Man and dog rescued after yacht engine fails off coast

A LIFEBOAT crew have rescued a man and his dog on board a stricken yacht off the Co Down coast.

Volunteers from Portaferry RNLI raced to the aid of a man on board a 13m yacht which was experiencing engine problems yesterday afternoon.

He was travelling from Bangor to Ardglass when the engine failed around six miles off the coast west of Cloughey. The crew launched at 3.55pm and reached the boat at 4.38pm.

Once there, one of the volunteer crew went on board the yacht with the man and a towline was set up to bring them back safely to Strangford.

The man and his dog were returned safely ashore and the lifeboat crew returned to station ready for service.

Simon Rogers, Portaferry RNLI lifeboat operations manager, said: “We are all delighted with the outcome and urge anyone considering going on the water to take all necessary precautions.”