The chief of operations has written to the Commissioners of Irish Lights thanking the keeper and crew of the Kish Bank lighthouse for their assistance during a five-hour search for a yacht in difficulties. Without their help it might have been difficult to have brought the search to a successful conclusion, as all radio messages had to be relayed via the lighthouse.It was at 0010 on 6 August 1990 that the honorary secretary at Dun Laoghaire station was first informed that a yacht called Splash had transmitted a 'Pan-Pan' message that she had engine failure and was drifting northwards in very rough seas three miles from Dun Laoghairc and required assistance. The wind was Force 5 to 6 from the north-west.

The station's Waveney class Lad\ of Lancashire was launched but could find no sign of the yacht. From then on communication with her proved impossible, or at best very difficult, and could only be carried out via the Kish Bank lighthouse, about 6 miles offshore to the east of the station.

Conflicting The yacht continued to give conflicting information as to which 'lights' she could see. and her bearine and distance. Further- more, the Kish lighthouse keepers could see the lights of the lifeboat as she searched, but not the yacht's.

A passing yacht managed to raise Splash, with very poor reception, but by 0122 neither Kish lighthouse nor the second yacht could receive her. However, ten minuteslater the Irish Lights vessel Granuaille anchored off the Skerries, more than 15 miles to the north of the search area, picked up Splash's transmissions, and the lifeboat crew began to think that the crew of Splash may have misunderstood her position and the lights which she could see. Perhaps she wasto the north and not, as she thought, south and east of the station.

Howth lifeboat was launched to search the area to the north, but as soon as she was afloat she too could not receive Splash.

At 0232 a phone number was obtained from Splash, with some difficulty, and when this proved negative the call-out began to look like a very elaborate hoax.

However, the coxswain continued the search, keeping in touch with the yacht via the Kish Bank light. White flares were fired to see if Splash could see them, but to no avail.

A call from Holyhead coastguard, on the far side of the Irish sea, then suggested that the yacht was on a bearing which would put her further north, but a further telephone number was then obtained. This connected with the owner's wife and family, who were expecting the yacht at 2300 that evening from Holyhead, to which she had sailed the previous day.

Bearing Using what information the coxswain could get via the Kish, and asking for continual transmissions on VHP, he finally managed to obtain a bearing with the radio direction finder. At 0452 the yacht's skipper said he was near the East Codling Light, some ten miles SE of the original search area, but unfortunately this did not accord with the coxswain's radio bearing...

Finally, at 0503 visual contact was made, one mile NW of the West Codling Light, five miles inshore of the East Codling light and some ten miles to the south of the original reported position. The yacht was eventually taken in tow at 0514, more than five hours after the original alert, and the lifeboat and casualty returned to Dun Laoghaire, the tow taking nearly two and a half hours, to make fast at 0740..