#RNLI - Kilkeel RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crew responded early yesterday morning (29 June) to a 40ft two-masted glass fibre yacht reported to be burning out of control.

The owner of the yacht, anchored south south-east of Rostrevor Pier on Carlingford Lough, had been contacted and it was confirmed there were two gas cylinders aboard the yacht.

The Kilkeel lifeboat Frank William Walton was launched at 2.20am and quickly reached the stricken yacht, which very quickly was ablaze from bow to stern. There was a slight sea and good visibility with light and variable northerly winds.

One of the propane gas cylinders had already exploded so the lifeboat, with four firefighters from Warrenpoint and a mobile firefighting pump aboard, stood off at a safe distance.

When the fire had somewhat subsided the lifeboat returned to the yacht and the flames were extinguished. The lifeboat left the firefighters and the pump ashore at Warrenpoint and returned safely to the boathouse in Kilkeel at 6.45am.

Lifeboat helm Gerry Smyth said: "It was vital that the lifeboat crew, the firefighters and the lifeboat were kept out of danger whilst there was the possibility of the gas cylinders exploding.

"The yacht was extensively damaged and still afloat when we left the scene but importantly no lives were lost."

#RNLI - The crew of the Arranmore RNLI lifeboat were called on Wednesday afternoon 25 June to assist a fisherman involved in an accident on board a 12-meter fishing boat some 12 miles northwest of Tory Island.

Malin Head also dispatched the Irish Coast Guard helicopter from Sligo to assist in the evacuation of the injured fisherman in his mid-40s.

Anton Kavanagh, coxswain of the Arranmore lifeboat, said the transfer of the casualty went smoothly as the weather was good and the lifeboat had no problems manoeuvring alongside the fishing boat.

The casualty was transferred from his boat to the care of the lifeboat crew and taken to Burtonport, where he was transferred to Letterkenny Hospital by ambulance.

This is the fourth time in five days that the Arranmore lifeboat has been called out to render assistance. Two of the calls were medical evacuations from Arranmore who were transferred to Letterkenny Hospital by ambulance.

At the weekend, the lifeboat was called to search for a missing swimmer off Portnoo. Fortunately the swimmer was located by coastguard helicopter and the lifeboat returned to Arranmore.

Elsewhere, Rosslare Harbour's lifeboat and its volunteer crew launched at 7.30pm yesterday evening (26 June) to a reported sighting of two people stranded on a rock surrounded by water.

The alarm was raised by a concerned member of the public. Arriving at the scene within 15 minutes of launch, the lifeboat's daughter craft was deployed and it was soon clear that the two people were fishermen in no immediate danger.

Rosslare Harbour RNLI lifeboat press officer Jamie Ryan said: "The person who raised the alarm did the right thing. It is always better to call out the lifeboat and let them check on a person or situation of concern then to ignore it and risk a serious incident. 

"The lifeboat crew are volunteers and never mind being called out to check on a situation."

#RNLI - The RNLI brought two of its all-weather lifeboats into Belfast on Wednesday 17 June for the charity’s 190th anniversary of saving lives at sea.

To mark the milestone, the RNLI hosted an awareness day in the Titanic Quarter with a full display of their life saving equipment including the Severn and Trent class all-weather lifeboats, RNLI beach lifeguards and their vehicles and the Flood Rescue kit.

The lifeboats were crewed by volunteer lifeboat crew members from Northern Ireland lifeboat stations.

First Minister Peter Robinson visited the event to meet with the RNLI lifeguards and volunteer lifeboat crew, view the lifesaving equipment and learn about the work of the charity in Northern Ireland.

The First Minister also boarded the Severn class lifeboat for a short trip around Belfast Harbour.

"We wanted to bring a little bit of the RNLI to Belfast city," said RNLI divisional operations manager Gareth Morrison. "There is huge awareness of the work of the charity out on coast and at the inland stations where we are present but we wanted to bring our volunteers and equipment into the city for people to see.

"With the awards taking place in the Titanic centre it was a fitting way to mark 190 years saving lives."

The day culminated with the RNLI Annual Presentation of Awards for Northern Ireland fundraising and operational volunteers, which this year was held at Titanic Belfast.

