New crew member's first shout turns into false alarm.

Shortly after leaving Tobermory Bay on route to the fish farm, Stornoway Coastguard confirmed the false alarm with operatives from the fish farm. At this point, the volunteer crew of the Tobermory Lifeboat were stood down and made their way back to Tobermory where the lifeboat was made ready for service.

For new crew member Alec Brown, this was an anticlimactic end after the adrenaline rush of responding to his pager for the first time.

The RNLI urges anyone who is concerned that someone may be in distress to always ring 999 and ask for the coastguard. The RNLI would always prefer to launch to a false alarm with good intent than not to launch at all.

Crew: Coxswain David McHaffie, Mechanic Paul ‘Gunny’ Gunn, Tony Spillane, Ben Reade, Alec Brown, Dave Underwood, Iain MacKenzie.

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.