Portaferry's station history

A C class lifeboat sent to station on 1 May for extended trials and training.

The Bronze Medal awarded to Helmsman John Desmond Rogers in recognition of the courage, judgment, leadership and seamanship displayed by him when the lifeboat rescued the owner of the yacht Frieda which had stranded on Janes Rock in Strangford Lough in a south westerly gale gusting to storm force and a very rough sea on the evening of 19 December 1982. The Thanks of the Institution was accorded to crew members William Ellison and Francis Rogers.

The boat number was changed from D-506 to C-506

The C class lifeboat withdrawn and replaced with an Atlantic 21.

Boathouse constructed on the north east side of the Strand to accommodate the Atlantic 21 lifeboat. It includes a crewroom, galley, drying cupboards, storage and shower.

A new station Atlantic 75 lifeboat B-706 was placed on service on13 June. The Atlantic 21 lifeboat has been withdrawn.

A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution Admiral Sir Jock Slater was presented to the station in recognition of the efforts made to search for a teenage boy who had fallen into the sea at Killough on 11 January 2004. The letter recognised not only the search efforts by those who crewed the inshore lifeboat but also the support and assistance rendered over two days by shore helpers and station officials.

Thanks on Vellum accorded to Helmsman Simon Rogers for the rescue of a man who had survived the sudden foundering of the fishing vessel Greenhill on 10 January 2006. The service was conducted in the dark on a cold night in atrocious conditions. The station received a collective Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institute in recognition of their efforts during the subsequent searches, which went on into the next day, for the other two men from the Greenhill. Only one body was eventually found. The 2006 Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge award for the most meritorious service by an Atlantic class lifeboat was made for this service.

A new station Atlantic 85 lifeboat B-833 also called Blue Peter V was placed on service on 9 July. Lifeboat B-706 has been withdrawn. This lifeboat was funded by generous donations through the Blue Peter Appeal.

A new B class boathouse was constructed for the larger 85 class at a total cost of £800,000. The construction was funded by the generous legacy of Miss Elsie Martha Evelene Sturgeon and donations to the Irish Appeal.