Ahead of the May holiday weekend, Water Safety Ireland, the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI are jointly appealing to people to be safe and summer-ready when planning an activity on or near the water.

The organisations are urging people to ensure that boats and other watercraft, including kayaks and canoes, are checked and in good working order following the winter period. Engines should be serviced and all equipment, particularly lifejackets, should be in good condition.

If out on a boat, or other water vessel:

• Wear a lifejacket, carry a reliable means of communication – a VHF radio and ideally a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) or Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) with mobile phone backup in a watertight case
• Ensure that you tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back

If planning activities on the water:

• Always bring a means of effectively communicating distress
• Use readily available sources of information to check the environmental conditions (weather and tides) in advance of your trip
• Seek help immediately if you see somebody in trouble on the water or along the coast, or think they are in trouble, by using Marine VHF channel 16 or Dialling 112 and asking for the Coast Guard

If you are swimming:

• Water temperatures are still cold at this time of the year, consider wearing a wetsuit to stay warm
• Acclimatise slowly
• Wear a bright swimming cap and consider a tow float to increase your visibility
• Never swim alone and always ensure that your activity is being monitored by a colleague

Kevin Whitney, Operations Manager at the Coast Guard reminded everyone to ‘Plan & Prepare’ before considering any water-based or coastal activity ahead of and during the summer months: ‘Do not use inflatable toys in open water or swim out after anything drifting as things can quickly go wrong. Be aware of potential dangers and well prepared before engaging in any water-based activities. The Be Summer-Ready website at www.gov.ie/summerready provides good water safety advice and we urge the public to read this before venturing out on the water.’

Roger Sweeney, Deputy CEO at Water Safety Ireland said: ‘An average of five people drown in Ireland every fortnight and cold water is often a factor. Sudden immersion can cause a shock to your body, a loss of breathing control, dizziness, and panic. Hypothermia and muscle cooling soon makes swimming difficult or impossible, particularly for children who have less body fat. Keep cold water swims short and enter the water slowly, staying within your depth. Shore anglers should always wear a lifejacket and walkers should carry a mobile phone and keep a close eye on incoming tides to avoid being stranded.’

Linda-Gene Byrne, RNLI Water Safety Lead said: ‘Many people will be taking vessels to the water for the first time this year so this is a good time to think about checking your equipment, especially your lifejacket so that it is fit for purpose.’

‘Others may be planning a trip to the beach and a swim in the sea. We would encourage swimmers to be mindful of rip currents which can be difficult to spot, but are sometimes identified by a channel of churning, choppy water on the sea's surface. Even the most experienced beachgoers can be caught out by rips so remember don’t try to swim against it or you’ll get exhausted. If you can stand, wade don’t swim. If you can, swim parallel to the shore until free of the rip and then head for shore. Always raise your hand and shout for help.’

If you see somebody in trouble on the water or along the coast, or think they are in trouble, use Marine VHF channel 16 or Dial 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.

Arranmore RNLI’s volunteer crew were roused in the early hours of Sunday morning (28 April) by Malin Head Coast Guard to assist a sailor onboard a yacht that lost power 18 miles west of the Co Donegal island.

The initial request came at 2.41am but as the crew were about to board their all-weather lifeboat, they were asked by the coastguard to stand down as it emerged as the yachtsman had managed to raise his sails and was proceeding as planned.

The crew returned home but were called again five hours later to proceed to the same area, as the yacht was failing to make progress.

On reaching the yacht, the lifeboat crew assessed the situation and decided to establish a tow to bring the yacht to safe moorings at Arranmore.

This was the second call for the all-weather lifeboat in five days. On Tuesday evening (23 April) the volunteer crew assisted in a medevac from Arranmore to a waiting ambulance at Burtonport.

Arranmore RNLI coxswain Jimmy Early said: “We are always happy to give assistance where it is needed. The sailor was really grateful for all the help in bringing him to safety.

“We have a really dedicated crew here on Arranmore and they are always prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty. We are, at present, recruiting crew members for the lifeboat and invite anybody interested in joining to come to the station for a look and a chat.”

The crew onboard the lifeboat with Early were mechanic Reamon O’Donnell, Sean Gallagher, Jamie Neeson, Sharon O’Donnell, Finbar Gallagher and John Boyle.

Galway RNLI’s volunteer crew were requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard on Saturday afternoon following a report of two people stranded by the tide on Hare Island, which is located on inner Galway Bay.

The crew’s pagers were activated at 4:05 p.m., and the boat was launched just ten minutes later. Brian Niland helmed the lifeboat, which had Olivia Byrne, Dave McGrath, and Sean McLoughlin on board.

