Vessel aground at Balbriggan – 24th April 2014

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Update 22:00 Friday 25th April 2014

FV Shirley Anne arriving into Balbriggan harbour under town from the FV Saint Elizabeth

FV Shirley Anne arriving into Balbriggan harbour under tow from the FV Saint Elizabeth

The FV Shirley Anne was successfully taken under tow to Balbriggan harbour this evening. After the afternoon’s repairs by the owner the FV successfully refloated on the evening’s high tide. The Skerries Coast Guard team monitored the towing operation from the nearby cliffs of Bremore. The Skerries lifeboat put a crew member on board the FV and assisted with establishing the tow with another FV, the Saint Elizabeth,  from Balbriggan harbour. Both FV arrived safely back into Balbriggan harbour shortly before 22:00. Clogherhead lifeboat also stood by in the area during the towing operation.

Update – Friday 25th April 2014Balbriggan FV

At first light this morning, the Skerries Coast Guard team checked on the grounded fishing vessel again. No pollution was noted in the area and the vessel remained intact and unmoved. Attempts will be made by the vessel’s owners to recover the vessel later today. The Coast Guard’s Dublin based helicopter, R116, also carried out an aerial observation of the area this morning. Further inspections are planned by the Coast Guard throughout today.

Balbriggan FV 2

Thursday 24th April 2014

At 21:30 this evening the Skerries Coast Guard team were tasked to assist with a report of a fishing vessel with 3 persons on board aground north of Balbrigan harbour. The razor fishing vessel “Shirley Anne” was holed and listing heavily. Conditions on scene, whilst reasonabley calm, were extremely challenging with thick fog resulting in limited visibility (<50m).

The Skerries Coast Guard team arrived at the scene within minutes and quickly located the vessel, lying offshore on rocks. Unfortunatey the team were unable to reach the vessel however communications links were established. The Coast Guard’s helicopter at Dublin airport was also tasked to the scene, however with the deteriorating weather conditions the crew were unable to deploy the winch to the fishing vessel. Gardai from Balbriggan also attended the scene at the shoreline.

Both the Skerries and Clogherhead lifeboats were tasked to the scene, and although hampered by the poor visibility, the Skerries lifeboat reached the striken vessel and recovered the three crew members safely aboard. Fortunately all 3 were uninjured.

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

Training with Coast Guard helicopter – 22 March 2014

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This morning the Skerries Coast Guard team took part in a training exercise with the Dublin based Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 116. Shortly before 10am, the Skerries Coast Guard team prepared and secured the landing site at the Red Island headland, Skerries. The Skerries team were joined for this exercise by the crew of their neighbouring station of Clogherhead Coast Guard.

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The Coast Guard helicopter was landing at Red Island to provide a training briefing to the crew of the local Skerries RNLI.

The landing also provided an opportunity to the local public to see the impressive helicopter up close and find out more about the vital service the crew provides. Once again, the Coast Guard would like to thank the public at the landing site who readily followed the safety advice from the Coast Guard personnel securing the site during the helicopter’s landing and take off.

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Skerries Coast Guard, Clogherhead Coast Guard and Skerries RNLI

A selection of photos from this exercise are available on our online gallery.

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary local rescue Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

St Patrick’s Day parade, Skerries 2014

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At 3pm this afternoon the Skerries Coast Guard team lined out at the South Strand, Skerries for the local St Patrick’s Day parade. Several members of the Skerries Coast Guard team marched the parade route, joined by the Unit’s emergency response vehicle. 

This year saw one of the biggest crowds attending the parade, cheering on all the entries. Thankfully the there was no rain during the parade, despite the dark clouds lingering overhead.  

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

Training with Coast Guard helicopter – 2nd February 2014

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The Skerries Coast Guard team took part in a scheduled training exercise this morning with the newly launched Dublin based Coast Guard helicopter, EI-ICR. The team were also joined by the neighbouring station of Clogherhead Coast Guard for this first landing of the new Sikorsky S92 at Skerries.

The teams selected and prepared the landing site, this also included the deployment of orange smoke flares. The helicopter departed its base at Dublin airport and within minutes was on scene at the Red Island headland, Skerries shortly after 10am.

Heli briefing

Once shutdown was complete, the teams received a comprehensive operational briefing on the new Coast Guard helicopter. All Coast Guard stations around the coast would work closely with the Coast Guard helicopter on rescues and it is therefore essential to take part in regular joint training with the crews.

Further photos of the exercise are available in our online gallery.

Coast Guard S92 helicopter Red Island

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard