£1.6m lifeboat rescues surfer

IRELAND's newest lifeboat has already been involved in a rescue. The £1.6 million vessel was off the Isle of Wight on its way to Valentia Island, Co Kerry, in stormy seas when its Irish crew rescued a surfer who had broken his leg.

The first "Severn" class lifeboat in the country, it is expected to reduce substantially the amount of time taken to reach the scene of emergencies.

The vessel is 17 metres long, making it the largest Irish lifeboat. It is to be named the RNLB John and Margaret Doig after a substantial bequest to the Royal National Life Boat Institution by the couple's daughter, Mary.

Mr Doig was a trawler master in Aberdeen. The remainder of the cost of the boat was provided by the RNLI.

The vessel has a crew of six and a "survivor capacity" of 100. It can travel to 50 miles off the coast in less than two hours, about one and a half times as fast as existing vessels. The new boat is similar to the "Trent" class lifeboat in Dun Laoghaire, but larger.

Mr Paddy Gallagher, secretary of the Valentia lifeboat, said he believed they got the first "Severn in Ireland because of the rougher terrain off the south west coast and the longer amounts of time spent at sea by the Valentia crew. There is one other such lifeboat in operation in Britain.

Six of the 15 members involved in Valentia went to Poole in Dorset to train on the new vessel and to bring it back to Kerry.

They left Poole on Saturday but have altered their schedule because of heavy seas. They stayed at Newlyn in the south of England last night but were expected to arrive in Castletownbere today and Valentia tomorrow afternoon for a civic reception.

In Ireland, north and south, there are 42 lifeboat stations in 36 harbours which cost about £3 million annually to run. Irish donations account for just over £1 million and the remainder is provided from Britain.

Ms Clare Brennan, of the RNLI, said the public equates the lifeboat service to the Garda or ambulance services.