Busy weekend for rescue services on the Northside

RESCUE services on the Northside were kept busy over the May Bank Holiday Weekend.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard was requested to attend an incident on Dollymount beach when a kite surfer sustained injuries after being dropped 20 foot onto the sand dunes.

Two units from Howth responded and provided assistance to Dublin Fire Brigade who were at the scene providing advanced life support with their paramedic and advanced paramedic teams.

The casualty was extracted from the beach in a Coast Guard jeep and then transferred over to a waiting ambulance.

The inter-agency operation between Dublin City Council Park Rangers, Dublin Fire Brigade and the Irish Coast Guard ensured that the casualty, whose injuries were not life threatening, was extracted in a timely and efficient manner

Meanwhile, on the Bank Holiday Monday, Howth RNLI launched its all-weather and inshore lifeboats after receiving reports of a sailing yacht, with five people aboard, experiencing steering failure at the entrance to Malahide Estuary.

The inshore lifeboat was first on scene and located the vessel just after 12 noon. The 30ft sailing yacht
was unable to safely manoeuvre due to its steering problems.

The all-weather lifeboat arrived on the scene shortly after and secured a towline to the stricken yacht. The casualty vessel was towed to the safety of Howth Marina.

The wind was Force 4-5 and the sea state was moderate at the entrance to Malahide Estuary. Both the inshore and all-weather lifeboats returned to their station and were stood down after the successful rescue.

Speaking following the call out, Ian Sheridan, Howth RNLI Duty Coxswain, said: “We were delighted to assist the five crew of the sailing yacht after they found themselves with no steering at the entrance to Malahide marina. 

“They quickly radioed for assistance, which was the correct thing to do, and we were able to launch and tow the yacht to safety.”