Last weekend Saturday 13th of April there were 3 callouts. The weekend started with the boat attending a National Civil Defence Exercise (more details below). Not long after the crew left the station, the “Miss Betty” once again launched to an inflatable dinghy in trouble off Roches point area with one person on board. The dinghy was taking on water and it was escorted in by the lifeboat to Crosshaven. Later that day a second call was to a sailing dinghy, which had capsized off Aghada pier with 3 people aboard. When the lifeboat arrived on scene, they found the vessel on the rocks at east ferry, with the pilot boat standing by. The lifeboat crew went ashore and assisted the young sailors and then safely escorted the boat and crew back to Aghada to awaiting family.
On Sunday there was a small boat on the rocks again near Roches point. When the lifeboat arrived on scene they found the people on board the boat had got themselves off the rocks. They had snared a rope around the propeller of the boats engine but had managed to free it prior to the lifeboat arriving.
The lifeboat was on the water again later that day as part of training exercises for new crew, and to provide water safety for the walkers for the charity walk organised by the Carrigaline Lions club from Carrigaline to Crosshaven.
Other harbour activity this weekend saw the Cork Civil defence host a national exercise on the water. 19 teams were put through their paces with various disaster scenarios in the vicinity of the National Maritime College and Spike Island. The exercises also involved other voluntary services from the locality, Crosshaven Coast Guard and Crosshaven Lifeboat Sea Safety officer Jon Mathers, who with a team of advisors from the station, did a safety check on all the boats before they launched for the exercise. Dr John Murphy, Lifeboat Medical Officer (Crosshaven) and Helm Ian Venner provided some of the teams with training in recovery of people from the water using a mannequin dummy. For the Civil Defence the main purpose of exercise was to work on communications and working as teams.
Next week end April 19th the Irish Coast guard hosts a series of work shops “Safety on the water” at the National Maritime College of Ireland. A Sea Safety team from Crosshaven Lifeboat Station will have a stand at the event. They will be available to talk to boat users about the free services the Royal National Lifeboat Institution provides to all leisure boat users of a sea check for their boat.
The other calls this year, in general have been to boats going adrift in bad weather and mechanical problems.
For your free Sea Check contact Jon Mathers (m) 0862588714. email: rnliseasafety@eircom.net