RNLI volunteers and supporters from across Northern Ireland were recognised for their dedication and commitment to raising funds and awareness for the lifesaving charity and for playing a pivotal role in ensuring lifeboat crews and lifeguards can continue to save lives at sea.

Guest of honour and presenting the awards was RNLI chairman Charles Hunter-Pease, who was attending his first awards ceremony in Northern Ireland since taking up his role with the charity last year.

The awards included five gold badges, three silver badges, six bronze badges, 14 inscribed statuettes, six regional supporter awards and six certificates of thanks.

Among the gold badge recipients was Rita Jarvis from the Bangor branch, who was described as an outstanding volunteer who had worked tirelessly for over 20 years for Bangor RNLI.

Hubert Annett from Kilkeel was acknowledged as one of the station's characters, who had performed various roles including that of deputy launching authority over the last 20 years.

Guests heard how Kay Magee joined Maghera RNLI over 30 years ago and remained a driving force at the inland branch throughout.

Gavin Weatherall from Newtownabbey RNLI was acknowledged for his devotion to fundraising for over 25 years with roles including that of treasurer and more recently secretary of the branch.

Patricia Ritchie, the fifth of the gold badge awardees, was described as a highly devoted secretary at Portadown where she has worked tirelessly for more than 23 years.

Two gold badge recipients collected their awards at the RNLI’s annual presentation of awards in London last month. These included Lennie Lawson, deputy launching uthority at Portaferry RNLI and Patricia Crossley, chairman of the Ballymoney fundraising branch. Merwyn Hanna MBE from Kilkeel Fundraising Branch was made an Honorory Life Governor.

Praising the awardees, Hunter-Pease said: "It all starts with the people who give their time, their donation and their expertise.

"Over the decades, as we have expanded our service and developed new craft and facilities; our volunteers, fundraisers and supporters have become more important than ever.

"Without them there is no lifeboat station, no lifeguard unit, no flood rescue team, and no coastal safety work preventing tragedies."

#RNLI - Wexford RNLI came to the rescue of a woman who sustained a leg injury off the Point of Park yesterday (Friday 20 June).

The lifeboat launched at 11.44am and was on scene at 11.47am. Volunteer lifeboat crew member Matt Crispin, who is also an advanced paramedic, administered first aid on the lifeboat.

The woman was then brought to Wexford lifeboat station before being transferred to a HSE ambulance and taken to Wexford General Hospital.

1. RNLI helm David Maguire commented on the skills of the volunteer lifeboat crew: "With an advanced paramedic and three advanced first aid crew on board, the woman was in safe hands."

Crew on the call-out included helm David Maguire, Matt Crispin, Frank O'Brien and Martin Conway.

Elsewhere, it was a busy Thursday evening for Lough Ree RNLI on 19 June when they received three lifeboat callouts in succession.

The first call for help was made at 4.25pm by a sailing boat standing by a cruiser on the rocks on the Long Shoal. The Lough Ree lifeboat was launched at 4.33pm and was on scene 10 minutes later.

The casualty was a 38ft cruiser with two adults and three children on board. The cruiser was refloated and checked over. There was no damage and she continued on passage with two other craft in convoy.

The volunteer crew had just finished preparing the Dorothy Mary for continued service when another call-out was received at 5.20pm by the Irish Coast Guard for a cruiser aground in Blackbrink Bay.

The lifeboat was launched at 5.23pm and was on scene at 5.39pm. This time the casualty was a 32ft cruiser with five adults on board. She was refloated and examined and was able to continue her journey.

A third and final callout was received at 7.25pm, and concerned a speedboat with two adults and three children on board that had broken down while crossing the lake from Hodson Bay.

The lifeboat was launched at 7.30pm and was on scene 15 minutes later. One adult and the three children were taken on board the Dorothy Mary, which then towed the casualty, and the remaining adult, back to Hodson Bay, departing the scene at 8.21pm.

After dropping the speedboat and her party, the lifeboat crew carried out a training exercise that had been planned for that evening, arriving back at the station at 9.20pm.

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI launched on Monday afternoon 16 June to a swimmer in difficulty off nearby Red Island.

The volunteer crew launched their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Louis Simson shortly after 4.30pm.

