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Man rescued from the fog

Thursday, 15 May 2008

A man lost in dense fog in Dublin Bay was rescued by the Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat last Monday (May 5). The alarm was raised shortly before 4pm when the lone occupant of an eight metre Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) contacted the Irish Coastguard service by mobile telephone. The all-weather lifeboat RNLB Anna Livia was tasked and proceeded at reduced speed to the location off Dollymount Strand on the northside of Dublin Bay based on a GPS satellite position from equipment on board the craft. The casualty was located by radar but was disoriented in the thick fog. After more than half an hour, the boat was guided to the North Bull Wall to rendezvous with the lifeboat before it was escorted to Dun Laoghaire where it eventually returned safely and unharmed to the marina. "This afternoon's incident was one of several involving small craft lost or disoriented by fog and poor visibility," said Stephen Wynne, Lifeboat Operations Manager with the RNLI lifeboat station at Dun Laoghaire. "A compass and working marine VHF radio are essential items of equipment for small craft. So too is checking the weather forecast to enable proper preparation for conditions on the day."