Donate now
  • Home
  • News and media
  • First training exercise by RNLI Lerwick Lifeboat results in call-out

First training exercise by RNLI Lerwick Lifeboat results in call-out

Lifeboats News Release

On their first training exercise since coming out of lockdown, the crew of RNLI Lerwick Lifeboat were last night asked to assist a becalmed yacht.

Lerwick lifeboat last night took a Norwegian yacht under tow, after it lost all propulsion near Sumburgh Head.

RNLI

Lerwick lifeboat last night took a Norwegian yacht under tow, after it lost all propulsion near Sumburgh Head.
Download image
The crew were on exercise last night at around 8pm when requested by UK Coastguard to assist a Norwegian-registered yacht with engine trouble. The five-person crew of the yacht had left Lerwick earlier in the day, heading for Fair Isle but ran into trouble off Sumburgh Head with engine problems. With very light winds, they had found themselves becalmed with no means of propulsion and had requested assistance.

In calm seas, Lerwick Lifeboat made good progress to reach the vessel in around 45 minutes, taking up a tow before 9pm around three nautical miles east of Sumburgh Head. Both vessels made a steady speed of around seven knots to reach Lerwick Harbour around midnight, where the yacht was safely berthed in small boat harbour.

Darren Harcus, Coxswain said: “We were on our first training exercise since March, and going through routine checks and familiarisation when we received the call to assist this yacht. In unusually light winds, the vessel had lost all means of propulsion and was at the mercy of the currents off Sumburgh Head.

"The skipper was right to contact the Coastguard when they did and our volunteer crew were more than willing to divert from our exercise, to ensure the safety of the yacht and those on board.”

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.

About the author

Bob Kerr
Lifeboat Press Officer, Lerwick Lifeboat Station

Categories