Busy week for Tobermory RNLI
Tobermory lifeboat launched three times in four days this week and covered 135 miles on service.
The volunteer crew were paged by HM Coastguard on Sunday 27 July shortly before 1pm after a boy sustained head injuries on the island of Lunga, off the west coast of Mull. A local tour boat began to transport the boy towards Mull and was met by the lifeboat en route where casualty care trained lifeboat crew were transferred to the boat. The crew administered first aid and the lifeboat escorted the tour boat to the pontoons in Tobermory and passed the casualty into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service. The boy was later transferred by air ambulance to hospital.
The pagers sounded again in the early hours of Tuesday morning at 4.30am and the lifeboat was requested to launch to assist a fishing boat in difficulty on the north coast of the Isle of Eigg. The crew of the fishing boat assessed that there was no immediate damage to their vessel and the all-weather relief lifeboat, the Daniel L Gibson, escorted the boat into Mallaig. The lifeboat returned to Tobermory where she was refuelled and made ready for service by 9am.
The third launch request came from HM Coastguard at 5.40pm on Wednesday 30 July after a 10m yacht with two persons onboard became entangled in creel lines in Gott Bay, Tiree. The lifeboat arrived on scene just over an hour later after a passage from Tobermory in poor visibility. Crew of a local fishing boat assisted by hauling the creels onboard their boat allowing the yacht to be freed. The lifeboat rigged an alongside tow and brought the yacht to a mooring in Gott Bay. The lifeboat returned to Tobermory where she was refuelled and made ready for service for 9.30pm.
Coxswain David McHaffie said: ‘This has been a busy week for the volunteer crew with a variety of call-outs to put their training into practice. We wish the casualty who sustained injuries on Lunga a speedy recovery. This week is new Launch Authority, Colin Bannister’s first week on duty and he has expertly dealt with a hat trick of launch requests in quick succession, well done Colin!’
Notes to editors
Tobermory Lifeboat Day is on Sunday 10 August, 12pm-4pm
RNLI media contacts
Leanne Blair, Tobermory RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07711549609 or [email protected]
Natasha Rushby , RNLI Regional Media Officer for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]
Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Media Manager for Scotland, 07920 365929, [email protected]
RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789 [email protected]
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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.
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