Largs lifeboat volunteers save the day for the firms outing.
At 11.18 am on the morning of Friday 14th of September Largs lifeboat volunteers responded to a yacht with 7 persons on board bouncing off rocks.
As the lifeboat approached the casualty the crew immediately established that this yacht was bouncing off the rocks and indeed in trouble.
The lifeboat crew discovered the party of 7 were on their way to Millport Town on the Island of Great Cumbrae for a company day out with other members of their firm when the yachts engine failed causing them to lose control before landing on the rocks, the other members of their party had chosen to cross the Largs Channel to Cumbrae Island by means of the local commercial ferry service.
Fortunately at this time the tide was rising offering a real opportunity to tow the vessel away from the rocks to safer waters, however, due to the size and weight of the casualty vessel a second heavier lifeboat from Troon was tasked to assist.
The Largs crew experience told them, due to the rocky approach it would be difficult to get the lifeboat sufficiently close enough to make fast a tow line, particularly since the waves were around 4 four foot in height ,undeterred, one of the volunteer lifeboat crew members swam towards the casualty vessel and on boarding her successfully attached a tow line.
As all this was going on Troon lifeboat arrived on scene.
Since the rising tide allowed the Largs lifeboat to free the yacht from the rocks and take her in tow, although Troon lifeboat had had arrived, it was decided to allow the Largs lifeboat to continue with the tow back to Largs.
Meantime, Troon lifeboat located a dinghy which had broken loose from the casualty vessel at some point during their ordeal.
The yacht, complete with it's 7 passengers were safely berthed at Largs Yacht Haven, at the same time Troon lifeboat also arrived and kindly delivered their lost dinghy.
The 7 casualty party thanked the lifeboat crews and left the Yacht Haven to catch the local Ferry to join their fellow company members.
With thankfully no injuries the lifeboats returned to their respective stations to be prepared for their next service.
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.
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