Oban RNLI lifeboat rescues motor vessel from the Falls of Lora

The lifeboat made best speed towards the vessel and arrived within fifteen minutes to find that the vessel’s skipper had managed to deploy his anchor in the very strong currents on the flood spring tide. Fortunately the anchor was for the meantime holding the vessel off the rocks behind.  The Falls of Lora are a spectacular set of overfalls at the mouth of Loch Etive where tides are frequently recorded at around ten knots, this equates to a movement of 4,600 tonnes of water per second at peak flow rate, with a drop of 1.2 metres.

Oban lifeboat managed to manoeuvre upstream of the casualty and get a tow line aboard for the skipper to attach.  Once the tow was attached the skipper then had to cut his own anchor line as the lifeboat took up the slack and proceeded to tow the vessel out of the strong current to safety.  The skipper was seen to be bleeding from an injury to one hand sustained whilst deploying his anchor, so our crew doctor attended to him whilst his boat was placed back on his mooring.  Once the vessel was secured the casualty was then taken back to the Lifeboat to station where at 6:12pm he was transferred by our doctor to hospital for further assessment and treatment.

RNLI media contacts

Iain Fulton, Oban Lifeboat Press Officer on 01631 710001 or 07855 555539
Email:  [email protected]

Richard Smith, RNLI Public Relations Manager for Scotland, 07786 668903.
Email: [email protected]

www.obanlifeboat.co.uk
www.rnli.org.uk

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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 146,000 lives.

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