Two call outs in 36 hours for Oban volunteer crew

The first incident took place at 1:45am on Tuesday 6 June when the volunteer crew of Oban

reaches of Loch Linnhe in the Fort William area, following the activation of an Emergency

Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), believed to be from a local fishing vessel. The lifeboat

departed Oban at 1:57am arriving on scene at 3:00am and commenced the search immediately

north of the Corran Narrows in conjunction with Coastguard Helicopter Rescue 915, Coast

Rescue Teams from Fort William, Mallaig and Salen, Senior Coastal Operations Officer and

Police Scotland.

At 3:40am Oban Lifeboat located the EPIRB via a 121.5MHz Direction Finder (DF) search, mid

channel in the Annat Narrows. Following further searches of Loch Eil and Loch Linnhe off Fort

William it was determined that the EPIRB had come from a vessel lying ashore with no one

believed in any danger. The EPIRB was passed ashore to the Senior Coastal Operations Officer

and the Fort William Coast Rescue Team before departing scene for Oban at 5:15am. Oban

Lifeboat arrived back on station at 6:35am and was re-fuelled and ready for service by 7:10am.

The second incident took place the next morning, Wednesday 7 June at 10:45am. Oban

Lifeboat was tasked by Stornoway Coastguard to assist a 31 foot yacht that had grounded in the

Cuan Sound with one person on board. The yacht had been swept onto a submerged rock at the

south end of Seil Island, by a heavy flood tide, while navigating the sound. The lifeboat located

the yacht at 11:32am and stood by as the tide rose, clearing the yacht off the rock by

12:16pm. The yacht came back into the channel under its own power, where the lifeboat’s

daughter craft rendezvoused with it. Two of the volunteer crew boarded the vessel to assist the

skipper with checks for damage to the hull. Following checks to the yacht’s hull and with no major

damage suspected the daughter craft was recovered and the lifeboat escorted the yacht out of

the sound before returning to station, arriving alongside at 13:29pm and ready for service by

13:47pm.

Tel: 07855 555539/ 01631 710001 Email: [email protected]

Or 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.