Early this morning, during a routine familiarisation foot patrol at Loughshinny, members of Skerries Coast Guard discovered a small two person inflatable dinghy washed ashore near the high water line. The team immediately notified the Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Control Centre (MRCC). The dinghy was still in good condition, with some personal items on board and appeared to have been washed ashore by the high tide earlier that morning. No reports of overdue vessels had been logged with the Coast Guard. The full Skerries Coast Guard team were immediately tasked to attend the scene as there was the possibility that there may have been persons missing in the water.
However, Gardai at Balbriggan confirmed that a dinghy matching the description had been allegedly removed from a local garden during the night and was reported missing by its owner. Another eyewitness on scene confirmed he had observed a group of youths placing the dinghy on the beach earlier that morning. The Coast Guard were satisfied that the dinghy had not been in the water and no further action was required.
Incident # 11 of 2009