Portaferry Lifeboat Station was established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution at Portaferry, Co. Down, Northern Ireland in 1980.

The station is one of 231 RNLI lifeboat stations located on the coastline of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which are funded entirely through voluntary donations and subscriptions.

Portaferry Lifeboat, 'Blue Peter V', is an Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat. The Atlantic 75 is one of the fastest lifeboats in the RNLI's fleet and is capable of speeds up to 34 knots (approx. 40mph). It carries a crew of three.

Portaferry Lifeboat Station is located in Portaferry opposite the Portaferry/Strangford Ferry slipway from where the station's Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat, 'Blue Peter V', is launched using a tractor and carriage.

Aerial view of Portaferry Lifeboat Station

'Blue Peter V' returns after an exercise

 The lifeboat station's official service area covers all of the waters of Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea waters up to five nautical miles offshore between Burr Point, Ballyhalbert, Co. Down to St. Johns Point, Co. Down.

Navigational hazards in the area include off shore reefs, half tide rocks and numerous pladdies and islands within Strangford Lough. In addition tidal flows in the Strangford narrows can reach 8 knots on spring tides, causing dangerous overfalls at the entrance to Strangford Lough ( The Strangford Bar) in windy conditions ( East through South) during ebb tides.

On occasions additional assistance is necessary from flanking all-weather lifeboat stations at Donaghadee, to the North and Newcastle, to the South. Donaghadee and Newcastle lifeboat stations have long histories of life saving work and Newcastle recently celebrated their 175th anniversary. Donaghadee has an all-weather Trent class lifeboat and Newcastle has an all-weather Mersey class lifeboat plus a D class inshore lifeboat.

There is a high level of commercial shipping activity in the Irish Sea service area which also includes two of the three main fishing ports in Northern Ireland, Ardglass and Portavogie.

Flight paths of aircraft to and from three local airports and those in two high level intercontinental air corridors which intersect the area mean that there are approximately 300 aircraft movements over some part of the service area during an average day.

Blue Peter V Service Area

Commercial fishing for clams and king prawns and the farming of oysters and mussels takes place within the confines of Strangford Lough. This is supplemented by the presence in Portaferry of the Marine Biology Department of The Queen's University Belfast alongside one of the world's renowned aquariums, 'Exploris'.

Due to it's sheltered waters, Strangford Lough is used by hundreds of pleasure craft each year and boasts no less than 11 yacht clubs. New marinas at Ardglass and Portaferry have attracted increasing numbers of visiting craft.

Aerial view of Whiterock Bay, including Sketrick
and Rainey Islands, Strangford Lough

The area is already very popular with local and foreign tourists for its beauty, history, wildlife and other visitor attractions. A passenger/car ferry service operates daily at 15 minute intervals (8am to 11pm) between the villages of Portaferry and Strangford conveying about 500,000 passengers per annum.

Diving is an increasingly popular pastime and approximately 70 Sub-aqua clubs currently use the area (Including the Irish Sea service area) throughout the year.

MV Strangford Ferry arriving at Portaferry

Other pursuits enjoyed in the area are angling, wildfowling and birdwatching.

Strangford Lough is the largest sea inlet in the British Isles. It is Northern Ireland's first Marine Nature Reserve and is renowned as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Special Scientific Interest, with six National Nature Reserves within its reaches. Over 2000 species of marine animals have been found in the Lough and internationally important flocks of wildfowl and wading birds converge there in Winter. The Lough is also the most important site in Ireland for breeding common seals.

The end of the day