RNLI Tighnabruaich launch to assist yacht as sailing season kicks off.
Pagers sounded at 9.30am on Saturday 30th March with volunteer crew already making their way to the station. Colleagues working on the nearby Colintraive ferry forewarned of a yacht snagged on a mooring and that the Coastguard would be contacted.
Inshore lifeboat James and Helen Mason was tasked to launch.
After a relatively short journey to the yacht’s location, crew assessed the issue and responded accordingly. Rather than cut the yacht free from the mooring, crew manoeuvred the yacht to release tension in the rope so Senior Helm Nigel Sim could attempt to untangle and unfoul the propeller. Nigel explained “on this occasion due to the design of the yacht and the benign weather conditions we could easily see what we had to deal with and hence made the decision to try to free it. Had it been a more modern yacht, on a different day, then cutting it free and leaving it for a diver to clear would have been the only option.”
This would have left the yacht stuck and it’s owners trying to find a diver on a holiday weekend to free the tangled propeller. A relatively common issue, Nigel added “we have had many over my 30 years in the lifeboat. All have been slightly different!”.
With the yacht able to proceed safely, the Atlantic 85 returned to station and was made ready for next service. With sailing vessels highly visible in the area over the holiday weekend, volunteer crew will be alert for the next peal of the pager.
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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