This article is from page 10 of the 2006-12-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
THE DOOLIN Coastguard Unit yesterday confirmed that surfers have made contact in a bid to improve safety measures for surfing near the Cliffs of Moher.
Mattie Shannon said that one of the five surfers who was surfing off the Cliffs of Moher last month when two refused assistance from the Irish Coastguard has made contact to discuss improved safety measures.
“It was agreed that the Coastguard Unit would be notified if the surfers would be going out surfing again and that they would be contactable by VHF radio,” he said.
On November 24 last while engaging in tow-in surfing of the 30 ft Aill na Serracht wave off the Cliffs, two surfers got into difficulty with a third on the shore and they all refused to be winched to safety by a winchman from the Irish Coastguard Helicopter in an rescue effort involving 40 people.
Mr Shannon described the decision by two of the surfers not to accept assistance from the coastguard as “very foolish”.
The latest move comes after the surfers who refused assistance were warned that they could face fines of up to €2,000 each.
Irish Coastguard Service search and rescue manager, Eamon Torpay confirmed that they intended to take action against the surfers concerned.
“We are looking at provisions of the Irish Maritime Safety Act and are consulting with Gardai, Irish Water Safety and the local Water Safety Officer,” he said.
Mr Torpay said that the surfers’ actions “were irresponsible and showed a lack of respect towards the rescue services”.
Last Thursday, the Irish Marine Search and Rescue Committee (IMSARC) described the surfers’ behaviour as ‘completely unacceptable’. They claimed the surfers “refused assistance from the helicopter, because the crew would not recover their surfboards. Eventually the surfers were rescued by the Doolin Coastguard boat and transferred to the Aran Islands lifeboat”.
“During the attempted helicopter rescue, the pilot and crew displayed exceptional airmanship and courage in manoeuvring the aircraft into position to carry out the rescue. They were operating close up against the cliffface and succeeded in lowering the winchman on a 260-foot cable to recover the surfers who had become stranded on rocks below.”
Along with Gardai and the Dept of Defence, the committee is also made up of representatives from the Irish Coast Guard HQ, Naval Service HQ, RNLI HQ Ireland Aircorps HQ and Irish Water Safety.