Douglas RNLI volunteer crew were paged today (14 September) at 7.20pm to go to the aid of a small rubber dinghy.
A concerned member of the public had observed the small rubber dinghy with two people on board in apparent difficulty on the seaward side of the Victoria Pier toward the Tower of Refuge and immediately called the Coastguard who in turn requested the assistance of Douglas lifeboat.
Douglas all-weather lifeboat, Marine Engineer, was launched under the command of coxswain Edd Christian. Fortunately with not far to go the lifeboat was quickly on the scene as daylight was beginning to fade and the wind rising.
Reaching the dinghy the two occupants were transferred to the lifeboat and found to be well and none the worse for their experience. With the dinghy under tow, the lifeboat returned to Douglas harbour and left the dinghy with one contingent of the Coastguard on the Visitors’ Pontoon at the Battery Pier.
The dinghy’s two occupants remained on the lifeboat while the lifeboat was recovered to the boathouse and after disembarking were given into the care of a further contingent of Coastguard while the lifeboat volunteer crew washed down and re-fuelled the lifeboat to make it ready again for service,