Peel RNLI assist cruiser 'dangerously adrift' in shipping lane

The vessel and its passengers had left Peel earlier in the afternoon on its way to Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

The skipper of the cruiser was unable to pinpoint its exact location, thought to be approximately seven miles west of Peel. 

However, with information from a passing yacht, the crew of Peel’s Shannon class lifeboat, Frank and Brenda Winter, was able to make contact and located the vessel some 14 miles to the west of Peel.  

Peel’s RNLI volunteers were preparing for a training exercise when they received the call.

They towed the vessel from the shipping lane it was 'dangerously adrift' in to meet the RNLI lifeboat from Newcastle, County Down, who then continued the tow to Strangford Lough.   

Mike Faragher, Peel’s volunteer coxswain, said: "The pair aboard the casualty vessel had been wearing lifejackets and were well despite lumpy sea conditions.

"With the vessel dangerously adrift in a shipping lane, it was decided the safest, most sustainable course of action would be to first establish a tow to move the vessel to safety in more favourable sea conditions further west, then to request the RNLI lifeboat from Newcastle, County Down, to meet us and continue the tow to Strangford Lough.

"We are grateful for the assistance of the Newcastle crew in helping the cruiser to safely reach its destination."

Peel Lifeboat’s Chairman and Launch Authority, Stuart Blackley, added: "In this, the RNLI’s 200th Anniversary year, we are proud to see that our dedicated volunteers, wherever they are based around the coast of the British Isles and Ireland, benefit from the charity’s extensive training programmes and state-of-the-art equipment and are able to work together as one crew to save lives at sea."

By 10 pm, Peel lifeboat was rehoused and ready for service again.