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Former RNLI crew member John Maclennan on the 200 Voices podcast

‘We had to prize his fingers off the oars’

Episode 101 – The Old Man and the Loch: John Maclennan MBE

How do you find a lone rower who’s in a small boat? In the Outer Hebrides? At night?

During John Maclennan’s 25 years as an RNLI crew member, Stornoway volunteers saved 122 lives. He has battled hurricanes, and knows how it feels to be on a boat when it falls the height of a house. But one rescue in particular has stayed with him.

An 80-year-old man was missing after he had gone out alone in a small boat on Loch Shell. The crew had searched all night, and their hopes were fading. Then John decided to turn on the searchlight one last time…

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