The lifeboat, helmed by Joe May with crew members Eoin Grimes and Stephen Denny on board, made their way directly to the springboards bathing area, from where Dublin Coast Guard had received reports of a swimmer in difficulty.

Arriving on scene, the lifeboat carried out an immediate search of the area. It was quickly discovered that a member of the public, with the aid of a life ring, had managed to assist the swimmer back to shore.

The man was taken on board the lifeboat where first aid was administered. He was then brought back to the station where he was handed over to paramedics.

Weather conditions at the time were calm with a Force 1 southerly wind.

Speaking after the call-out, Joe May, May said of the casualty: "He was a very lucky young man that the life ring was in working order and that someone acted quickly.

"We would advise people to swim close to shore and remember that there can be very strong tidal currents around our coast."

In other lifeboat news, volunteer crew and fundraisers turned out in force at Kinsale RNLI on Sunday 15 June to welcome the annual visit by Sally Anne Odell.

Affectionately known as 'the godmother' to Kinsale RNLI, Odell was accompanied by a group of family and friends and arrived on a cruise ship in Cobh early on Sunday 15 June, where she was met by Kinsale lifeboat operations manager John O’Gorman and other volunteer crew members.

Odell and her guests were brought to the lifeboat station where they spent several hours chatting with crew members and inspecting the lifeboat Miss Sally Anne Baggy before returning to Cobh to rejoin the cruise.

O’Gorman said: "It is always a privilege and a pleasure to welcome Sally Anne home to Kinsale. We can never thank her enough for her generosity in providing Kinsale with its own lifeboat and our magnificent station. 

"It is thanks to people like Sally Anne that the RNLI is able to maintain its role as the charity that saves lives at sea.  She keeps in touch with us between visits is very well informed about what we do here. That’s why she is affectionately known as 'the godmother'."

#RNLI - The Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat launched yesterday (Tuesday 10 June) to assist a yacht that fouled its propeller on a mooring on the northern side of Cheekpoint in the Waterford Estuary.

At lunchtime the Irish Coast Guard's Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Dublin requested Dunmore East RNLI to launch to assist the French couple on board the yacht.

Shortly after launch, the Trent class lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald arrived on scene and transferred one of its volunteer lifeboat crew on board the casualty vessel, where he managed to free the yacht from the mooring.

As the propeller was still fouled, and with the vessel in close proximity to a busy shipping lane and a strong run of tide, it was decided to take the yacht under tow.

Shortly before 5pm the yacht was brought into the safety of Dunmore East Harbour.

Dunmore East RNLI coxswain Paulie Daniels said after the callout: “The couple were lucky that although they were just inside a busy shipping channel, the weather conditions at the time were good and they were wearing lifejackets."

#RNLI - Volunteers from Arklow RNLI in Co Wicklow are to feature in RTÉ's Irish language programme Abhainn.

The TV series features the rivers of Ireland, and this episode (to be broadcast in September) looks at the Avoca River from its source high up in Wicklow Mountains to the river mouth at Arklow.

An RTÉ film crew spent the afternoon and evening of Thursday 5 June filming at what is the oldest of the RNLI's lifeboat stations in Ireland.

During the day the film crew had the opportunity to experience firsthand and get a glimpse of the level of training required by the highly skilled and efficient RNLI volunteers in their lifesaving work, which can often be difficult and sometimes dangerous.

New station operations manager John Tyrrell said: "Filming with RTÉ was a great opportunity to showcase the commitment of volunteers not only in Arklow but in the many other coastal and inland water communities across Ireland."

He added that the RNLI wouldn’t exist without fundraising. The charity is totally reliant on the generosity of the public and indebted to the work of fundraisers at station branches as well as those raising money inland.

"It is because of the willingness and selfless nature of our volunteers, who will readily swap leisure, comfort and sleep for cold, wet and fatigue, that the charity can provide an on-call, 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service here," said Tyrrell.

#RNLI - Arklow RNLI’s volunteers were alerted by pager at 09:47am yesterday morning (Wednesday 4 June) to a call for help from a local fishing boat.

The vessel had suffered a fouled propeller and was adrift just south of Cahore Point, halfway between Arklow and Wexford.

