#RNLI - In the first callout of the year for Newcastle RNLI in Co Down, both lifeboats were launched in the early hours of Saturday morning (3 January) following reports of a missing male sighted near the beach close to Down Roads.
The inshore lifeboat crew were paged at 3.08am by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to assist local police and coastguard in their search for the missing man.
The inshore lifeboat arrived on scene within minutes to commence a search of the shoreline from the Shimna river mouth to Dundrum Bar.
In a moderate sea state with some big swells and a northwest Force 4-5 wind, the decision was made at 3.29am to launch the all-weather lifeboat (ALB) to assist with the search.
The ALB lifeboat crew stood by and provided cover as the inshore lifeboat manoeuvred its way through the surf. Both lifeboats used white parachute flares to illuminate the search area in poor weather conditions.
Both lifeboats were stood down at 4.35am and returned to station after the man was safely found on land.
Commenting on the callout, Newcastle RNLI helm Dylan Mooney said: "Thankfully the casualty was found safe and well on shore. It was great to put the new lifeboat through its paces once again.
"It handles well in the surf. We used night vision and the search light to help us see in the darkness."
Newcastle RNLI deputy launching authority Raymond Deery added: "We have a dedicated crew here at Newcastle that respond rapidly to the lifeboat pager no matter what the conditions."
The volunteer lifeboat crew for the inshore lifeboat were Dylan Mooney, Gary Agnew and Aaron Latus and on the all-weather lifeboat were Richard Herron, Alan Jones, Peter Uprichard, Fionnuala Niallais, Declan Barry, Daniel Rooney and Aidan Riley.
Shore crew were Paul Beeks, Brian Leneghan, Nathan Leneghan, Niall McMurray and Robert Latus.