Skerries Coast Guard

This morning, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard undertook regular training with the Coast Guard Sikorsky S-61N Rescue helicopter at Red Island, Skerries. This involved selecting and preparing the Red Island landing site, with excellent weather conditions prevailing on scene.

The volunteers received a refresher ground briefing on all operational aspects of the Coast Guard helicopter and its capabilities.

Several volunteers took part in a familiarisation flight along the Coast towards the Skerries team’s Northern SAR boundary of Laytown.

At 12:55 this afternoon, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard were tasked by the Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) to investigate reports that three adults may have been cut off by the tide near Shenick Island, Skerries. Concerned members of the public on the South Strand had contacted the emergency services as the persons appeared to be in difficulty.

Members of the Skerries team were on scene at the South Strand shoreline within minutes and observed three adults stranded on the sand bank near Shenick Island. Lifeguards on duty at the South Strand had already swam out to the persons to prevent them from attempting to swim to shore. Given the fast incoming tide, the Coast Guard immediately requested a nearby civilian RIB to provide assistance to the persons.

The civilian vessel arrived within minutes and took all persons on board, brought them safely to the shoreline, where the Skerries Coast Guard team, along with the beach lifeguards, were on hand to provide assistance. Fortunately the casualties had only been waiting a short time before they were spotted and did not require any treatment.

Remember: if you spot someone in difficulty on the coast or shoreline, even if you only think that they may be in difficulty, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD. Do not assume that someone else has made the call.

Incident # 7 of 2009

At 09:35 this morning, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard were tasked to respond to public reports that an adult male had fallen from cliffs near Loughshinny harbour, one mile South of Skerries. Several concerned members of the public, having witnessed the fall, had contacted the emergency services for assistance. Gardai, ambulance and the fire brigade, along with the Coast Guard were immediately tasked to the scene.

The faller was assisted back to safety, fortunately suffering only minor injuries.

The Coast Guard would urge members of the public to exercise extreme caution when walking near clifftops in wet and windy weather conditions.

Incident # 6 of 2009

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This evening, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard took part in a joint training exercise with the Skerries unit of Dublin Fire Brigade. This scenario based rescue exercise took place near the South Strand, Skerries and involved traversing a river to extract an injured casualty.

Skerries Coast Guard and Skerries Fire Brigade have worked together on callouts many times in the past and these joint exercises play a vital training role.

Skerries Coast Guard would like to thank the members of Skerries Fire Station for this successful exercise, which was of great benefit to both services.

This week, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard kicked off their annual water safety programme, with visits to primary schools in Skerries and Balbriggan.

During this highly interactive talk, the students learned about the importance of lifejackets when on or near the water. A practical demo on the proper way to wear lifejackets was also included.

The students also learned about the role of the Irish Coast Guard in marine search and rescue, including a tour of the Skerries unit’s rescue Jeep and equipment.

Over the course of the next two months, the volunteers will visit local primary schools throughout the unit’s search and rescue zone.

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Over the May bank holiday weekend, members of the Skerries Coast Guard team assisted with the National Windsurfing Festival at Broadmeadows estuary, Malahide, Co Dublin. Weather conditions over the weekend allowed for some excellent windsurfing.

A Coast Guard D-Class rescue boat and crew were out on the estuary providing assistance to any windsurfers who found themselves in difficulty.

The festival also provided members of the public to try out windsurfing in a safe and controlled environment.

The Skerries team also stationed the Coast Guard’s water safety promotion trailer on the shoreline, providing useful advice to the public. 

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This evening, members of the Skerries Sea Scouts Colt group paid a visit to the Skerries Coast Guard station. The sea scouts took an active part in a hands on scenario based search and rescue mission involving locating a missing person, casualty assessment and transfer to spinal board. This gave the scouts a realistic view of the search and rescue role played by the Coast Guard volunteers.

The Search took place near the Martello Tower at Red Island, Skerries and was a great success. The scouts then received a water safety briefing and equipment demo back at the Coast Guard station.

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At 09:50 this morning the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard were tasked to investigate reports of unusual floating objects. A concerned member of the public had reported sighting the two unusual objects floating near the shore in the area of Donabate beach.

Skerries Coast Guard were on scene within minutes and having spoken to the caller, conducted a shoreline search. Skerries Coast Guard monitored the two objects and determined that no further action was required.

Remember, If you see someone in difficulty in the water (sea, river or lake) or on the cliffs, or even if you think you see someone in difficulty, diall 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard - do not assume someone else has made the call.

Incident #5 of 2009

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This evening, the Skerries Coast Guard volunteers conducted a scenario based training exercise in casualty assessment and spinal injuries.

This involved locating a casualty, initial assessment, immobilisation using a spinal collar and then transfer to board.

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At 23:50 the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard were paged by the Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Dublin) to investigate public reports of a possible flare sighting. A concerned member of the public had sighted what appeared to be a red marine distress flare deployed North of Skerries.

Skerries Coast Guard were on scene within minutes and conducted a shoreline search. Visibility was good and there were several fishing vessels in the area. Nothing unusual was found and the team were stood down by MRCC.

Incident #4 of 2009

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