#RNLI - Carrybridge RNLI’s new B-Class Atlantic 85  lifeboat Douglas, Euan & Kay Richards launched on its first callout yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 27 December 2017) along with the station’s rescue water craft.

The volunteer lifeboat crew based on Upper Lough Erne were requested to launch at 2.31pm following a report from Belfast  Coastguard of two people in the water near the old boat house at Crom Estate after their Canadian canoes capsized.

Helmed by Thomas Graham with crew members David Reid and Kyle Boyd, the new lifeboat made its way to the scene along with the rescue water craft helmed by Chris Cathcart and crewed by Adrian Quigley.

Weather conditions at the time were overcast with Force 4-5 winds and fair visibility. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was also in attendance.

As the RNLI volunteers arrived on scene at Crom, a member of the public informed them that the man and woman who came off the canoes had managed to swim ashore with the assistance of two members of the public who had entered the water to assist them. The canoeists were suffering from signs of hypothermia and were being warmed in vehicles.

The RNLI crew secured their vessels and made their way to the casualties as members of the ambulance service arrived on scene. The two casualties were transferred to the ambulance with the assistance of the RNLI crew where they received casualty care treatment.

Speaking following the callout, Carrybridge RNLI helm Thomas Graham said: “The water is very cold at this time of year and the casualties had been in the lough for about five minutes after coming out of their canoes and making their way back to the shore. Thankfully they made it safety ashore and received treatment.

“We would recommend if going afloat in this time of year in any canoe, that lifejackets and drysuits are worn to help protect against the cold waters, and that people also carry a means of communication such as a VHF radio or mobile phone to raise the alert should they get into any difficulties.”

The Douglas, Euan & Kay Richards went on service early last month, replacing Duckhams 2001 which has been used to rescue people on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh since 2015.

#RNLI - A man who slipped into the water alongside Wexford Quay was rescued by Wexford RNLI after clinging to the quay wall for several hours.

The man, in his late 30s, was spotted by gardaí before 4am on Friday (22 December) and the lifeboat was quickly launched to their report.

Lifeboat volunteer crew member Frank O’Brien entered the water to lift the casualty into the lifeboat, as he was wedged between a trawler and the quay wall.

When on board, the crew administered casualty care and brought the man back to Wexford lifeboat station, where an ambulance then took him to hospital for further treatment.

The man was said to be “extremely grateful” to the gardaí and lifeboat crew, and said it felt like he had been in the water for several hours.

Wexford RNLI urges people to respect the water and be vigilant when walking near the water's edge. If you see someone in difficulty, ring 999/112 and ask for the coastguard.

#RNLI - The volunteer crew at Dun Laoghaire RNLI will hold their traditional Christmas Eve ceremony to remember the 15 volunteers that died on service in 1895 at noon this Sunday.

The crew will remember all those who lost their lives around the coast and inland, and this year will be paying a special tribute to their Irish Coast Guard colleagues, the crew of Rescue 116, who died tragically last March.

Taking place at the lighthouse end of Dun Laoghaire’s East Pier, the short ceremony will include music, an ecumenical blessing, a contemporary newspaper account of the 1895 tragedy and a piped lament.

Both the all-weather and inshore lifeboats stationed at Dun Laoghaire will launch and the crew will lay wreaths at sea close to the pier.

The ceremony is a long-standing Christmas Eve tradition that remembers the lives of the 15 volunteer crew that died when their lifeboat capsized in gale force winds while attempting to rescue those on board the SS Palme that had run aground off Blackrock, Co Dublin.

All lives lost around the Irish coast and on inland waterways in 2017 will be remembered during the ceremony.

#RNLI - Larne RNLI launched to the aid of two people on Monday morning (18 December) after their 33ft motorboat had engine difficulties en route from Carrickfergus to Greencastle.

The all-weather lifeboat Dr John McSparran was requested to assist the casualty vessel west of the Maidens and launched at 8.44am under coxswain Frank Healy and with five crew members.

Weather conditions at the time were described as dry with little swell.

Once on scene, volunteer crew member Michael Kane went aboard the casualty vessel and worked with the two sailors to establish a towline so that it could be brought into the shelter of Larne Harbour.

As the lifeboat was approaching the harbour, the inshore lifeboat Terry also launched to assist in bringing the vessel alongside Wymers Pier at East Antrim Boat Club.

Speaking following the callout, Healy said: “Both of the men onboard were fine and we were pleased to see they were both wearing their lifejackets.

“We would remind anyone using a motorboat to always have a means for calling for help, to always check the weather and tide times and to make sure someone ashore knows where you are going and who to call if you don’t return on time.”

#RNLI - Independent.ie reports that a fisherman with a hand injury was hospitalised after his rescue from a trawler off Salthill by Galway RNLI yesterday afternoon (Saturday 9 December).

The volunteer lifeboat crew launched within 10 minutes of the alarm being raised and soon met the fishing boat offshore, where they treated the wound before taking him to a waiting ambulance at Galway Docks.

#RNLI - Dunmore East RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat sustained damage overnight while moored alongside its pontoon in the Co Waterford harbour.

Impact by another vessel in the early hours of this morning (Friday 1 December) resulted in damage to both the pontoon and the Trent class lifeboat.

Details are unclear but a report on RTÉ News suggests that the lifeboat was damaged after a fishing boat manoeuvring in the harbour collided with the pontoon.

No lifeboat personnel were involved by the incident, which was not related to any RNLI activity and has been reported as a matter of course to the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.

