Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Golden Shore

The safety equipment carried on fishing vessel 'Islander' proved its worth this evening after it was used to alert rescue services after the vessel capsized in rough weather.

At 4.40pm Belfast Coastguard were notified through MRCC Clyde that Falmouth Coastguard had received an EPIRB from the fishing vessel 'Islander' that was believed to be fishing in their area. Just afterwards Belfast Coastguard received reports of a flare and wreckage just of Ardglass, Northern Ireland.

Fishing vessel 'Golden Shore' went to investigate and found the Islander's two crew in a life raft. They were wet, shocked but unharmed.

Ian Murdock Belfast Coastguard Watch Manager said:
"Despite the dramatic and rapid loss of their vessel this crew were prepared for this eventuality. They were able to raise the alarm quickly and are tonight safe and well.

"This swift resolution of what could have been a life ending incident is the reason that we recommend that all vessels are fitted with an EPIRB which can automatically send a distress alert and, give an accurate position of your vessel to the Coastguard with through a satellite based rescue system

Published in Coastguard

William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland and internationally for many years, with his work appearing in leading sailing publications on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a regular sailing columnist for four decades with national newspapers in Dublin, and has had several sailing books published in Ireland, the UK, and the US. An active sailor, he has owned a number of boats ranging from a Mirror dinghy to a Contessa 35 cruiser-racer, and has been directly involved in building and campaigning two offshore racers. His cruising experience ranges from Iceland to Spain as well as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and he has raced three times in both the Fastnet and Round Ireland Races, in addition to sailing on two round Ireland records. A member for ten years of the Council of the Irish Yachting Association (now the Irish Sailing Association), he has been writing for, and at times editing, Ireland's national sailing magazine since its earliest version more than forty years ago