The Larne RNLI came to the aid of a group of paddleboarders who found themselves in difficulty at sea.
The volunteer crew were asked to launch their in-shore lifeboat by Belfast Coastguard at 2.09pm on Sunday, May 8.
It followed reports five people on two paddleboards had been caught in an offshore breeze at Brown's Bay and were struggling to return to shore.
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The lifeboat - which is named Terry - was launched from East Antrim Boat Club into a moderate sea with an offshore breeze, and made its way to the last reported located of the casualties at the entrance of the bay off Islandmagee.
After the paddleboarders were located towards the middle of Brown's Bay, lifeboat crew observed that the breeze was blowing both boards out to sea and the casualties were having difficulty trying to return to safety.
Two of the group managed to make their own way back to the safety of the beach unaided, while the remaining three were transferred into the lifeboat.
Upon returning the casualties and their paddleboards to Brown’s Bay beach, they were handed into the care of Portmuck’s Coastguard team.
Speaking following the call out, Larne RNLI Helm Scott Leitch said: "We are very grateful to the member of the public who realised that something was wrong and called 999 and asked for the Coastguard and we were delighted to help.
"As the weather gets warmer and more people travel to the coast, we would remind everyone planning a trip to sea or an activity on the water, to always carry a means of communication so they have a way of contacting the shore and to always wear a lifejacket or flotation device."
The RNLI operates 10 lifeboat stations in Northern Ireland and has 11 lifeguarded beaches which it operates seasonally.
Since it was founded in 1824, the charity has saved over 142,700 lives at sea.
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