Baltimore's brave volunteers honoured for their part in rescue

THREE volunteer members of Baltimore RNLI were honoured for their part in an eight-hour rescue that saved the life of a sailor.

Helm Brendan Cottrell, coxswain Aidan Bush, and crewmember Brian McSweeney were presented with framed letters of thanks, signed by the chair of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The awards were presented by RNLI council member Ian Venner at a recent celebratory station dinner at Casey’s in Baltimore.

The sailor had been taking part in a single- handed yacht race from France to the south coast of Ireland, and back again.

A capsized catamaran – 70 miles off the coast of Baltimore on the evening of July 19th 2022 – proved perilous for the single-handed sailor. But that was just the start of his troubles because after launching his own liferaft it turned upside down and he was unable to right it. The exhausted sailor was, however, able to stay onboard.

The Coast Guard chopper from Shannon had been tasked but due to the rough seas, gale force conditions, and a tangle of wires and netting on the vessel, it was deemed too dangerous to attempt a rescue from the air.

After launching at about 5.40pm, the RNLI crew rescued the sailor shortly before 9pm in rough and challenging conditions.

The lifeboat’s smaller Y-boat was deployed and after a couple of attempts they managed to safely recover the sailor, who was taken onboard the all-weather lifeboat.

He was subsequently airlifted by the Coast Guard helicopter and taken to hospital, while the RNLI crew returned to base at 1.30am.

The three men’s excellent decision making, seamanship, boat handling, and courage was noted. Baltimore’s lifeboat operations manager Tom Bushe said that the presentation was a great honour for the recipients, and also for the lifeboat station.

‘The rescue happened a long way from home and involved split-second decision making and precise boat-handling skills,’ he told The Southern Star.

‘The conditions that day were very difficult and they had to contend with the added obstacle of the hanging wires and netting.

‘Our crews train for everything and we know they can be called on to go out to sea for hours at a time. We are proud of our lifeboat crew and this recognition is well deserved,’ he added.

At the event, two long-serving volunteers, Diarmuid Collins and Declan Tiernan, were also presented with their certificates of service in recognition of their many years as operations volunteers with Baltimore RNLI.

Diarmuid served as lifeboat crew on both the inshore and all-weather lifeboats from 2010 to 2021, and was also a navigator for a period of time.

Declan was shore crew and a plant operator, with a record of service from 2008 to 2019. He remains involved with the station to this day as part of the station’s successful fundraising team.