Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Crew is inviting the public to visit the lifeboat station on their annual Open Day, next Saturday July 17th, from 11am until 3pm. The Lifeboat Station is located on the grounds of Lough Derg Yacht Club in Dromineer. More from Eleanor Hooker, the lake lifeboat PR here:

History of the RNLI Station at Dromineer
On May 25 2004, following a year of intensive training on the water and in the classroom, Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station began full time service. The first shout came during the crew's initial training in April 2004, when a cruiser went on the rocks in Church Bay, on the County Clare shore. To date the lifeboat has launched on over one hundred and fifty shouts. Most launches have been to assist vessels that have grounded or have suffered engine failure. A majority of the call-outs have been following requests to launch from the Coast Guard based in Valentia. The lifeboat covers the entire lake; from Portumna Bridge at the northern end of the lake to Killaloe on the southern end and downstream to Parteen Weir. The lifeboat is on-call 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. The first Atlantic B class lifleboat based at the station was Clothworker, which has since been replaced by the Altalntic 74 Vera Skilton.

There has always been an RNLI fundraising branch based in Nenagh, long before the lifeboat station was set up. The local fundraising committee and the lifeboat station crew and committee work closely together to raise awareness of the activities and crucially the costs of running a lifeboat station; the lifeboat depends entirely on public donations and legacies for its income. The RNLI lifeboat also enjoys a great working relationship with other rescues services on and off the water.

The volunteer crew train twice a week, in the classroom on Wednesday evenings and on the water on Sunday mornings. Apart from the three newest recruits, all crew have been on a crew training or helmsman course at the Lifeboat College at Poole on the south coast of England. Ruth Spillane travels to Poole later this month to complete her Crew Training Course.

On June 8 2006 at the official opening of the new headquarters of RNLI Ireland in Swords, President McAleese made the following comments about the RNLI lifeboat service and her volunteer crews;

There are approximately 1,000 volunteer lifeboat crew members in Ireland, including 80 women, most of whom are not from professional maritime backgrounds. This organisation is a classic example of the phenomenal, unselfish, generous voluntary endeavour in literally thousands of spheres that goes on in Ireland around the clock, week in and week out, year in and year out without thought of thanks or recognition. There isn't in any of it the remotest trace of exhibitionism or grandstanding. There is not in any of it an easy option, a lazy cynicism. Here you will find authenticity, integrity, humility, spontaneous goodness and in this organisation in particular, you will find men and women who are prepared to risk their lives at any moment for people who may be complete strangers and even occasionally complete fools.
I have been privileged to see at first hand the dedication and commitment of our lifeboat crews. I know how much of themselves they invest in training and how much time is invested in finding the resources to keep the levels of skill, equipment and services at the highest level possible. If there is fear you don't look for an easy out, if there is discomfort you do not complain, if there is danger you face it. And by some miracle you get a deep personal fulfilment from all this giving which keeps you involved, keeps you faithful to the RNLI often over a lifetime.

We take pride too in the fact that RNLI Ireland operates on an all–island basis, transcending all the vanities of jurisdictional issues to ensure that the sea which is no respecter of man-made boundaries is tackled with the best will that can be harnessed, not just on this island, but in this region of Europe.

We hope that as many of the public can attend the Open Day next Saturday to meet crew and members of the operations team. Dromineer will be a busy colourful place as over sixty boats (always dressed brightly for the event) taking part in the Lough Derg rally will be coming into the public harbour and in Lough Derg Yacht Club the Shannon-one Design dinghies will be taking to the water for a day of racing.

A yacht bound for Cork Week regatta sought assistance from the emergency services tonight when their vessel ran into difficulties eight miles east of Ballycotton Bay in East Cork.  The yacht was sailing from Arklow to Cork Harbour to attend next week's Royal Cork regatta at Crosshaven. Ballycotton lifeboat station was contacted and requested to launch. They reached the yacht with four people on board at 17:50 and established a tow. Sea conditions in the area were unpleasant with the wind blowing F6 / F7. The Irish registered yacht was towed to Ballycotton harbour and safely secured alongside the pier wall but it has not been named by the Ballycotton lifeboat.

