The all-weather lifeboat “Roy and Barbara Harding”, under command of Coxswain B. O’ Driscoll and with crew B. Gonnelly, J. Cross, P. O’Conor, P. Stevens, J. Murphy, A. Sparrow, D. Murphy, and M. Norton, slipped her moorings at 5.15 p.m. and was on-scene one mile west of Sheep’s Head by 5.50 p.m. Also on board was the R.N.L.I. Training Assessor, C. Blunnie, who examines  crew competence in lifeboat operational procedures. Sea conditions were moderate with a Force 5 northerly wind.

The Sikorsky helicopter call sign “Charlie Golf” crewed by a pilot, co-pilot, winchman, and winch operator, arrived minutes later to start the joint exercise. The lifeboat set a course into the weather in a northerly direction at a constant speed of ten knots and the helicopter took up a hovering position above the lifeboat. A number of exercises were executed, including dropping the winchman on the afterdeck, transferring lifeboat crew to the helicopter, and a stretcher exercise. On completion of the joint exercise, the helicopter took fuel at the Castletownbere Helipad prior to departure for Shannon.

Helicopters and lifeboats work very closely in sea rescue, but neither can replace the other. There are jobs which one can perform better than the other – equally there are times when both are needed. Helicopters may be able to reach casualties quicker and make safer approaches in certain conditions. Their speed is a major advantage, as is their range. On the other hand, lifeboats can stay at sea for long periods, can tow vessels, have a high person carrying capacity, respond quickly to local incidents, and are effective in extremely bad weather. In 2002, Irish lifeboats responded to 654 call-outs while the Coast Guard helicopters based at Shannon, Waterford, and Dublin flew 268 missions. Many of these incidents involved both rescue services working together, and indeed Castletownbere has had a number of joint call-outs with the Shannon based helicopter.

There are in excess of thirty five exercises between the Shannon helicopter and lifeboats annually and these are considered an important part of search and rescue training. Coast Guard helicopter pilot Capt. Robert Goodbody stated, “Joint training exercises such as the one that took place with Castletownbere lifeboat are of enormous benefit to helicopter crews.” He went on to say that “Not only do we benefit from joint crew training, but lifeboats  offer an additional challenge as they are shorter than the vessels to which we usually  transfer a winchman.”

In conclusion, Coxswain O’Driscoll said that “the exercise was most successful in that it gave both crews an opportunity to familiarise themselves with each other’s operational procedures.”