but were in good spirits. They were extremely grateful to the crew for their service and to all at the station for their assistance after."

This is the second time this summer that Sligo RNLI has had connections with Norwegian sailors. 

In June, a 30-strong Norwegian shanty choir attended Rosses Points RNLI Shanty Festival to sing a song they had specially composed to commemorate the saving of a Norwegian crew off a shipwrecked sailing barque in the late 1800s on Coney Island in Sligo Bay.

#RESCUE - The Irish Times reports on the rescue of a swimmer in distress off the Donegal coast thanks to the help of a woman with binoculars.

And the RNLI has paid tribute to the Malin Head coastguard unit for its knowledge of the area which was instrumental to the postive turn-out.

The man had been swimming off Five Fingers strand in Inishowen on Friday afternoon when he was washed out more than one-and-a-half miles into the sea.

The Malin Head unit of the Irish Coast Guard immediately co-ordinated the rescue effort, which saw both the Sligo coastguard helicopter and Lough Swilly RNLI lifeboat dispatched to the scene.

In an echo of June's 'miracle rescue' of a man in Cork Harbour after he was spotted by telescope, rescuers were assisted by a woman with an elevated view on the shore who spotted the swimmer and guided them to his location.

The man was quickly airlifted to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for treatment. He was said to be very traumatised after the incident.

“The outcome could have been different but for the local knowledge these guys have,” said Lough Swilly lifeboat spokesman Joe Joyce.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the coastguard radio stations at Malin Head and Valentia are both under threat of closure following a 'value for money' review of the State's marine rescue services.

#lifeboat – Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched tonight to assist 4 people whose cruiser was grounded and who abandoned their vessel to a small tender.

On Friday evening August 3 at 17.25hrs, Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat was requested to launch to assist four persons who abandoned their vessel to a small tender, after the cruiser grounded in Carrigahorig Bay, near Terrglass at the northern end of Lough Derg.

The lifeboat with Helm Peter Clarke, Ger Egan and Ben Ronayne on board, were already afloat assisting with the ongoing search in Garrykennedy.  The lifeboat made way immediately to assist.  It is reported that all four persons are safe and well.  The rescue is ongoing.