Surfers to seek meeting with rescue service over fines row

Surfer representatives are to seek a meeting with the Irish Marine Search and Rescue Committee (IMSRC) over its threat to have penalties imposed on three surfers who refused assistance from the Coast Guard last month.

The surfers could face fines of up to €2,000 each and a Garda investigation as a result of the incident, in which they refused to be winched to safety in a Coast Guard helicopter.

Up to 40 people were involved in the rescue effort off the Cliffs of Moher on November 24th, which was sparked by a call to emergency services from an onshore observer who saw the surfers get into difficulty.

However, Tom Buckley, who runs a surf shop in Lahinch and witnessed the incident, said yesterday the rescue should never have taken place.

"I have the height of regard for the rescue services, but they should never have been called out. The men were having difficulties but these were not insurmountable."

The main problem they faced was to get their equipment, which included surfboards, a jet ski and photographic equipment, back to Doolin, he said. The men, who are Irish, were all accomplished surfers with years of experience, he added.

"You have to be on top of your game to be out on the waves where they were, at this time of the year."

The Irish Surfing Association's position was that the surfers should accept to be rescued if similar circumstances arose. However, those involved were not members of the association and never considered themselves to be in danger, Mr Buckley said.

The IMSRC had expressed concern that when the helicopter pilot went into position, the people who were in trouble declined assistance unless their surfboards could be taken on the helicopter. Eventually the surfers were rescued by the Doolin Coast Guard Unit boat and transferred to the Aran Islands lifeboat.

It said the provisions of the Maritime Safety Act were being examined with a view to action.

"During the course of the attempted helicopter rescue, the pilot and crew had displayed exceptional airmanship and courage in manoeuvring the aircraft into position to carry out the rescue. They were operating close up against the cliff face and succeeded in lowering the winch man on a 260ft cable to recover the surfers who had become stranded on rocks below.

"The committee expressed its deep concern in relation to this incident and wishes to state in the strongest terms that the behaviour of the surfers involved was completely unacceptable to the rescue agencies and to the maritime community that it represents.

The statement continued: "The actions of those who seek recreation on Irish waters and who then place themselves in undue peril in the expectation that the rescue services will respond is . . . dangerously irresponsible."

It added that the committee stressed "that the rescue services in Ireland never fail to give assistance to any person in distress at sea or elsewhere. Therefore, there is an obligation on the public . . . to respond to the reasonable requests made by the rescue units at the scene of any incident in an effort to save life."