£15,000 raised during Portree RNLI Open Day

The annual event, held this year on Saturday 23 August, attracted locals and visitors from all over the world to the pier in Portree.

£15,000 was raised for the RNLI during the event, which included the Portree RNLI crew taking part in a mock man-overboard drill for spectators, a silent auction, and live music from the Isle of Skye Pipe Band.

A special visitor to the Open Day for 2025 was the former Sheerness Trent class lifeboat George and Ivy Swanson, now renamed ‘Steadfast’, and based in Lochboisdale in South Uist under private ownership.

Portree RNLI lifeboat Stanley Watson Barker, along with flanking station B class Spirit of Fred Olsen from Kyle of Lochalsh, escorted the ‘Steadfast’ into Portree Bay.

Portree volunteer crew member and fundraiser Iain Beaton, one of the lead organisers of the event, said:

‘The annual Open Day is one of our major fundraising events and, despite some drizzle in the morning, hundreds of people came down to the pier. As a charity, the RNLI relies on donations to provide the lifesaving service that it does, and we are extremely grateful to the public for their support.

‘We’d like to extend our thanks to the many businesses and organisations who donated prizes to our silent raffle. There was a huge list of incredible prizes – well done to all the winners!

‘We would also like to say a huge thank you to the local radio station Radio Skye for providing commentary and musical entertainment in a brilliant addition to the Open Day proceedings.’

The RNLI is a charity that has been saving lives at sea for over two hundred years. It relies on donations and support from the public to operate the lifesaving service that it does.

There are over 5,700 volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew members at 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, with a further 4,000 volunteer shore crew members. Our volunteers are on call and ready to respond to calls for help 24 hrs a day, 365 days of the year.

ENDS

Notes to editors

· All photos in this press release are credited to Robert MacInnes/Portree RNLI.

· Portree Lifeboat Station was established in 1991 and operates a Trent class all-weather lifeboat – Stanley Watson Barker. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to: https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/portree-lifeboat-station

RNLI media contacts

For further information, please contact:

Robert MacInnes, Lifeboat Press Officer at Portree RNLI: 07950 421829 / [email protected]

Richard Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland: 07826 900639 / [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland: 07920 365929 / [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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.