Volunteer lifeboat crew at Portaferryxa0RNLIxa0responded to four separate calls for help in a 24-hour period (Thursday 29 May).
The first call was received atxa06.07pmxa0to help four people on board a small power boat which was experiencing engine problems near Church Point in the Strangford Narrows area of Strangford Lough County Down.
At the time, the weather was cloudy with good visibility, a calm sea and force two easterly winds.
[caption id="attachment_49988" align="alignleft" width="390"]
The Portaferry RNLI Blue Peter rescue boat in action.[/caption]The volunteer crew launched atxa06.13pmxa0and were on scene with a man and a women and two children onboard the powerboat within three minutes.
By this stage the people onboard the power boat had managed to re-start their engine and made their way to the pontoons at Strangford.
Thexa0RNLIxa0crew made sure that everyone onboard the vessel was safely on shore before the volunteer lifeboat crew returned to station at Portaferry
Not long after, a second call was received atxa08.40pmxa0from the Coastguard requesting thexa0RNLIxa0to investigate a 10-metre yacht that appeared to have slipped its moorings and beached near the old Katherine Quay in Strangford County Down.xa0Once again, the weather was cloudy with good visibility, a calm sea and force one easterly wind.
The volunteer crew launched atxa08.45pmxa0and were on scene two minutes later. They found two men on board and helped fix a line to secure the yacht so that it would not drift when the tide rose.
Once the yacht was secured, the lifeboat crew confirmed that the two men were happy to remain onboard while the lifeboat crew returned to station in Portaferry.
The third and final call of the evening was receivedxa09.57pmxa0from two men onboard a 10-metre yacht that was experiencing engine problems approximately 10 miles south east of The Strangford Bar at the mouth of Strangford Lough County Down.xa0The two men had set out earlier that evening from Portaferry to travel to Peel Harbour in the Isle of Man.
The volunteer crew launched for the third time atxa010.02pmxa0and arrived on scene atxa010.35pm.
Once the lifeboat crew had located the stricken vessel, they put a lifeboat crewmember on board the yacht and started to tow the vessel and its two man crew towards Peel Harbour in the Isle of Man.
Thexa0RNLIxa0crew from Portaferry then rendezvoused with the crew of the larger all weather lifeboat from Peelxa0RNLIxa0who then took over the tow and took the yacht and its two man crew back to the safety of Peel Harbour.
The Portaferry crew departed the scene atxa011.20pmxa0and returned to station in Portaferry atxa012.05amxa0after what had been a very busy evening.
Commenting on the evenings events, Lennie Lawson, Deputy Launch Authority for Portaferryxa0RNLIxa0said: xa0‘This has been a very busy evening for the volunteer crew and it is testament to their first class training and personal commitment that everyone this evening has been returned to shore safely. Thexa0RNLIxa0relies on the commitment of such volunteers to provide this service saving lives at sea and it is a service we are all proud to be part of.”
But just when they thought things would calm down, another emergency call rang through.
A call was received atxa04.50pm on Friday from the Coastguard requesting the volunteer RNLI crew from Portaferry go to the aid of six people, five in canoes and one in a small motor boat, who had got into difficulty just off Church Point in Strangford Lough.xa0The RNLI volunteers launched the lifeboat atxa04.50pmxa0and arrived at the scene five minutes later.
They discovered that a small motor boat had gone to help five adults in two canoes, three men and two women, who were entering the Narrows area of Strangford Lough.
Having secured the two canoes, the motor boat itself started to experience engine problems, resulting in the motor boat with one man on board and the two canoes with the five people on board starting to drift towards the SeaGen turbine situated in the Narrows of Strangford Lough.
The volunteer lifeboat crew intercepted the six people at the Scotsman Rocks South, just south of Strangford village.
The RNLI crew took all six people onboard the lifeboat, secured the small motor boat and two canoes and brought all safely into Strangford Marina where they were put ashore.
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