08/06/2026
Newcastle and Kilkeel RNLI came to the aid of two sailors who got into difficulty on their respective yachts late on Friday night.
Just before midnight on Friday (5 June), Newcastle RNLI was requested by Belfast Coastguard to assess the situation in which a lone sailor had reported that their yacht had run aground and was taking on water on the western side of St John’s Point Lighthouse in Dundrum Bay.
Due to the location and weather conditions, Kilkeel RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat which had just gone on service earlier in the evening, was requested to launch.
Newcastle RNLI launched their Atlantic 85 class lifeboat helmed by Locky Leneghan and with crew members Caoimhe Conor, Brendan Rooney and Declan Barry onboard,
at 12.13am and made best speed towards the sailor’s last known position.
Once on scene, the search proved to be challenging with the darkness of the night, a strong south to southeasterly wind and 1-1.5m swell. During this time, Belfast Coastguard reported that they had received a second 999 call from another sailor in the vicinity who was disorientated and unable to make way under their own power but was in a safe position. With this information, Belfast Coastguard asked both lifeboat crews to continue searching for the first reported casualty who had now activated a PLB (personal locator beacon) and was plotted by GPS 1.5 nautical miles further west of their last known position.
Newcastle RNLI’s crew located the yacht drifting in shallow water towards rocks on Minerstown beach. A risk assessment was carried out, and the helm decided the safest decision was to evacuate the casualty and transfer them onto the lifeboat. Once the casualty was safely onboard, casualty care was administrated as the crew made their way back to the lifeboat station. The sailor was cold and exhausted and subsequently handed into the care of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and taken to hospital for overnight observation.
Meanwhile, Kilkeel RNLI’s new Shannon under Coxswain Gerald Sharkey, was diverted to locate the second sailor which they did a short distance offshore. The crew observed the lone sailor to be exhausted and disorientated while the yacht was at risk of being blown into the shore by the poor weather conditions including a strong south easterly wind.
The crew assessed the situation, and a decision was made that the safest course of action was to transfer a crew member on to the yacht and establish a tow to bring the vessel and the sailor onboard, to Kilkeel Harbour, a task that proved challenging in the conditions the crew were faced with. The sailor, yacht and lifeboat crew were safely back in Kilkeel at 5am.
Newcastle and Kilkeel Coastguard teams assisted with the casualties both at Newcastle Lifeboat Station and Kilkeel Harbour.
Speaking following the call out, Gerald Sharkey, Kilkeel RNLI’s Coxswain Afloat Mechanic said: ‘We want to wish both sailors well following their ordeal on Friday night, into the early hours of Saturday morning. I also want to commend both lifeboat crews for a job well done in difficult conditions.
‘For this to be the first call out on the Shannon which only hours earlier had officially gone on service, the crew at Kilkeel RNLI deserve great credit for how they managed and navigated the challenges they were presented with, particularly in the hours of darkness. This was a tough shout given the weather conditions, the fact that the yacht was so close to shore and that the casualty was tired and disorientated. The crew used their training and put their skills into action and did a fantastic job.’
