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Displaying items by tag: St Patrick’s Day

Galway RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew were requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard at 9.35am on St Patrick’s Day (Friday 17 March) following a report of a swimmer in difficulty off Blackrock Diving Tower in Salthill.

The inshore lifeboat was quickly launched and proceeded immediately to the scene. The Galway Fire Service was also tasked and they assisted the swimmer ashore.

Weather conditions were good with a Force 3 southerly breeze.

Paul Carey, Galway RNLI deputy launching authority who was on scene at Salthill said: “A great outcome in this case. Two people were swimming together and one of them appeared to get disorientated. Thankfully the alarm was raised quickly.

“Always remember if you see somebody in difficulty dial 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard. Always respect the water.”

The volunteer lifeboat crew on board the Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat were helm Brian Niland, Dave Oliver, James Rattigan and Ian Claxton supported by shore crew Shane Austin, Dave McGrath and Mike Cummins.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

About Commander Bill King, Solo Circumnavigator

William Donald Aelian King was the last surviving submarine commander in the Second World War - in charge of the British Navy's T-class Telemachus that sank a Japanese sub in the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Sumatra, in 1944.

Decorated many times for his service by the end of the war, King became a trailblazing solo sailor.

At the age of 58, he was the oldest participant in The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race sailing Galway Blazer II, a junk-rigged schooner he designed himself.

After a number of abortive attempts, including an incident with "a large sea creature", he finally completed his solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1973.

Beyond his aquatic escapades, King settled with his wife Anita (who died in 1984, aged 70) at Oranmore Castle outside Galway after the war, where he later developed a pioneering organic farm and garden to help tackle his wife's asthma.

The round-the-world sailor and Galway native Bill King died on Friday, 21 September, 2012, aged 102.