Ballycotton RNLI lifeboat launched this evening at 17:15 to lend assistance to a 31 ft. yacht who sought assistance 4 miles east of Ballycotton in East Cork. The lifeboat arrived on-scene and established a towline at 17:50. The Irish registered yacht, with four persons aboard, is under tow to Ballycotton harbour. They are expected to arrive at approx. 18:45.

Liverpool Coastguard received a '999' call at 12:30 pm from the dive boat informing them of the situation and requesting assistance after two divers had not resurfaced and were last seen at 12 noon.

Drumore Coastguard Rescue team was tasked and the Portpatrick and Stranraer, RNLI lifeboats were requested to launch as well as the independent Port William inshore rescue boat. A Rescue helicopter from Prestwick was scrambled to the scene. The vessel 'Go West' assisted in the search.

Paul Campbell, Watch Officer, Liverpool Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre, said:

"Once the casualty vessel was located the search and rescue units on scene carried out a search around the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse with the Rescue helicopter locating the two casualties and winching them to safety."

The Coastguard always advises divers to let the Coastguard know where and when you will be diving. Always keep a close eye on the weather and sea conditions and make personal fitness a top priority for safe diving. Familiarise yourself with new or different gear before diving and ensure that you dive within your limits.

At 5.45pm yesterday evening Monday July 5th, Fenit RNLI Lifeboat launched to assist a 40 foot Catamaran which was taking on water. The vessel which had left Donegal en route to France was 20 miles west of Loop Head and there were 2 people on board.

On arriving at the location of the stricken vessel volunteer crew members with Fenit RNLI Lifeboat immediately boarded the catamaran with a salvage pump and proceeded to pump the water from the vessel. Once they were happy that this process was working satisfactorily they put the vessel on tow and proceeded towards Fenit.

On arrival back in Fenit just before 1am this morning, arrangements were in place by Fenit RNLI members on shore and the catamaran was lifted onto the Pier by the Fenit Harbour Board Crane.

A stricken vessel was located in trouble on Lough Erne using lat/long data from an iPhone. 

A 999 call from the Motor Cruiser ‘Wee Rascal’ on Lough Erne in the early hours of this morning called on all the investigative powers of Belfast Coastguard as the vessel wasn’t even close to its reported position.

The vessel was on passage from Kesh to Enniskillen in windy, wet conditions when it called 999 to ask for assistance. Despite an extensive search of the area around its reported position neither the Enniskillen RNLI Inshore Lifeboat nor Erne Coastguard Rescue Teams could find the vessel.

Because the vessel had no flares, flash lights or VHF Radio on board to show rescuers where it was, Belfast Coastguard resorted to mobile phone technology. A locator i-phone application finally gave rescuers the vital latitude and longitude they needed to locate the vessel

The vessel was finally located 25 miles away from its reported position, dangerously amongst the rocky shoreline off Eagle Point. It was carefully brought away from the rocks by the skill of the  Enniskillen RNLI Inshore Lifeboat crew and taken to the safety of Beleek marina.

Coastguard Watch Manager Steven Carson said:

“A combination of luck and technology saved these four people from imminent danger this morning. They had charts onboard but obviously no real idea of how to get to their destination or how to report their position in an emergency.

“Vital hours were wasted eliminating one possible location after another, time that we wouldn’t have had if the vessel had struck the rocks and sunk. I hope that this experience will help the crew to realise why navigation training is essential for all mariners, whether you’re on a Lough or the open sea.”

