A few days ago, two British fishing vessels collided near Rockall, some 250 miles north-west of Bloody Foreland. One sank, and the other ship rescued its crew. Then the second began taking water in a 20-foot swell with force six to seven winds.
Two RAF Seaking helicopters and a Nimrod aircraft were called out in the knowledge that conditions might make assistance too difficult and that the location was at the extreme end of their range. Although the incident occurred in the British coastguard's zone, the closest search and rescue (SAR) base was not in Scotland but at Finner in south Donegal.
Yet the Air Corps helicopter crew on duty could only listen to the radio exchanges in frustration. People's lives were at risk and they were grounded, without the equipment to help.
Fortunately, the second ship did not founder and everyone returned safely to port. Had the circumstances been otherwise - and had Irish vessels on Rockall grounds been involved - pilot Donal Scanlan might have found it hard to sleep that night. Seven years after a Government report recommended purchase of a medium-range helicopter, the Air Corps is still working with short-range Dauphins that have a maximum daylight capability of 125 miles. True, medium-range craft have been provided - but on contract, as part of a State policy that is effectively privatising SAR. Small wonder that Defence Force pilots are leaving to take up opportunities elsewhere. "Yes, people say `we are going because of the money', and there are lots of opportunities in the commercial sector," Commdt Scanlan says. "But we are trained to fly, and we chose to do a certain job. Rescue work is very demanding, and very rewarding. There is a great satisfaction that no one seems to take into account."
It is the sort of satisfaction that is evident, even on the twice-daily training missions which the crew on duty at Finner must carry out. Night in, night out, one of the two training runs must be done in darkness with a vessel in Donegal Bay or beyond. Last week the air team of pilots Scanlan (Dublin) and John O'Keeffe (Waterford), airmen Jim O'Neill (Strabane) and Tommy Gannon (Dublin), backed up by the ground crew of Tony Curtin, Mark O'Brien, Tony Costello and signalman Mark Fahy, had a "survivor" to practise on. In exchange for a firsthand demonstration of their work, this reporter was the dummy sent down on the winch. Thanks to a ridge of high pressure, the training schedule went relatively smoothly. The Dauphin hovered automatically at 50 feet over a small ferry, as the moon lit up St John's Point and a glassy sea. The ferry skipper knew the routine, and his mate was unlikely to do anything wild with the precious hi-line. The drill must be repeated in detail at every pre-flight brief.
Barely two months ago the Finner crew came to the aid of civilian colleagues, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES) Shannon-based mediumrange helicopter developed gearbox problems off Mayo. The IMES Sikorsky was engaged in picking up a casualty off a Norwegian fishing vessel at the time.
In 50-knot winds and 20-foot swells, the Air Corps crew of Comdt Murphy, Captain David O'Flaherty and Airmen John O'Rourke and Jim O'Neill escorted the Sikorsky into Blacksod refuelling pad, and then flew out to assist the sick crewman and the IMES winchman who had been left behind. They took the casualty to Sligo Hospital, refuelling en route. Barely had they touched down when they got a call to pick up a 67-year-old man on Inishbiggle and bring him to hospital in Castlebar.
In contrast to the IMES helicopters, the Air Corps will get as many call-outs inland as at sea. Mountain rescue missions on Croagh Patrick, in the Nephinbeg range, the Slieve League cliffs of Donegal and the Darty range in Sligo/Leitrim are frequent.
There are medical evacuations, and bad weather island runs. Since 1991, when the Finner base was opened in response to the west coast SAR helicopter campaign, the Dauphins have carried out 368 search and rescue missions, 101 air ambulance trips, 163 island medical evacuations, 49 island relief missions and over 90 other tasks.
The Air Corps is now flying the Garda helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, and a second helicopter is being sought. A new SAR base is to be opened in Waterford in July. But its SAR mission at Baldonnel is to be disbanded and will be replaced by a medium-range craft on contract to IMES at Dublin. The Scottish company involved, Bond Helicopters, holds the Shannon contract and will be well placed to bid for any oil and gas exploration-related work on the west coast if this comes about.
In Comdt Scanlan's view, the Baldonnel SAR closure will represent a watershed. In this jubilee year, the Air Corps will no longer hold prime responsibility for air rescue on the Irish Sea, even if its equipment limited it to daytime missions until very recently. "We always had an ethos based around SAR. Now everyone wants to fly helicopters, and we are providing the trained crew that enables private companies to bid competitively for this work. The question is: could they do it so cheaply without that expertise?"
And, if the trend continues, could Finner be next?
