TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO Friday September 29, 1995
Lifeboat crew to be honoured
The crew of Campbeltown lifeboat are to be honoured for their rescue of a man trapped in an air-bubble after his boat started sinking off Johnston’s Point in March.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has announced that Coxswain Jim McPhee is to be awarded the institution’s vellum for outstanding work. Last year only six incidents out of a total of 6,156 RNLI launches attracted vellum awards.
Vellum service certificates are being awarded to crew members David Cox, David Reid, Mark McGrory, Keith Wright, Charles McLellan, Graham McMurchy and Bruce Strang.
The rescue of Mr Dick Gannon, of Dunaskomel House, Campbeltown, attracted nationwide attention. He spent almost an hour trapped in the wheelhouse of his 27ft-boat Gille Brighde as it slowly sank.
In his official report on the incident Mr Kiran Nash, the RNLI’s Deputy Divisional Inspector for Scotland, praised the ‘calm and effective action’ of the Campbeltown crew during the rescue.
The lifeboat arrived to find only two feet of the Gille Brighde’s bow remaining above the surface of the water.
Mr McPhee was reluctant to break any of the wheelhouse windows because the air-bubble inside appeared to be the only thing keeping the boat afloat.
But when a side window on the wheelhouse shattered and there was an escape of air it was decided to use the lifeboat’s winch to pull the bows further out of the water and smash the main window.
Mr Gannon was then pulled out of the wheelhouse by Mark McGrory who was in the water along with Bruce Strang.
Mr Gannon was flown to hospital by Royal Navy helicopter.
The news the crew is being honoured was greeted with delight by Mr Gannon: ‘It is very well deserved. I wrote to the RNLI giving my side of the story because I had a feeling the crew would play it down and make the whole thing lower key than it really was.’
Grammar school rector Mr H L MacKenzie said yesterday that he had noticed the increase since the school adopted the comprehensive, or common course, policy three years ago.
Last year’s total of 625 pupils was record-breaking also.
Eighteen pupils make up the school’s sixth year this session. The sixth year is for pupils who hold university entrance requirements and are spending an extra year at school pursuing advanced studies.