Three rescued from capsized boat attended by Stranraer RNLI volunteers

Keith Scott sprung into action after seeing a vessel capsize and, immediately recognising the seriousness of the situation, got into a small boat to rescue the trio.

The public were also praised for their swift actions in alerting the emergency services.

On 1 August at 3.47pm the volunteer crew of Stranraer RNLI were paged by HM Coastguard for an immediate launch following reports that a sailing vessel had capsized and sunk at Wig Bay, leaving three people in the water.

The crew immediately assembled at Stranraer Lifeboat Station and, due to the location of the incident, travelled by road with the Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) Sheila MacDonald to the launch point at Wig Bay.

However, before the emergency services could reach the casualties, an off-duty RNLI volunteer from Stonehaven RNLI was already taking action.

Keith Scott, a volunteer crew member with Stonehaven RNLI, witnessed the vessel capsize and immediately recognised the seriousness of the situation.

With three people in the water, Keith did not hesitate. Drawing on his RNLI training, experience and knowledge, he got into a small boat and made his way across to the casualties.

Keith successfully recovered all three people from the water into his boat before bringing them safely back to shore at Wig Bay slipway.

His rapid response meant that all three casualties were out of the water and safely ashore by the time Stranraer RNLI arrived.

Members of the public ashore also played a vital role, quickly raising the alarm and bringing the incident to the attention of the emergency services, as well as providing assistance at the scene prior to their arrival. Their actions are greatly appreciated.

Stranraer RNLI ILB crew immediately took over and provided casualty care, assessing and caring for the three casualties alongside HM Coastguard until the Scottish Ambulance Service arrived and took over their care.

Once the casualties were safely in the hands of the ambulance service, Stranraer ILB launched to investigate the sunken sailing vessel and determine whether it presented a hazard to navigation.

The vessel was found submerged and, following an assessment, was deemed not to present a navigational hazard at that time.

The ILB then returned to the launch point, where it was recovered. The crew returned by road to Stranraer RNLI Lifeboat Station and the lifeboat and equipment were made ready for service.

Stranraer RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Antony Simpson said: ‘𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩’𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘕𝘓𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦.

'𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

'𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩’𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.

'𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘕𝘓𝘐 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘕𝘓𝘐. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.'

This incident had a successful outcome thanks to a remarkable response from Keith Scott, Stonehaven RNLI, backed up by the coordinated efforts of Stranraer RNLI, HM Coastguard and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Keith was simply in the right place at the right time and when three people needed help, his training kicked in and he acted.

Also in attendance was Stranraer coastguard, HM Coastguard - Portpatrick, Scottish Ambulance Service.

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

RNLI media contacts

Jim Ryder, RNLI Stranraer volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, [email protected]

Richard Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland, 07920 365929, [email protected]

Suzanne O’Brien, RNLI Comms Placement for Scotland, 07483 494407, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]

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The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

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