Multi incident shout for the Tobermory volunteer lifeboat crew.

Within minutes of the pagers being set off, the crew assembled at the Lifeboat station where they were briefed that the incident involved two divers who had made a rapid ascent from their dive depth and were at risk of decompression sickness also referred to as the bends. The divers were now at the pontoons in Tobermory with the dive boat.

They made their way onto the boarding boat and headed out into the bay to the mooring. Two of the crew remained on the boarding and made their way to the casualty with the first aid equipment, so that the two casualties could be immediately assessed and treated.

Within minutes the Lifeboat was clear of its mooring and alongside at the pontoons. The casualties were transferred and they set off to Lochaline where they would be transferred to the Oban Lifeboat 'Mora Edith MacDonald'.

On arrival at Lochaline the transfer was aborted as the Oban lifeboat received a call to attend a vessel with an engine room fire near Fort William. The volunteer crew and the Tobermory lifeboat would continue into Oban where the Scottish ambulance service and the local coastguard team met us upon our arrival.

With the two casualties now in the safe hands of the Scottish ambulance service, The Tobermory Lifeboat started to make its way back to Tobermory. Shortly after leaving the berth in Oban, a mayday was heard from a three-metre inflatable in difficulty taking on water south of the Isle of Kerrera with two people on board.

The Tobermory lifeboat made its way to the casualty location, whilst the volunteer crew prepared the on board Y-boat inflatable craft and placed two of the crew into dry suits. At this time, the Caledonian Macbrayne ferries the Hebridean Isles and Clansman diverted to assist in the incident along with several other small craft in the area.

Shortly after arriving at the reported location of the casualty vessel was sighted and the Lifeboat made way to the vessel, both casualties were transferred onto the Lifeboat and the casualty vessel secured. Oban Lifeboat had by now been stood down from the incident at Fort William and were also now onsite. The casualties and their inflatable were transferred to the Oban Lifeboat who took both back to port in Oban.

Tobermory lifeboat and the volunteer crew then returned to the mooring at Tobermory where it was refueled and made ready for service.

This was the first shout for volunteer crew member Ben Ried, it was also a very eventful day and one I am sure he will remember for many years.

Many thanks to Caledonian MacBrayne and all the other vessels who came to assist in locating the inflatable south of Kerrera.

Crew: Coxswain David McHaffie, Mechanic Paul ‘Gunny’ Gunn, Tony Spillane, Simon Waller, Don Mitchell, Ben Ried, Mick Stirling.

RNLI media contacts:

Michael Stirling, Tobermory Lifeboat Press Officer on 07921 515686, [email protected] or [email protected] boat Press Officer on 07921 515686, [email protected] or [email protected]

Richard Smith, Public Relations Manager Scotland on 01738 642956, 07786 668903 or [email protected]

Or Henry Weaver, RNLI Press Officer for Scotland, 01738 642946, 07771 943026, [email protected]

Or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789.

RNLI onlineFor more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/pressKey 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 over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. 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 137,000 lives. The RNLI is a charity registered in England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

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 146,000 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.