Briain Kelly, 22 Sep
Galway RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew came to the rescue of a walker on
Hare Island who was cut off by the incoming tide this weekend.
The crew of Brian Niland, Martin Oliver and Stefanie Carr had the lifeboat
on the water shortly after 4pm on Friday and made their way to Hare Island
which is accessible to walkers at low tide.
The casualty was located and taken safely on board the lifeboat. The crew
then returned to the lifeboat station and the casualty, who didn’t require
medical attention, was able to get ashore safely.
Brian Niland who was helm on the lifeboat said, “The person we rescued
this afternoon did the right thing. They had a mobile phone and called for
help when they realised that they had been cut off by the tide, which
still coming in as we arrived on the island. Staying put was definitely
the right thing to do.”
This was the second shout for the crew in the space of 24 hours after a
request to launch on Thursday afternoon to reports of a person caught out
by the incoming tide near Kinvara.
The crew were stood down on arrival in Kinvara as the person had been
brought safely ashore by Gardaí on the scene.
“We’ve had a lovely late summer in the past week and many people took the
opportunity to enjoy the fine weather out on or by the water. Walking
around coasts is a very safe activity most of the time but it is very easy
to get caught out by tides and we’ve had particularly high tides in the
past few days. Our advice is to always take a means of calling for help
and to check the weather and tides before you head out. Tide times and
heights vary throughout the month and can easily catch you out if you
haven’t checked them.
‘If you get into difficulty or see someone in difficulty, please dial 999
or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.’