Portrush RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard on Saturday afternoon (14 June) to reports of a fishing boat with four people on board in difficulty around one mile from the Northern Ireland harbour.
The lifeboat, under coxswain Johnny Weston, launched at 5.18pm just 10 minutes after the page and arrived on scene at 5.26pm. Although it was overcast, visibility was fair so the volunteer crew were on scene very quickly.
Once on scene, the crew carried out a risk assessment and agreed that the vessel had to be towed back to Portrush Harbour.
A tow rope was attached between the vessel and the lifeboat and the casualty boat was taken under tow to the harbour, arriving back on the pontoon at 5.54pm.
Judy Nelson, volunteer press officer said: “This was a standard rescue for our crew and weather conditions helped with a quick efficient execution of the tow. This is something our crew train for and are experienced at this type of scenario.”
