On Thursday 9 June 2016, a crew of RNLI volunteers from the Portaferry Lifeboat Station went to the aid of three men on board a four-metre dory who had become lost in thick fog close to Ballyhornan on the County Down coast.
The launch request was received from the Coastguard at 4.38pm and the Portaferry RNLI Lifeboat, an inshore Atlantic 85, launched at 4.45pm
At the time of the launch, the weather was extremely foggy with very poor visibility, a force two southerly wind and smooth sea conditions.
The three men had become lost in worsening thick fog conditions and were unsure of their exact location.
Rather than try and guess their location, they called the emergency services for help giving a rough position as somewhere between Sheepland Harbour and Guns Island, just off the County Down Coast.
The volunteer crew from Portaferry RNLI headed towards the men’s general location and at first passed the three men in the thick fog.
On arrival at Sheepland Harbour, however, the Lifeboat crew started to track back towards Guns Island.
By this time the men on board the lost vessel had called the Coastguard once more to report that they had heard the engines of the Lifeboat passing by, helping to pinpoint their location.
The Portaferry Lifeboat crew arrived on scene with the casualty vessel at 5.15pm, close to Guns Island and attached a tow rope to vessel and proceeded to tow the three men into Ballyhornan Bay where the three men went safely ashore before the Lifeboat returned to station.
Following on the rescue, Brian Bailie, Portaferry Lifeboat Operations Manager commented: ‘The three men made the correct decision when they called for help. They had become lost and disorientated in thick fog and rather than try to blindly find their own way to shore, they called for help and remained in the area they last believed they were.
“This made our job a lot easier and I am delighted that our volunteer crew have helped bring these men safely to shore.”