The lifeboat Ger Tigchleaar and crew - consisting of coxswain Roger Tyrell, station mechanic Michael Fitzgerald, Andrew Loughlin, Jimmy Myler, Craig O’Reilly, David Lee and Scott Heaney - launched within minutes and proceeded to scene.

After locating the casualty vessel, the lifeboat crew established a tow line and proceeded with the long slow tow back to Arklow, arriving back at the station at 2.20pm.

All four crew aboard the fishing boat remained aboard during the tow home and all hands came ashore safely at Arklow.

Speaking following the incident, volunteer lifeboat press officer and sea safety officer Mark Corcoran said: "All people who take to the water whether for a living or for pleasure should always wear their lifejackets and have a means of raising the alarm."

#RNLI - Lough Derg RNLI's lifeboat launched on Sunday 1 June to investigate reports of a dinghy adrift off Parker's Point on the Clare shore.

At 6.35pm Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI to investigate reports of a dinghy adrift in open water in the direction of Meelik Bay.
 


The lifeboat launched three minutes later with helm Eleanor Hooker and crew Ger Egan and Liam Knight on board. Winds were south-westerly Force 3 to 4 and visibility was fair to good, with frequent line squalls.

Coastguard staff gave the lifeboat crew the co-ordinates at which the dinghy was seen, and a description of the boat. 

The lifeboat reached the location at 7pm and its crew calculated the drift of the dinghy given its size and the wind direction. 

On the shore where the dinghy would have landed, a remote location, the RNLI crew could detect an oar being raised and lowered above the reeds, and went to investigate. 



It was soon discovered that a local family of five a fishing trip had seen the dinghy and had towed it to shore, where they safely moored it up. The dinghy did not have an engine and there was no evidence of it having been occupied. 

Reporting these findings to Valentia Coast Guard, the lifeboat was stood down and returned to station. Later, the owner of the dinghy made contact with Valentia explaining that his tender had broken free from his cruiser in rough weather earlier in the day.



Lough Derg RNLI deputy launching authority Pat Garland said: "A small craft adrift in the middle of the lake has implications other than the boat might have slipped its moorings, which, thankfully, is the case today."

He commended the boat users on the lake for their "diligence on their watch and for reporting the dinghy".



In another false alarm, Donaghadee’s all-weather Lifeboat Saxon launched around 8.00pm on Saturday 31 May after reports of an object in the water off the coast of the Copeland Islands in Co Down.

A witness described what appeared to be people in the water, and the lifeboat was on scene within 15 minutes - to find nothing more than a bunch of helium-filled party balloons that had come down in the sea.

Lifeboat coxswain Philip McNamara said: "While this was a preventative operation, the lifeboat volunteers prefer to attend at an early stage to avoid any risk to life. An object in the water can be a danger to shipping.”

The same day saw Courtown RNLI's volunteer lifeboat launch to the aid of a small angling boat that had suffered engine failure.

However, the launch was delayed by a car and boat trailer that had been parked across the launching winch area for the lifeboat.

Thankfully the lifeboat – crewed by Glen Deacon, Fergus Slevin and Robert Ireton Jr – was launched by other means and was quickly alongside the casualty, towing the boat back into harbour. 


Courtown lifeboat operations Manager Sam Kennedy said: "We urge people not to park across the launching area or to block up the slipway in Courtown. We were lucky that this was not a more serious incident and the delay didn't cause loss of life."

#RNLI - The Wicklow lifeboat launched shortly after 10.30am yesterday morning (Friday 30 May) to assist a fishing vessel 13 miles off Wicklow harbour.

The 13-metre vessel was fishing for whelk when a rope fouled its propeller and it was unable to make any headway.

The lifeboat reached the casualty at noon and the fishing vessel was taken in tow back to Wicklow Harbour, where a diver was waiting to clear the rope fouled propeller.

Speaking after the callout, Wicklow RNLI coxswain Nick Keogh said: "We located the fishing vessel with three crew about four miles north of the South Codling Buoy.

"Conditions in the area were good with sea state calm and a north westerly wind Force 3."

The crew on the callout were coxswain Nick Keogh, mechanic Brendan Copeland and crew Ciaran Doyle, Carol Flahive, Brendan Kavanagh, Tommy Murphy, Graham Fitzgerald and John Vize.