Achill RNLI rescued five people in 2014

Achill RNLI rescued five people in 2014


Ciara Galvin

THE Achill RNLI rescued five people last year with the lifeboat crew conducting 13 launches in total. Though this figure saw a welcomed decrease of incidents on both water and land, nationally, figures of RNLI launches are up.  
RNLI lifeboat crews launched 1,089 times last year in Ireland, bringing over 1,400 people to safety, showing that more people are getting into difficulty on leisure craft.
A breakdown of Achill RNLI figures show seven medical evacuations, three boats in difficulty, a person in trouble in water, a road traffic accident and ensuring the boat’s immediate readiness for a situation.
“These figures show the increasingly vital role played by Achill RNLI in assisting with the medical evacuation of people from our surrounding islands, predominantly Clare Island and Inishturk and the importance of the lifeboat in serving the emergency needs of the wider island community in the region,” said Lifeboat Operations Manager, Tom Honeyman.  
Although the call out count of 13 was below the high water mark of 29 for the previous year, the crew and supporting committees were busy training and raising much needed funds.
With regular crew competency-based training (COBT), exercises most weekend, and examinations by the regional RNLI inspectors, the Achill RNLI had a very busy year.  

New recruits
The voluntary group inducted new recruits and its fundraising team organised a host of fundraisers.
The national charity is advising the public to think ahead and never underestimate the strength and power of the sea and inland waters.
Almost half of the call outs last year were to leisure vessels, many of which had run aground or had engine problems, while 35 percent of lifeboat call outs were carried out in the hours of darkness.
The Ballyglass all-weather and inshore lifeboats had a combined 12 launches rescuing eleven people, while Clifden RNLI lifeboats rescued 16 people, in 19 launches last year.