Portaferry RNLI’s volunteer crew responded last Monday afternoon (28 October) after an emergency position indication radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated in Strangford Lough at a location between Kircubbin and Greyabbey.
The lifeboat left Portaferry Marina in Northern Ireland at 2.15pm with helm Paul Mageean and crew Ros Watret, Molly Crowe and Chris Jenkins onboard. Conditions at the time had a gentle westerly Force 3 breeze and good visibility.
Once on scene, and with no sign of a casualty vessel, the crew began a search which continued until the lifeboat was stood down by Belfast Coastguard at 3.30pm.
This was the first call-out received since the lifeboat was moved to its temporary location within Portaferry Marina while the slipway normally used to launch is undergoing repairs.
There is also road resurfacing work outside the station and several roads in the town are closed to facilitate filming for a new Channel 4 television drama.
Heather Kennedy, Portaferry RNLI’s lifeboat operations manager said: “It’s good to have had our first call-out from the marina. The shore crew roles are very different at the moment from what we’re all used to but we’ve planned for this and everyone adapted well.
“There’s quite a lot happening in Portaferry at the minute and the town has several sets of temporary traffic lights and some roads are completely closed to both traffic and pedestrians, so we were understandably apprehensive about our crew reaching the station in good time.
“When the pagers sounded yesterday, 10 RNLI volunteers responded both on foot and by car, and arrived at the lifeboat station with minimal disruption to their journey time. We thank the locations team for having a plan in place and the crew on site for immediately stopping filming and clearing the roads to ensure our crew arrived quickly. It couldn’t have worked better.
“[Monday’s] call-out is a reminder to all boat owners who carry an EPIRB on their vessel to check the registration details are up to date and that everyone onboard know what to do in an emergency.
“Always take weather and tide times into account before venturing out, always wear a lifejacket or suitable flotation device for your activity and always carry a means of communication. Should you get into difficulty or see someone else in trouble, call 999 and ask for the coastguard.”
