On Tuesday last week (7 September), Merwyn Hanna MBE, president of Kilkeel RNLI and chair of the lifeboat station’s fundraising branch, received a cheque for £1,347.65 from Raymond “Speedy” Newell following a successful fishing competition off the Co Down coast.
When the fog lifted, 14 boats took part in the annual Kilkeel RNLI Boat Fishing Competition and after two hours a total of 382kg of mackerel was landed.
The winning boat Tuskar, with skipper WM Kearney, landed 81.74kg. In second place, Dawn Mist with skipper Stephen Jones landed 72.4kg and third place went to Harvey Jake, with skipper Shane Maginn, landing 53.44kg.
There was a tie for the heaviest fish caught and prizes were given to skipper Joshua Hillis on the Hannah Hillis and Stephen Jones on the Dawn Mist.
John Fisher, Kilkeel RNLI’s lifeboat operations manager, said: “The weather during the day wasn’t promising but when the fog lifted, we had a great turnout of boats.
“We would like to thank Russ Shepcar of DR Marine for the use of his store, those who took part and the ladies for the burgers and drinks.
“Thanks to the volunteer crew for ensuring the event was carried out safely and finally a special thanks to Speedy Newell for organising the event. All in all, it was a great community effort.”