Newcastle RNLI respond to two call outs in 24 hours to bring two vessels to safety
Newcastle RNLI has responded to two separate call outs in the last 24 hours bringing to vessels and their crew to safety off the county Down coast.
At 9.13am this morning Tuesday 14 July, Belfast Coastguard requested the launch of the station’s all-weather lifeboat following a report that a pleasure boat with one person onboard had suffered engine failure.
The location of the craft in difficulty was given as inside the Cow and Calf approximately six miles east of the lifeboat station.
failure south of Newcastle.
The lifeboat under Coxswain Nathan Leneghan and with a volunteer crew onboard, made its way to the scene in calm conditions and light winds and arrived just before 9.40am.
The lifeboat after navigating through submerged rocks on an ebbing tide, took the vessel under tow and proceeded towards Dundrum Harbour, where the boat had launched from earlier this morning.
Due to the tidal conditions, the Coxswain requested the launch of the station’s inshore lifeboat to assist with the onward tow to the mooring. The tow was passed from the Mersey Class lifeboat to the D Class lifeboat and then handed into the care of Newcastle Coastguard Rescue Team.
Meanwhile, yesterday (Monday), Belfast Coastguard requested the launch of the station’s all-weather lifeboat at 9.53am to go to the aid of a boat with two people onboard. The location of the craft in difficulty was given as somewhere between the Bloody Bridge and William’s Harbour.
The lifeboat made its way to the casualty vessel and arrived on the scene just before 10.20am. A local vessel was already with the casualty vessel. The lifeboat took the vessel under tow and proceeded to the slipway in Annalong.
Due to the tidal conditions the Coxswain requested the launch of the inshore lifeboat to assist with the recovery of the casualty vessel.
Speaking after this morning’s call out, Newcastle RNLI Coxswain Nathan Leneghan said:  “We would like to commend the actions of the boat owner on quickly deploying his anchor to stop him drifting onto rocks and making the situation trickier.
“As the summer continues, we would remind everyone regardless of their activity to always respect the water.
“Always wear a lifejacket, always carrying a means of communication and should you get into difficulty or see someone else in trouble, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.”
