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Displaying items by tag: Sheep's Head

#Missing - It's been reported that the search for a Dutch national who went missing on the Sheep's Head Peninsula three weeks ago has come to an end.

According to TheJournal.ie, the Irish Coast Guard has concluded its search for Roland Deckers, 31, who disappeared with his friend Othman Rahmouni, when the pair went for a coastal walk on 8 February amid severe weather.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, a body discovered in an inlet of the peninsula two days after the men were reported missing was later identified as 33-year-old Rahmouni.

Search teams were hopeful that a break in the weather would help reveal the whereabouts of Decker, whose family own the holiday home where the friends were staying.

That came on Saturday last, allowing teams to climb down the blowhole to search the sea cave on the peninsula, but nothing was found.

TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
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#Search - The Irish Times reports that the body recovered off Sheep's Head in West Cork earlier this week has been identified as 33-year-old Othman Rahmouni, as the search was expected to resume this morning for his friend Roland Deckers (31).

The two men, who were friends from Amsterdam, went missing almost a week ago on Saturday 8 February from the Deckers family's holiday home on the peninsula as Force 11 winds and heavy waves swept in from the Atlantic.

Emergency teams on Monday discovered a body in an inlet of the peninsula, but search efforts for the second man were hampered during the week by persistent storm conditions.

Today's break in the weather will allow for a further sweep of the northern coastline, helped by a low tide expected before noon.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update

#Search - The Irish Examiner reports that a postmortem was due yesterday on the as-yet unidentified body recovered off Sheep's Head in Co Cork in the search for two men missing since the weekend.

Meanwhile an extreme weather warning for Cork and Kerry is hampering the search effort for the second of the pair, one of whom has been named as 31-year-old Dutch national Roland Deckers, whose family owns a holiday home in the area.

The other has been named by RTÉ News as 33-year-old Othman Rahmouni, a resident near Amsterdam.

Weather conditions yesterday were judged not suitable for diving, ruling out a search below the rising waves on the West Cork peninsula, and the operation has been stood down till conditions improve.

"We'd hope to get a window in the next few days, but it's not looking great weather-wise," said Valentia coastguard spokesperson John Draper.

Published in News Update

#Search - BreakingNews.ie reports that a body has been found in the search for two men missing on Sheep's Head in West Cork.

The remains have not yet been identified, but are believed to be one of two visitors - a Dutch national whose family have a home near Kilcrohane, and his German national friend - who went missing on Saturday 8 February after informing family back home they were going for a walk to a nearby lighthouse.

Weather conditions on the day deteriorated quickly as Met Eireann issued one of an extended series of warnings for coastal areas.

The search continues for the second missing man, with operations co-ordinated by Naval Service vessel LE Emer, according to RTÉ News.

Published in News Update

Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

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