On Sunday, 05 March, Donaghadee RNLI Lifeboat volunteers were called out on service during their training exercise.
The crew were completing their Sunday morning training exercise onboard the recently received relief lifeboat Macquarie when they were contacted by His Majesty's Coastguard via radio requesting that they go to the assistance of a speedboat broken down with two persons onboard just outside the Craiganadam rocks at Millisle.
At approximately 11.40 am, the crew were in the middle of Donaghadee Sound completing a radio direction-finding exercise and had the daughter boat, with crew members onboard, in the water. They quickly retrieved the daughter boat and made full speed in calm conditions with a slight offshore wind to the casualty boat, arriving on scene at approximately 12 noon.
Once on scene and the situation had been assessed, a tow line was secured to the vessel from the lifeboat, which then towed it as close to shore as possible. The daughter boat was relaunched and with crew member Rebecca McCarthy and trainee crew member Courtney Roberts onboard, they were able to tow the casualty vessel into the slipway at Millisle lagoon, where the Coastguard Rescue Team met the boat owners.
The lifeboat then returned to Donaghadee Harbour and was made ready by the crew for it’s next call out.
