Figures released today show that over 1,785 people were helped by the Coast Guard last summer as hot weather saw thousands take to the sea and inland waterways.
Rescuers saved 78 people's lives during the hectic months of June, July and August.
Lifeboats from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution went to the sea 369 times during the period, while Community Inshore Rescue Boats were launched 56 times.
Statistics from the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) showed helicopters at Shannon, Dublin, Waterford and Sligo were dispatched around 160 times.
John Leech, chief executive of the Irish Water Safety (IWS) association, said: "Without a doubt, this is my fifth year in this position, and the summer was the busiest we ever had in terms of lifeguard activity, they had to do a lot of work.
"The good news is there were no drownings on life-guarded beaches."
Mr Leech said the amount of times the coastguard was alerted was similar to last year despite the massive increase in the amount of people engaging in water-related sports and leisure activities.
"It was the busiest on the beaches and waterways, there were more people exposed to risk yet the coastguard figures showed it reached a plateau.
"All the training in schools has proved beneficial," he added.
The IRCG provided vital assistance to 19 jet-ski users, 125 powered pleasure craft, 126 sailing yachts or dinghies and 97 fishing vessels.
"There are 5,500 registered cruisers on the Shannon, there are 300 extra boats on the waterway every year," he said.
Mr Leech said there were fewer call-outs to aid commercial fishermen, with many of the alerts related to sport activities. The water safety chief said the growing leisure industry had ensured the Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station was the busiest during the period.
Mr Leech said some casual boat users went out unprepared without proper safety equipment and poor training.
"It does put a certain strain on resources," he said. However, he added: "Because there are so many training courses from the Irish Sailing Association, more are going about it in the right way that is reducing the number of calls."
Mr Leech said many of the incidents where the coastguard was alerted related to mountain rescues, missing persons, cave incidents and air ambulance call-outs.
Statistics from the IWS showed so far this year there were more than 1,490 call-outs.
Mr Leech said around 94 people had drowned since the start of the year, compared with 153 lives lost during the whole of 2004.
PA