Arran RNLI assists in yacht rescue

At 2.35pm on Monday the 22^nd of October Arran RNLI’s volunteer inshore lifeboat crew was called to the aid of a yacht with a seriously ill crewmember on board.

As the volunteer lifeboat crew launched the relief inshore lifeboat, Martin Harvey, the serious nature of the call became apparent the search and rescue helicopter was already en route along with both the RNLI inshore lifeboat from Largs and the RNLI all weather lifeboat from Troon. With reports that one of the crew of the yacht was having chest pains time was of the essence and all of the rescue crews made best speed to the casualty vessel.

Rescue helicopter 199 arrived on scene first quickly followed by Largs lifeboat who put two crew members aboard the vessel. Once aboard they assessed the crew member and started to administer casualty care. After deciding that evacuating the ill crewmember swiftly was of paramount importance, and due to the extremely challenging conditions, the Largs RNLI crew decided to beach their inshore lifeboat in order to allow the swift evacuation of the casualty by Rescue 199. Following this the Largs lifeboat was refloated by the volunteer crew of the Arran inshore lifeboat. The Largs crew then towed the yacht towards Tighnabruaich before passing the tow onto the Tighnabruaich RNLI crew who took the vessel back to safe harbour.

Arran RNLI helm Martin Wood said “Todays callout was time critical, this meant we had to push the Atlantic 85 to get on scene as quickly as possible in challenging conditions. Our colleagues at Largs performed an excellent evacuation of the casualty and when refloating Largs both crews showed amazing teamwork and professionalism.”

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.