Provisional figures released by the RNLI charity reveal lifeboat launches across the Isle of Man between June to August rose by nearly 50 per cent compared with the same time last year.
Of the five RNLI lifeboat stations on the island, Douglas, Peel and Ramsey all reported a marked increase in call-outs.
The most notable rise has been in services by the island’s all-weather lifeboats which have increased from 13 incidents in 2012 to 26 in 2013.
The busiest stations were Peel and Ramsey, with the all-weather lifeboats launching nine times each and Ramsey seeing the biggest increase on the same period in 2012.
The summer was the busiest since 2008, when Manx lifeboats launched 36 times.
Overall, Manx RNLI lifeboats launched 31 times during the summer of 2013, compared with 21 the previous summer.
Douglas’s all-weather lifeboat launched seven times, Port Erin’s lifeboat attended four emergency call outs and the volunteer crew at Port St Mary were called out twice.
In the UK, the charity’s lifeboats launched 4,300 times – the most in 24 years – and lifeguards attended 14,814 Incidents.
While most were enjoying the prolonged sunshine and the hottest summer for seven years on the beaches and around the coast, RNLI lifeboat crews and lifeguards were out helping those in trouble.
Rescues have included Port St Mary’s launching to a yacht with its propeller caught in a lobster pot, and Peel RNLI lifeboat launching to a powerboat with engine failure.
{http://www.rnlivideolibrary.org.uk/getvideo.aspx?vid=XBZ7Hmug|Click here to see video of the Port St Mary incident}
{http://www.rnlivideolibrary.org.uk/getvideo.aspx?vid=rViXXM3o|Click here to see video of the Peel incident}
In addition, RNLI crews have been busy training to ensure they are in a constant state of readiness to answer the call for help when the pager sounds.
This summer saw three RNLI lifeboats from the Isle of Man take part in a major maritime exercise 15 miles off the coast of Northern Ireland along with three RNLI lifeboats from Northern Ireland.
The scenario involved the rapid sinking of a small passenger vessel with 30 people onboard.
The role of the casualties were played by lifeboat crew, search and rescue mannequins and numbered oranges. The oranges added an extra challenge for the lifeboat crews as they can be quite difficult to locate in large open seas and really test the search techniques of the volunteer lifeboat crews.
{http://www.rnlivideolibrary.org.uk/getvideo.aspx?vid=AoOwdfNW|Watch the video here}
Gareth Morrison, RNLI divisional operations manager for the Isle of Man, said: ‘The fine weather has seen people flock to the coast to enjoy the fine weather, which has meant an increase in call outs for our volunteers. More than half the stations on the island have seen an increase in services during the summer which shows their true dedication of our lifeboat crews to saving lives at sea.
‘Not only has it been busy at the sharp end, but our crews also spent a very busy summer training to ensure they are well prepared for a variety of rescue scenarios.’