Newcastle RNLI rescue eight French sailors after boat encounters engine problems
Newcastle RNLI has rescued eight French sailors after their boat encountered engine problems off the county Down coast.
At 8.48pm on Friday (19 July), the volunteer crew of Newcastle RNLI were requested to go to the aid of a 38ft French sailing vessel with eight people on board 14 nautical miles east of Newcastle. The vessel with engine difficulty was on passage to Scilly isles.
The all-weather lifeboat launched under Coxswain Nathan Leneghan and made best speed reaching the vessel at 10pm. Weather on scene was southerly force 3 with a 1- 2 metre swell and moderate to poor visibility due to fog and rain.
A crew member was put on board the vessel to check the yacht’s crew for any injury or illness, and found them all well prepared with foul weather clothing and lifejackets and requiring no casualty care.
At the request of the sailing vessel’s skipper a tow was established and the boat was towed into Ardglass harbour to be met by members of Newcastle Coastguard team who assisted with mooring the boat and gave the sailors further safety advice and information regarding Ardglass Harbours facilities.
Speaking afterwards, Newcastle RNLI Coxswain Nathan Leneghan said: ‘We would like to commend the actions of the yacht’s crew for having the correct lifesaving equipment on board and for calling for assistance at the earliest opportunity as the situation could have deteriorated with weather conditions worsening.’
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