Bangor RNLI assists a man and his dog on sinking yacht north of Bangor harbour

At 1.57pm (Sunday 19 July) just as some of our volunteers were settling in to watch the Formula 1 racing the pagers sounded calling the crew to assist a yacht in distress.

Shortly afterwards at approximately 2.05pm Bangor lifeboat crew launched their Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Ruby Robinson following a request from Belfast Coastguard to assess a situation where a boat with a person and his dog onboard was reported as taking on water and sinking just north of Bangor harbour.

The weather at the time was dry, clear skies with a quite calm sea state with a moderate building breeze.

The crew made their way to the scene and located the casualty vessel which was making its way towards Bangor harbour. They then spoke to the person onboard and found them to be safe and well and wearing a lifejacket.

The crew assessed the situation and decided to transfer volunteer crew member John Bell onto the casualty vessel to assess the situation. It was established that the boat was taking in water but could safely travel under her own power to the Boatyard pontoon at Bangor Marina. Ruby Robinson shadowed the casualty vessel to the pontoon and once safely berthed a salvage pump was then used to empty the ingressed water from the sinking boat.

The boatyard then moved the casualty yacht by crane to its Boatyard for repairs.

Once this had been completed. Ruby Robinson was refuelled, washed down and made ready for service.

Speaking following the call out, Bangor RNLI Helm Gareth Whan said: ‘The boat owner did exactly the correct thing by calling us out to help, which we were only too happy to do.’

'We would urge all boat owners to carry out regular maintenance checks on their vessel. Carry spare fuel if possible and ensure that you have a means for calling for assistance if you find yourself in trouble. If you see someone in trouble on the water or are in difficulties yourself do not hesitate to call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.’

Notes to editor

Bangor RNLI is based in Seacliff Road, Bangor, BT20 5EY. The volunteers crew an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Ruby Robinson. The station was founded in 1965.

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