The Marine Institute is having a Summer Fête – Family Fun Pirate Day at its headquarters, Rinville, Oranmore on Sunday 11th July from 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm in aid of Galway Lifeboat. Admission is free.The fun day offers a great opportunity to meet friends, enjoy a range of cakes, tasty treats and a sausage sizzle courtesy of the Harbour Hotel, Kylemore Abbey and Compass Catering, while listening to live music overlooking Galway Bay. There will be items to purchase and a range of activities for all the family including face painting, cartoon classes, magic show, bouncy castles, art & crafts, marine displays and lots more fun activities and games."Since many of our staff go to sea on research surveys we appreciate the work done by the Galway Lifeboat and are anxious to help in any way we can," said Marine Institute CEO Dr. Peter Heffernan. "The event promises to be a fun-packed day for adults and children alike - particularly those who are interested in learning more about the work of the Marine Institute and the marine community in Galway".For those interested in viewing the architecture of the Institute's award winning building, tours will be available throughout the afternoon.The Marine Institute wishes to thank all of the exhibitors, sponsors and contributors taking part in the Summer Fête in aid of the Galway Lifeboats Ireland.All proceeds from the day will go to Galway Lifeboats.Further information is available on the Marine Institute's web site at www.marine.ie
The Marine Institute is having a Summer Fête – Family Fun Pirate Day at its headquarters, Rinville, Oranmore on Sunday 11th July from 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm in aid of Galway Lifeboat. Admission is free.
The fun day offers a great opportunity to meet friends, enjoy a range of cakes, tasty treats and a sausage sizzle courtesy of the Harbour Hotel, Kylemore Abbey and Compass Catering, while listening to live music overlooking Galway Bay. There will be items to purchase and a range of activities for all the family including face painting, cartoon classes, magic show, bouncy castles, art & crafts, marine displays and lots more fun activities and games.
"Since many of our staff go to sea on research surveys we appreciate the work done by the Galway Lifeboat and are anxious to help in any way we can," said Marine Institute CEO Dr. Peter Heffernan. "The event promises to be a fun-packed day for adults and children alike - particularly those who are interested in learning more about the work of the Marine Institute and the marine community in Galway".
For those interested in viewing the architecture of the Institute's award winning building, tours will be available throughout the afternoon.
The Marine Institute wishes to thank all of the exhibitors, sponsors and contributors taking part in the Summer Fête in aid of the Galway Lifeboats Ireland.
All proceeds from the day will go to Galway Lifeboats.
Further information is available on the Marine Institute's web site at www.marine.ie

Members of Ballyglass RNLI responded to an emergency callout yesterday (Sunday 20 June 2010) afternoon for a man reported missing after he went swimming in a remote mountain lake outside Bangor Erris in County Mayo.  The volunteer lifeboat crew were unable to take their inshore lifeboat inland to the lake as the location was extremely remote but they are trained in search and rescue techniques and were called on to assist.

The request for help was received by Ballyglass RNLI Coxswain JT Gaughan from the Gardai at 4.10pm yesterday (Sunday 20 June 2010) when the girlfriend of the man reported him missing after he had gone for a swim in Stoney Lake.  The mountain lake is three miles from the nearest road and in very rough terrain.  The lifeboat crew along with the Gardai, Belmullet Sub Aqua Club, the Coast Guard and members of the North Western Regional fisheries board immediately went to give assistance.

Due to the remote access of the lake the Irish Coast Guard helicopter carried the search and rescue teams as near to the location as it could safely land and a search of the lake commenced.  The search was called off at 10.30pm and was resumed first thing this morning.  A man was recovered at approximately 10am and pronounced dead at the scene.  His body has been taken to Castlebar hospital.

Commenting on the callout Ballyglass RNLI Coxswain JT Gaughan said,  "this was a very sad and difficult callout for all involved.  Everyone in the community and the various search and rescue agencies worked together in extremely challenging conditions to search for the young man.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends."

The man whom had been thought missing near Baltimore in West Cork has been located safe and well. All rescue services have been stood down. It is a reminder of the importance of letting people know where you are and where you are going.

The RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Bessie was called to assist in a search for a man who failed to make a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in Baltimore yesterday. The man had been camping on the Islands of Roaring Water Bay, and had left his Jeep in Baltimore. When the alert was raised at 20:18, it was unclear where the man might have been intending to stay that night. A search was initiated by Helmsman John Kearney and crewmen Micheal Cottrell and Paul O’Driscoll extending from Barlogue Creek at the mouth of Lough Hyne and into Roaring Water Bay. The Schull inshore lifeboat and the Coast guard helicopter were also involved in the search. The search was stood down last night as darkness fell and recommenced this morning at 05:15 with Helmsman Kieran Collins and crewmen Ronan Sheehy and Jim Baker on board the RNLI inshore lifeboat Bessie.