A day passage is planned for Thursday 1st March on Alan Massey Departing Baltimore at 0900 hrs for Courtmacsherry and then on to Castletownbere before returning to Baltimore at 1900 hrs. It is expected that the Alan Massey will go on station soon after.
Cathal lights a flare to celebrate the arrival of the Tamar
15 February 2012
Baltimore RNLI’s new Tamar class lifeboat Alan Massey arrived home today to a huge welcome. After crew training and commissioning, the Alan Massey will replace the Tyne class Hilda Jarrett which has served Baltimore lifeboat crews since 1988. The new lifeboat left RNLI Headquarters in Poole last Saturday calling at a number of lifeboat stations along the way before undertaking the final leg of the journey this morning from Crosshaven to Baltimore Harbour.
Onboard the lifeboat were Baltimore RNLI crewmembers, Coxswain Kieran Cotter, mechanic Cathal Cottrell, Jerry Smith, Ronnie Carthy and Pat Collins along with RNLI Training Divisional Inspector Owen Medland and Deputy Divisional Engineer Michael Carmody. The Hilda Jarret and the inshore lifeboat Bessie rendezvoused South of the Baltimore Beacon to accompany the new lifeboat on her triumphant arrival. Local ferry operators brought passengers out to escort the new lifeboat home. They were accompanied by a fleet of over 150 Optimist and Laser dinghy junior sailors, RIBS and motorboats, cheering and sounding horns. Local school children from Rathmore NS lined the pier and sang to welcome the new boat as
The new lifeboat, which is named Alan Massey (ON 1302) was largely funded through a legacy from Mrs Dorothy May Massey from Watford in England, and has been named in memory of her late brother Alan, who it is understood had a love of the sea.
It is a proud day for Baltimore. RNLI Coxswain Kieran Cotter said, “We have been looking forward to this moment for a long time and we wish to acknowledge our volunteer lifeboat crew both past and present. The arrival of a new lifeboat to a station is an occasion of great pride and excitement. The Hilda Jarrett has served us well for over twenty years but as a Coxswain you look forward to receiving the newest lifeboat model with all the latest developments and technology onboard. We will spend the next month or so training all the volunteer lifeboat crew on her before we say goodbye to our Tyne class lifeboat, which will be returned to the relief fleet in Poole. We have so many memories onboard that old lifeboat, one of the highlights being the Rambler 100 rescue last August. However along with the successful rescues there have also been tragedies and most recently we witnessed this with the search for the missing crewmen from the Tit Bonhomme in Glandore Harbour. Our thoughts are with their families today.”
The new Tamar class lifeboat is 16.3 metres in length with a maximum speed of 25 knots compared to the 14.3 metres of Baltimore RNLI’s current Tyne class lifeboat which has a maximum speed of 18 knots. The lifeboat is self-righting in the event of a capsize and is fitted with an integrated electronics systems and information management system, which allows the lifeboat crew to monitor, operate and control many of the boats systems from shock mitigating seats.
Sitting outside in the square afterwards good humored supporters exchanged stories and enjoyed a fabulous evening blessed by sunshine and clear skies. This bright and unseasonally clement February day couldn’t have been better for a homecoming and augers well for the future of Alan Massey at Baltimore lifeboat station.
Rescue 117 posted these photos of our new Tamar Alan Massey on an exercise off the Waterford coast – she is beautiful – and she will be in Baltimore tomorrow!
The wheelhouse view from the navigators seat shows the crew on a training exercise as part of their Pre-Comissioning Training (PCT), RNLI Coxswain/Trainer Peter Gale is in the red oilskins. The helm and coxswain seats and consoles aboard Alan Massey look more like an aircraft cockpit.
Jamie Ryan D.L.A. Rosslare Harbour took a trip to Kilmore Quay yesterday evening and watched RNLB Alan Massey come in behind RNLB Killarney.
Thanks for your good wishes and the photo!
If you spot the Alan Massey en route to Baltimore you can send photos via the contacts page.
2011 saw RNLI Baltimore lifeboats launch 22 times to a variety of callouts. 33 people were rescued over the course of the year by volunteer lifeboat crews who spent over 740 hours on service at sea. 7 of the shouts occurred during the hours of darkness.
The inshore lifeboat Bessie was launched 9 times and the all weather life boat Hilda Jarrett 13 times last year. Later this spring Hilda Jarrett will be replaced by a new Tamar class lifeboat, the Alan Massey. Shoreworks are already underway to accommodate the new lifeboat on a purpose built berth at the Bullpoint Station.
Commenting on the 2011 statistics RNLI Deputy Divisional Inspector Gareth Morrison said: ‘Our lifeboat volunteers continue to show selfless dedication and commitment to saving lives. Some stations are extremely busy while others have less callouts but spend long hours at sea in awful conditions. There were some outstanding rescues last year including that to Rambler 100, in which Baltimore RNLI recovered 17 crewmembers off the upturned hull of the racing boat during the Fastnet race. Sadly there were also long searches for missing loved ones.
‘The work of the volunteer lifeboat crews could not be made possible without the generosity of the public who in difficult times continue to support Irish lifeboat crews. While these figures give an interesting insight into search and rescue by the RNLI on Irish waters they are by no means the full story. As well as working to save lives at sea the RNLI provides other programmes and services for the public including sea safety advice and clinics, education roadshows and visits to lifeboat stations.’
The 2011 figures are being released in the wake of the RNLI Lifejackets for Lifesavers campaign which will see every lifeboat station in Ireland take delivery of new specially designed lifejackets in September. The lifejackets have been commissioned by the RNLI for search and rescue work and have been given the seal of approval from lifeboat volunteers. The cost of providing the lifejackets for all 43 lifeboat stations in Ireland is estimated at €160,000.
More photos mostly uncredited so if you can help out please do let us know through the form on the contacts page.
Donie O’Regan, Paul O’Regan, Christy Collins, Noel Cottrell and John O’Regan on board the Robert towing in the Kayuka the morning after the Fastnet race disaster in August 1979
See Lesson 2 for another photo taken the same morning of the lifeboat with the Kayuka alongside.
Thanks to Cathal for setting the record straight.
Helm Kieran Collins with John McDonagh & Paul O’Driscoll launched the ILB Bessie at 08:00 this morning to join in the search at Glandore Harbour following the sinking of the Tit Bonhomme on 15th January last. Both the ILB and ALB have spent many hours searching the shore line from [...]
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