It was a busy afternoon on International Women’s Day for one of Portrush RNLI’s three women crew volunteers as the lifeboat was launched on Tuesday 8 March to reports of a fishing vessel in difficulty.
The 26ft vessel with two men on board had reported engine problems and was drifting towards land on Northern Ireland’s North Coast.
In response, the all-weather lifeboat launched at 12.46pm. Weather conditions were overcast with a choppy sea and bitterly cold southerly winds with gusts of around 50mph (80kmh).
The lifeboat arrived on scene at 1.34pm and the crew carried out a dynamic risk assessment to decide on the most appropriate course of action for the fishermen and their vessel.
The fishermen had been dragging their anchor but were forced to deploy the extra weight of their trawling gear to anchor the boat until Portrush RNLI arrived on scene.
It was agreed that the best plan was to attach a tow line and tow the vessel to safety and to the nearest harbour which was Greencastle.
The anchor and the trawl gear were left in situ with a floating buoy for recovery later.
Following a successful tow, the volunteer crew — which included Debs Smyth, one of Portrush’s three female crew members — returned to station at 4.49pm.
Beni McAllister Lifeboat Operations Manager said: “Once the crew arrived on scene, as always, an assessment was carried out along with the crew of the stricken vessel to agree the best course of action. This is a procedure that our crew carry out and train for on a regular basis.
“We are glad we were able to get the vessel and her crew to safety.”
