Portrush RNLI was requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard on Saturday afternoon (9 July) to reports of a 35-foot yacht in difficulty between White Park Bay and Rathlin Island, off Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast.
The all-weather lifeboat launched under coxswain Des Austin at 1.54pm into near perfect conditions with a clear sky, calm sea and excellent visibility.
Arriving on scene at 2.30pm, the lifeboat crew quickly established that the yacht with two persons on board had fouled its prop on a rope.
A crew member was transferred to the yacht to try to release the rope but this was not possible. A further assessment was carried out and it was agreed that the best course of action was to tow the yacht to the nearest safe port which was Ballycastle, where the yacht and lifeboat arrived at 3.55pm.
Lifeboat operations manager Beni McAllister said of the foiled propeller: “Unfortunately, this can be a common occurrence with a yacht, but the couple on board did the right thing by contacting the Coastguard and asking for assistance. Our volunteer crew are trained for this type of incident, so it was all very straightforward.
“We would also like to congratulate our newest volunteer crew member Roo McCrudden on his first shout with Portrush RNLI.”
Roo McCrudden was on the lifeboat in his first shout with the Portrush RNLI crew | Credit: RNLI/Dave Robinson
