Affluent Ireland may be good for the marine leisure trade, but it's not so good for air and sea rescue. Powerboats now constitute the largest single casualty category for voluntary lifeboat crews.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) statistics for last year record 247 launches to assist powerboats off this coastline. Almost half of all call-outs were to help pleasure craft in difficulty, and just over half of these were to powerboats - known as "BGNs" (busy going nowhere) among those experienced purists who prefer to travel by sail.
Machinery failure, groundings and simple problems like running out of fuel were the most common reasons for powerboat rescues, according to the RNLI's divisional inspector for Ireland, Colin Williams. "There is a great debate about mandatory training which the RNLI has stayed out of, but we would recommend excellent courses such as those run by the Irish Sailing Association," he said.
Some 907 call-outs to stations around the coastline last year included 173 involving fishing vessels, and some 65 "miscellaneous" tasks include the rescue of animals. Only last week, Wicklow lifeboat saved a sheep.
However, Mr Williams said safety education was paying off in that their crews noticed that lifejackets and other safety equipment were being employed much more frequently on vessels they encountered.
A total of 990 people were rescued last year by lifeboats - an average of 19 a week. Bangor, Co Down, was the busiest station on the island with 53 launches and 70 people rescued.
Within the Republic, the RNLI station in the yachting mecca of Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, launched 47 times and rescued 43 people. Two inland RNLI stations at Lough Derg in Tipperary and Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, recorded 57 launches and rescued 102 people. The RNLI, which relies on voluntary contributions and legacies, has 55 lifeboats at its 43 stations on this coastline.
The RNLI is "in ongoing dialogue" with the Government in relation to an attempt to impose passenger boat licensing regulations on rescue craft that already have to comply with the organisation's own stringent standards. The move does not affect emergencies, fortunately, as survivors are not regarded as passengers.
In a related development, the Irish Coast Guard's 81 full-time staff are to wear a uniform. Minister of State for Transport Pat "the Cope" Gallagher said this would "engender authority" and "underline the functional identity" of the organisation.
