
Donaghadee RNLI lifeboat goes to aid of man on fishing boat on rocks at Millisle
On Saturday (29 April) Donaghadee RNLI lifeboat volunteers were paged after a member of the public reported seeing a small fishing boat in difficulty off the coast at Millisle.
At 6.18pm on Saturday evening the crew were asked by HM Coastguard to launch the RNLI Trent class relief lifeboat Macquarie to go to the assistance of a 16ft boat that had been reported as being in difficulty by a member of the public who had dialled 999. They reported that the boat appeared to have lost power and the person in the boat was trying to paddle ashore with a piece of wood.
In a light south westerly wind and a calm sea state the lifeboat made full speed despite the misty visibility and was on scene at 6.42pm. They discovered the lone skipper's boat had ran aground on rocks just on the Donaghadee side of Millisle lagoon, and it was decided that the only way of assisting him was to launch the lifeboat's daughter boat.
With crew members Ross Bennett and Nicola Butler onboard they were able to approach with caution and once alongside they established that the gentleman was not in any distress and that he had lost power to his vessel and drifted onto the rocks. They attached a tow rope and proceeded to tow the boat and skipper to Millisle slipway where he was handed over to the Coastguard where safety advice would have been given.
The lifeboat then proceeded to return to Donaghadee Harbour at full speed to be back on station and made ready for their next call out.
John Ashwood, Donaghadee RNLI Deputy Coxswain commented: ‘Well done to the member of the public for reporting this incident, things do go wrong unexpectedly on boats and the sooner we can attend an incident the better all round. As always we would recommend that when going to sea you carry a means of communication and always wear a lifejacket. Many thanks to the crew that attended this evening, which was actually the second page of the day, thankfully the first page did not require us to launch the lifeboat.’
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.