Portrush RNLI on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast was requested to launch twice this weekend to reports of people in difficulty.
The first request by HM Coastguard was on Saturday evening (5 June) when the inshore lifeboat was launched to reports of a kayaker in difficulty at the Skerries.
Visibility was excellent, with a calm sea and a light wind, and the lifeboat volunteers quickly located the kayaker.
It was soon established that the kayaker was very experienced and had taken all precautions, so all was well. The call was deemed a false alarm with good intent.
The second shout was on Sunday afternoon (6 June) at 12.50pm when the all-weather lifeboat was called to assist with a potential medevac after reports of two people caught on a ledge at the Giant’s Causeway.
Again, weather conditions were good, with excellent visibility and a light north-easterly wind.
Before the lifeboat reached the scene, the local coastguard team had located the two people and were able to carry out the rescue without assistance.
Beni McAllister, lifeboat operations manager at Portrush RNLI, said: “This is our fourth launch since Thursday for our volunteer crews and we have no doubt that this will be the pattern for the summer.
“However, it seems that people are heeding the safety message in terms of dialling 999 and alerting the coastguard if they see something that doesn’t look right.
“We would rather be safe than sorry, especially as more and more people are enjoying our beautiful beaches.”