Port St Mary RNLI come to aid of one person on pleasure craft in difficulty
Port St Mary RNLI came to the aid of one person yesterday (Sunday 1 December) after they were diverted from exercise to go to the aid of a small pleasure craft that was in difficulty in Castletown Bay.
The volunteer lifeboat crew of the Gough Ritchie 2 were carrying out a routine man overboard training exercise approximately half a nautical mile south of Spanish Head when they were requested by Belfast Coastguard at 11.30am to go to the aid of the vessel.
The crew members were informed there was a small pleasure craft in difficulty in Castletown Bay. The exercise was aborted, and the lifeboat proceeded to the aid of the casualty vessel which had a rope fouling its propeller.
Weather conditions at the time were good with a slight sea state and a northerly Force 3 wind.
On arrival at the scene, two crew members were put on board to assess the situation. One entered the water to see if the rope could be cleared but when it could not be fully cleared, the decision was made to tow the vessel into
Castletown Harbour where it was safely handed over to the local Coastguard unit.
Speaking following the call out, Sarah Keggen, Port St Mary RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘We were delighted to be of assistance today and wish the crew onboard the pleasure craft well. This was the first call out for two probationary crew members Robert Marshall and Liam Farrar who afterwards agreed that the training they have received from the RNLI has been invaluable when implementing it into a real-life situation.
‘The RNLI is facing a Perfect Storm. The charity is busier than ever; people are still drowning, but our income is down. We need more money to save more lives – investing in the future of lifesaving such as our crews training is vital.’
To find out more about the RNLI’s Perfect Storm campaign visit RNLI.org/ThePerfectStorm
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