Rescues

Canoe incident

In April 2007 the Coastguard alerted lifeboat that two people had been spotted clinging to a buoy between Don O'Neill Island and Home Bay, to the north of Killyleagh. A husband and wife whose canoe had overturned nearby, they had swum to the buoy, used as a racing mark by local yacht clubs and clung there. Some considerable time passed before a walker on the shore had spotted them and raised the alarm. Both were in deteriorating condition due to exposure.The Blue Peter V lifeboat arrived and pulled the casualties from the water. The couple were taken to Killyleagh Yacht Club where a waiting ambulance rushed them to hospital.

 

Injured diver

In July 2007, Coastguards requested Portaferry Lifeboat to attend to an injured diver near Gunns Island in the Irish Sea. The diver had head injuries and was suspected of suffering from decompression sickness. The skipper of the dive boat had pulled the casualty aboard and was on course for Ardglass, Co Down. The injured diver was transferred to Blue Peter V lifeboat, it being the faster vessel. A lifeboat crew member treated the man with oxygen en route to Ardglass harbour. An ambulance was waiting to transfer the casualty the short distance to Ardglass Golf Course from where the Dublin Rescue 116 helicopter flew him to hospital on the Isle of Man.