While the lifeboat is off service for repairs, search and rescue cover will be provided by the closest RNLI stations, as well as the Irish Coast Guard crews based in Waterford. A relief lifeboat was scheduled to arrive this evening.

WLR FM's Twitter account has a short video clip of the damage sustained to the lifeboat in the harbour this morning:

WATCH: Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat damaged in harbour crash. #DunmoreEast #RNLI Read the full story here https://t.co/YbVY3sVZsv and listen to #WLRnews for more. pic.twitter.com/lKTMjrDxDo

— WLR (@wlrfm) December 1, 2017

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI assisted a 12-metre razor fishing vessel that developed steering problems near Loughshinny last night (Friday 17 November).

Shortly before 9pm, one of the volunteer crew raised the alarm after receiving a phone call from a fisherman on the razor boat, stating that it had fouled its rudder.

The Skerries RNLI volunteers launched their lifeboat with Conor Walsh at the helm and crew Joe May, Steven Johnson and JP Tanner.

The lifeboat located the casualty vessel, with one man on board, near Loughshinny Harbour and proceeded to tow the boat safely back into the harbour.

Weather conditions at the time was calm with a Force 1 to 2 westerly wind.

Speaking about the callout, Skerries RNLI lifeboat press officer Gerry Canning said: “It was a cold and dark night for our volunteers to be out, thankfully they were able to resolve the situation very quickly.

“This kind of thing can happen to anyone at any time, but the RNLI are always ready to respond to a call for help.”

#RNLI - Courtmacsherry RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was called out at 7pm on Saturday night (11 November) to go to the aid of an 80ft fishing boat that got into difficulties 15 miles south of the Seven Heads in West Cork.

The Trent class lifeboat, under coxswain Ken Cashman with a crew of five, launched immediately and proceeded at full speed to the distress area as the large trawler with four crew onboard sought assistance.

The stricken vessel was located by the lifeboat at 7.45pm and an immediate tow was put in place, proceeding at low speed back to the safe haven of Kinsale.

Weather conditions in the area at the time were misty with Force 3-4 winds and a strong swell.

Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat operations manager Brian O’Dwyer praised the crew for carrying out the rescue with great speed and professionalism.

He also thanked them and all station personnel for skipping Ireland’s important soccer battle in Copenhagen in order to help others in distress.

The crew of the lifeboat were coxswain Ken Cashman, mechanic Stuart Russell, Ciaran Hurley, Conor Dullea, Denis Murphy and Evin O’Sullivan.

Donaghadee RNLI has brought two fishermen to safety this morning after their 10m boat got into difficulty off the County Down coast.The volunteer lifeboat crew was alerted at 8.05am this morning (9 November), with Donaghadee RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Saxon being launched under Coxswain Philip McNamara, at 8.07am.

The lifeboat launched at the request of Belfast Coastguard to assist a 10m fishing vessel with two people onboard. It was reported that the vessel had an overheating engine resulting in the boat breaking down approximately one mile south of Donaghadee.

Once on scene at 8.24am, the lifeboat crew assessed that the two fishermen were safe and well before working with them to establish a tow line. The lifeboat then proceeded to return the fishing boat to Donaghadee Harbour.

Weather conditions at the time were described as blowing a north westerly Force 2-3 wind with slight to moderate seas.

The lifeboat safely returned the fishing vessel to Donaghadee Harbour at 8.50am.

Speaking following the call out, Philip McNamara, Donaghadee RNLI Coxswain said: ‘The skipper of the fishing vessel made a sensible decision in requesting assistance in good time this morning before there was any danger to life and we were happy to assist and be able to return both fishermen safely to harbour’

‘We would remind anyone planning a trip to sea to always respect the water. Always wear a lifejackets, always have a means for calling and signalling for help, always check weather and tide times and make sure someone ashore knows where you are going and who to call if you don’t return on time.’

#RNLI - Arranmore RNLI in Co Donegal was called out yesterday morning (Monday 6 November) at 11.45am to assist a 19ft fishing boat with two people onboard.

The small boat was approximately 400 metres from Arranmore Lifeboat Station when it developed engine failure.

On arrival at the stricken vessel, the lifeboat crew established a tow rope and towed the boat safely to anchor off Arranmore.

“This was probably one of the shortest calls we’ve had for several years,” said lifeboat coxswain Jimmy Early. “We were called out at 11.45am and we were back at anchor at 12.18pm.

“Whether it’s a long or short call out we are always ready to answer the call and we were delighted to help bring the boat and it’s crew to safety.”

In a separate incident on Friday (3 November), the lifeboat crew were attending a presentation in the Waterfront Hotel in Dungloe when they were alerted by a local man to a disturbance in the sea off Arranmore.

The man reported a white shape and a flock of sea birds in the sea and the lifeboat crew were asked to investigate.

On arrival, the crew discovered a dead whale which subsequently washed up at Béal a’ Chraois, a sheltered cove on the east of the island, where it remained as of yesterday.

The Waterfront Hotel had hosted a fundraising dinner dance in September in support of the Arranmore RNLI Lifeboat – raising €25,250 – and were in the process of presenting the crew with the cheque when they were interrupted by the callout.

Early added: “We would like to thank the Waterfront Hotel for their incredible generosity and congratulate them on their upgrade to four star status.

“This event goes to prove that we, the lifeboat crew are on call 24/7 and no matter what the occasion we are here to answer the call, that is our priority.”