Islay Lifeboat Rescues -

Within the past year the Islay lifeboat has responded to 16 emergency calls. In March, the lifeboat went to the assistance of the 95ft training ship �Spirit of Bridgewater� when it grounded at the MacCormack Islands. The grounded vessel was towed free and escorted to Tayvallich. The yacht �Blythe Spirit� reported on July 12 that she was �taking in� water but that her own pumping system was coping with the emergency. The lifeboat crew assessed the situation and eventually escorted the yacht to the Ardfern Marina. Four days later a rescue took place in the Sound of Jura when a small dory with four persons on board was reported lost in the Ruadh Sgeir Lighthouse area. The dory had no VHF, radar reflector or lights. The lifeboat eventually pinpointed the dory with assistance from radar and image intensifier. The crew were taken aboard the lifeboat and the vessel was towed to Crinan.

A call to the Ardmore Islands was received on July 23 when a yachtsman had fallen from his vessel on to his tender and dislocated his hip in the process. The injured man was taken by helicopter to a mainland hospital and two of the lifeboat�s crew took the yacht under power to Port Ellen where local coastguards assisted in the berthing operations. The lifeboat crew were also highly supportive of the casualty�s understandably distressed wife. A crewman with head injuries was rescued from the training vessel �Stavros S Narchos� which was in the Sound of Islay but was unable to berth at Port Askaig. The injured crewman, along with the ship�s doctor, was taken aboard the lifeboat and transferred to a waiting ambulance at Port Askaig and the medic was later returned to his ship.

Local fishing boat �Golden Opportunity� suffered gearbox failure between Bunnahabhain and Rhuvaal on October 4 and was towed by the lifeboat to her moorings near Bunnahabhain pier. On October 9, the fishing vessel �Stranslad� broke down off the north west coast of Gigha. In strong SSW winds the lifeboat towed the vessel to Kennacraig where local coastguards helped with the berthing. The Jura ferry experienced hydraulic problems on October 26 and was stuck on the Jura slip on an ebb tide. The lifeboat managed to tow the ferry off the slip and provided escort back to Port Askaig pier. November 2 saw the fishing boat �Speedwell� broken down between Brosdale and Fraoich Eilean. Lifeboat intervention saw the vessel towed safely back to the Port Askaig moorings. Owing to the casualties receiving assistance from other sources, the lifeboat stood down on seven occasions. And so continues the work of the unsung heroes of the �Helmut Schroder of Dunlossit II� and the RNLI which has 230 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, with 44 stations based in Scotland. The RNLI has annual running costs of �122m and among the many admirable qualities of the charity is the fact that close on 95% of the organisation�s crew members are volunteers. (The first picture is of Coxswain David MacLellan, at the helm of the Islay Lifeboat.)