Lifesavers!

LOCAL RNLI crews and the Irish Coast Guard were involved in a number of rescues of people getting into difficulty in the water during the spell of good weather.

On July 1, while on exercise the Irish Coast Guard boat based at Howth station was tasked to assist three kayakers lost in fog at an unknown position believed to be off the coast of Malahide.

The three had left the Howth peninsula under good conditions but while on the water, southerly winds increased and a fog quickly descended, making visibility of land impossible.

They contacted the Coast Guard by Marine VHF radio requesting assistance as they were unsure of their location and were drifting.

The crew on the Coast Guard boat responded, and with limited visibility the group were located between Donabate and Lambay Island.

All three were in good spirits and the Coast Guard boat assisted them back to Howth where a shore team transported them back to their starting point.

According to a spokesman for the Irish Coast Guard, the response from the kayakers was textbook in the way to deal with a changing situation at sea.

“They had flares, VHF radio, lifejackets and extra layers of clothing,

? he said.

“Conditions at sea can change very quickly and the group remained calm and tight together, using their paddles to attract the attention of the Coast Guard boat.

“Had the Kayakers not had a VHF radio they wouldn’t have been able to contact the Coast Guard directly and with the weather becoming progressively worse the outcome could have been different.

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The spokesman added:

“Mobile phones can have very limited capability at sea and shouldn’t be relied upon.

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On June 29, Howth RNLI inshore lifeboat launched at 4.40pm to reports of four men in two kayaks in difficulties one mile north of Howth harbour with one of the men in need of medical assistance.

The casualty had been kayaking with his three friends when one of the kayaks overturned throwing the occupants into the water.

According to Howth RNLI, the man was not wearing a wetsuit or a buoyancy aid and was suffering from the onset of hypothermia.

The lifeboat located the casualties within four minutes of launching and took all four men aboard the lifeboat with the kayaks in tow and treated the casualty for hypothermia at the scene.

Volunteer lifeboat helm Ian Martin told Northside People:

“The casualty was in this instance extremely lucky as without a proper wetsuit his core body temperature was dropping very fast and this could have been very serious.

“We urge all kayakers to have the proper clothing, wetsuits and lifejackets before heading out to sea.

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Meanwhile, on June 28, Skerries RNLI brought four people to safety after their racing yacht began taking on water after striking rocks near one of the islands off Skerries.

Skerries RNLI volunteers launched their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat

‘Louis Simpson’, shortly after 4pm, when reports were received by Dublin Coast Guard that a yacht had struck rocks near Colt island.

The lifeboat with volunteer Philip Ferguson at the helm and crewed by volunteers Eoin Grimes, Simon Shiels and Emma Wilson, made its way directly to the area.

After a quick search the vessel was located. Having freed themselves from the rocks, they were making their way towards Skerries harbour.

Water was leaking into the yacht through damage to the hull. The lifeboat was positioned alongside and a crew member boarded, bringing the salvage pump carried aboard the lifeboat.

The yacht was then taken under tow and brought to the safety of Skerries harbour.

At the harbour, several more volunteer crew joined the others and assisted in getting the yacht on to a trailer and taken out of the water.

Gerry Canning , volunteer lifeboat press officer for Skerries RNLI, said:

“The RNLI spends a lot of time and effort making sure that our volunteers have exactly the equipment they need to cater for any kind of emergency.

“In emergencies such as this, the salvage pump can be invaluable.

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