#RNLI - Newcastle RNLI volunteer crews were woken by their pagers at 3.34am yesterday morning (Wednesday 26 July) after a lone yachtsman ran aground at the mouth of Ardglass Marina in Co Down.
The all-weather lifeboat Eleanor and Bryant Girling was on the way by 3.55am and arrived on scene with the casualty vessel 45 minutes later.
The lifeboat crew found the yacht hard aground and listing heavily to starboard on the breakwater protecting the marina.
Under command of coxswain William Chambers, the RNLI crew tried manoeuvring their lifeboat close to the yacht only to find the tide had fallen too much and was too far away to retrieve the lone sailor from his vessel.
With full co-ordination between the RNLI and Newcastle Coastguard on the shore, the lifeboat pulled back to deeper water and provided safety cover while members of the coastguard team carried out a rescue from the shore.
The casualty was removed from the vessel for his own safety with no injuries, and with everyone accounted for the lifeboat was stood down.