Paul Carey was the Launch Authority and coordinated the rescue from the lifeboat station. He said: ‘Conditions were favourable this afternoon with the tide having turned and starting to flood. The lifeboat was on the scene at 4.20 pm and the two people were located and brought on board. The casualties were safe and well and were brought back to the lifeboat station at Galway Docks.

‘Heading to the coast or out on the water is a great way to have fun and stay active. But it is a lot easier to get into trouble than you might think. Conditions can change quickly and you can easily get caught out. If you are walking along the coast, our advice is to always check the tides, and if you get cut off by an incoming tide, stay above the high water line and call 112 or 999 and ask for the Coast Guard. It is better to call for help and not try to swim or walk back to shore.’

Clifden RNLI’s volunteer crew in western Connemara launched on Thursday evening (25 April) to rescue a sailor from the upturned hull of his sailing boat in Clifden Bay.

At 8.45pm the lifeboat crew were tasked by Malin Head Coast Guard following a call from a member of the public who had observed the sailor in difficulty from the shore.

The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Joyce King was quickly launched, helmed by Joe Acton with crew Alan Pryce and Shane Conneely. They were assisted by John Brendan Mannion on the shore.

The lifeboat arrived on scene, a short distance out in Clifden Bay, to find the casualty clinging to the hull of his upturned boat. The sailor, who was wearing a life vest, had been in the water for some time and was cold but in good spirits otherwise.

The crew transported the sailor back to shore to warm up and then set about righting the sail boat and towing it back to a safe mooring in the bay.

Speaking about the call-out, Clifden RNLI helm Joe Acton said: “With this current spell of good weather, we expect to see people enjoying water sports and boating activities around our coasts.

“We want everyone to enjoy the water and come home safely. Please always remember to wear a life jacket when out on the water, always carry a mobile phone or VHF radio to call for help in an emergency. Boats should have an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) which is registered and regularly maintained.

“The volunteer crew at our station are on call 24/7. If you get into difficulty, or see someone else in trouble, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.”

Crosshaven RNLI in Cork Harbour came to aid of two people on Wednesday (24 April) after their 30ft yacht got into difficulty.

The yacht’s crew who were on passage from Dublin to Crosshaven alerted the Irish Coast Guard at Valentia of a mechanical problem some five miles south of Roches Point and requested assistance.

The coastguard activated the pagers of the volunteer crew and the inshore lifeboat slipped moorings at 2.50pm with Aidan O’Connor in command, assisted by Clare Morgan, Jeff Lacarda and Maeve Leonard onboard.

The lifeboat made good time in a slight sea and was soon alongside the casualty vessel.

Checks were made of the yacht and its two occupants before it was decided that a tow was essential.

The yacht was brought into the nearest safe port at Crosshaven and safely berthed.

Shore crew for the call-out were Conor Barry, Gary Heslin, Michael Livingstone, Caoimhe Foster, Warren Forbes and Michael McCann. Launch authority was Hugh Tully.

In the early hours of Thursday 25 April, the volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew from Donaghadee lifeboat station received a call from HM Coastguard to launch a rescue mission. A 40ft fishing trawler with one person onboard had contacted the Coastguard to report that they had no electrics, although they did have power and steering. The skipper was not confident of their location and thought they may be in Belfast Lough. 

The Coastguard activated the pagers of the Donaghadee lifeboat crew to request them to launch. With a crew of seven onboard RNLI lifeboat Macquarie, the team was underway seven minutes later. The sea state was calm, and there was a light westerly wind, allowing them to make full speed in the general direction of the trawler's last reported location, just north of Portpatrick.

As the trawler had no electrics, it also had no navigation lights, leaving the boat with its skipper at risk of not being visible to a larger vessel at sea and restricting its own visibility. The Coastguard liaised with the crew on the lifeboat and reported an up-to-date rough latitude and longitude from the fishing trawler, enabling them to have a more accurate direction to take.

Iain Kaleda, mechanic onboard the lifeboat, was able to establish both phone contact and later VHF contact with the skipper. As the skipper had a handheld VHF onboard, this allowed the crew of the lifeboat to use their direction-finding equipment to gain a more exact location for the trawler.

At 3:15 a.m., the vessel was located approximately 18 miles north of Donaghadee. The crew established that the skipper was safe and well. It was agreed that, given that he still had no electrics, it was best that they escorted him to the safety of Bangor marina.

