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Stromness lifeboat assists family on a weekend outing

Lifeboats News Release

The volunteer crew of Stromness lifeboat was called to assist a family of three when their boat engine failed below West Mainland cliffs in Orkney.

Stromness lifeboat

RNLI/Stromness

Stromness lifeboat
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The Violet Dorothy and Kathleen crew were paged at 2.45pm on Saturday 7 May for the first call out of 2022 to go to the assistance of a family taking their boat out for a pleasure trip for the first time this year. When the engine stalled, and could not be re-started, the skipper also found he could not start the back-up.

The lifeboat soon had them under tow and back to Stromness Marina and into the care of the coastguard.

The lifeboat was re-fuelled and ready for service again by 4pm. Great praise should go to the Stromness volunteers: seven crew attended and had the boat at sea within five minutes of the pagers sounding.

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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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About the author

Richard Clubley
Lifeboat Press Officer, Stromness

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