Bangor RNLI came to the aid of three people in consecutive call-outs yesterday (Monday, 9 September) after a report of a sailing boat with engine difficulty close to Bangor harbour and again later that evening to a sailor in distress in Belfast Lough.
At 4.42pm, the volunteer crew launched their Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Ruby Robinson following a request from Belfast Coastguard to assess a situation where a boat with two people onboard had encountered engine problems on its journey to Bangor.
The weather at the time was dry, slightly overcast with a choppy state and a strong breeze. The sky was clear and visibility was fair.
The crew made their way to the scene and located the casualty vessel one mile north of Bangor harbour. They then spoke to the people onboard and found them to be visiting from France. Both sailors were safe, well and both wearing lifejackets.
The crew assessed the situation and made a decision to tow the vessel to the nearest safe harbour at Bangor Marina as the casualty vessel had no means of propulsion in breezy conditions.
Speaking following the call out, Bangor RNLI Helm John Bell said: ‘The boat owner did exactly the correct thing by calling us out to help, which we were only too happy to do.'
Later on Monday at 8.50pm, the pagers activated once more and the lifeboat and crew were requested to launch by HM Coastguard to assist a sailor in difficulty after suffering damage to a foiling type dinghy. A member of Ballyholme Yacht Club (BYC) raised the alarm after the sailor, failed to return to the yacht club. The Ruby Robinson inshore lifeboat launched at 8.56pm, and the crew made their way to the lone sailor was alone, a call out that proved challenging as the vessel was without navigational lights at the time. Wind was blowing from the west, creating fresh breezy conditions, with slight to moderate seas, making the inshore search quite challenging.
For almost an hour, the lifeboat crew searched Bangor and Ballyholme bays and along the coastline in pitch-black conditions. Six white pyrotechnic flares were fired into the night sky by the crew to help illuminate the search area, which included Ballymacormick Point, a rocky headland devoid of any lighting and with a high risk of grounding on outcropping rocks.
At 9.52pm, a lifeboat crew member heard the faint call for help from the missing sailor which led to the successful location of the casualty near the headland. The sailor had managed to secure his vessel to a lobster pot marker buoy.
The lifeboat crew acted swiftly, rescuing the individual and bringing him safely aboard. He was safe but visibly shaken by the ordeal and cold. After ensuring the sailor's safety transported to Ballyholme Yacht Club,, the lifeboat returned to recover the dinghy, delivering it back to the yacht club.
