Girvan Lifeboat launches to rib in trouble

This morning at 10:10am our volunteer crew's pagers were activated by Belfast Coastguard Operations Centre to a 5m rhib with 5 persons on board that had lost power at the iconic island of Ailsa Craig.

Within 10 minutes of the pagers sounding Girvan's Shannon class all-weather lifeboat 'Elizabeth and Gertrude Allan' was powering out of the pier end and making best speed towards Ailsa Craig which lies some 10.2miles to the West of Girvan and famous for producing the 2 different granites used in almost every curling stone in the world.

Arriving on scene an assessment was made of the situation and the 5 casualties who were all deemed fit and well, the owner was happy to stay aboard his vessel along with one of our crewmembers whilst the remaining casualties were moved onto the lifeboat.

With a tow established to the stricken rhib, the Lifeboat began the journey back to Girvan with the casualty being towed some distance behind.

On arrival back in Girvan rather than berth the rhib it was agreed the owner would go and get the trailer down the slipway and the rhib manoeuvred straight onto the trailer, this was achieved with the help of Girvan Coastguard rescue team, with the rhib secured and the casualties and their equipment removed safely from the lifeboat, all that was left to do was a refuel, washdown and return the lifeboat to her berth ready for the next service call, our crew then stood down and returned home at 13:30.

In this case the rhib occupants did the correct thing in calling for assistance, duty coxwain Alan Jeans said of the incident, the casualty boats occupants were prepared, had means of calling for help, had all the correct safety equipment and lifejackets, sometimes the unexpected happens and casualties can find themselves in a situation that can rapidly spiral out of control, fortunately in this instance this was not the case and a good outcome was achieved in what was a rather choppy day."

You can check out our safety advice for boating activities here https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/yacht-sailing-and-motorboating#

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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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