Portaferry RNLI launch to the aid of five men on board seven metre yacht
Volunteer lifeboat crew at Portaferry RNLI responded for the second time in 48 hours to a launch request this evening, Thursday 4 May 2017, to go to the aid of five men on board a seven metre yacht experiencing difficulty on Strangford Lough.
The volunteer crew were paged at 8.41pm and the RNLI Lifeboat, an inshore Atlantic 85, was on the water only minutes later at 8.45pm.
The RNLI volunteers headed towards the reported location of the casualty which was just north of Don O’Neill Island in Strangford Lough County Down.
The Lifeboat crew arrived on scene at 8.52pm where the weather was clear with good visibility, though a force six north easterly was creating choppy sea conditions with a moderate two metre swell.
The five men on the sailing boat had experienced some heavy going and though they were in no longer in any immediate danger, the crew of the lifeboat made the decision to remain with them and escort the five men into the safe waters of Ringhaddy Sound.
Once the RNLI crew had established that the five crew members on board the yacht were safe in the calmer waters at Ringhaddy and that their boat was not experiencing any problems, the volunteer crew departed the scene at 9.15pm and returned to station.
Ends
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For more information please contact Bernard Roddy, Portaferry RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at
[email protected] or telephone 07717318003, or Nuala McAloon, RNLI Press Officer Ireland on 00353876483547, email
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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
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