However, at approximately 5.30 am, the trawler lost engine power, and with still quite a way to go to the safety of the marina, and given the danger to both the vessel and other shipping in the area, the coxswain of the lifeboat decided that it was best to secure a towline to the fishing trawler and tow it with its skipper to safety. 

After towing for about an hour, the lifeboat and the casualty vessel arrived at the safety of Bangor marina, where they were met by Bangor Coastguard Rescue Team and Bangor marina's local cat. 

Bundoran RNLI lifeboat in County Donegal came to the aid of a fisherman on Wednesday, 24 April after their 6m open-top fishing boat sustained engine failure approximately half a mile from the pier at the lifeboat station.

The volunteer crew was requested to launch their inshore lifeboat shortly before 11 a.m. after the casualty raised the alarm when the boat’s engine failed close to rocks.

The lifeboat, helmed by Elliot Kearns and with crew members Finn Mullen, Fergal Muller, and Mark Vaughan onboard, launched at 10:51 a.m. and made its way the short distance to the scene.

The weather was blowing a northerly force 2 wind at the time, the sea was calm and there was good visibility.

Arriving on scene, the crew observed that the fisherman was wearing a lifejacket and had all the correct gear with him. However, as his engine had failed and the boat was close to rocks, the crew, having assessed the situation, deemed an alongside tow was essential, and they proceeded to bring the casualty safely back to the nearby pier wall.

Speaking following the call out, Daimon Fergus, Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘We would like to commend the casualty for wearing his lifejacket and for raising the alarm when he knew he couldn’t make safe progress".

Galway RNLI’s volunteer crew were requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard on Monday afternoon (22 April) to rescue a walker on Hare Island who was cut off by the incoming tide.

The request to launch came shortly before 2pm and volunteer crew Dave Badger, James Rattigan, David Oliver and Olivia Byrne launched the inshore lifeboat and were on the water around 10 minutes later headed to Hare Island, on inner Galway Bay, which is accessible to walkers at low tide.

Conditions at sea were good with good visibility thanks to the current spell of fine weather.

When the crew reached Hare Island, they located the casualty who was safe and well. The crew brought the casualty on board the lifeboat and returned to the lifeboat station at the New Docks.

Lifeboat helm Dave Badger said: “It was a good outcome today. The casualty didn't require any further medical treatment once we returned to the lifeboat station.

“The casualty raised the alarm when they realised that they were cut off by the tide and were unable to get off the island, and that was the right thing to do. If you get into difficulty or see someone in difficulty, please dial 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.”

Badger added: “Walking around coasts is a very safe activity most of the time. Our advice is to always take a means of calling for help and to check the weather and tides. Tide times and heights vary throughout the month and can easily catch you out if you haven’t checked them.”

We’ve become so accustomed to the RNLI’s Yellow Wellies being used as receptacles for Lifeboat Fund-Raisers – with silent donations much preferred, and usually generously given - that we can easily forget they’re practical items of footwear. But Crosshaven Lifeboat Branch have decided to give a new twist to this by combining most known uses of the distinctive footwear with a series of Yellow Welly Fund-Raiser Walks every Sunday morning in May at 10.0am. And the route is along the comfortably flat shoreside path from the Royal Cork YC to Drake’s Pool and back.

Project testing under way at a secret shoreside location near Crosshaven

The walks will start at the Royal Cork YC car-park (centre-right) and head west for Drake’s Pool. Photo: Robert Bateman

There’ll be prizes for the best-decorated childrens’ wellies on the day. And though the plan is to walk there and back for a “Brew With The Crew” in the Lifeboat Station afterwards, we’d be very surprised if participants at each extreme of the age spectrum aren’t allowed their cuppa even if they do get a lift back from the turning point.

For those who wish this well but can’t be there themselves, donations can be made here

On Sunday afternoon (21 April), the RNLI Helvick Head was called to rescue three boaters who got into difficulty near Helvick Head, southwest of Dungarvan. The Irish Coast Guard requested the assistance of the volunteer crew who launched their inshore lifeboat into easterly Force 2-3 winds and slight waters.

The lifeboat, with Alan Kelly at the helm and crew members Páidí Breathnach, Catherine Reeves, and Rian Kelly onboard, arrived at the scene at 5:13 pm. Upon assessing the situation, the crew found that the three male casualties were safe and well, all wearing their personal protective equipment (PPE).

As the 20-foot cabin cruiser had sustained mechanical failure, the crew decided to tow it back to Dungarvan harbour. The boats arrived safely back to port at 6:15 pm, thanks to the teamwork of the RNLI Helvick Head volunteers.