Three callouts in busy few days for crew
Following a quiet period during lockdown, the volunteer crew responded to their pagers three times in four days. The shouts marked the first few times the boat had gone to sea in more than three months since weekly training was suspended in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday June 18 the lifeboat launched at 11pm to reports of a possible sighting of people on Pladda island. Following a shoreline search, the lifeboat returned to Lamlash and was made ready for service at 12.25am
The day after, following a credible report of a weak mayday signal, the volunteer crew assembled and launched the lifeboat at 7pm. With no coordinates to work with, the crew were tasked with carrying out a comprehensive search of the local coastline, taking in Lamlash Bay, Brodick Bay, around Holy Isle, and towards Whiting Bay. With nothing found, the crew was stood down, pending further information. The boat returned to the station and was made ready for service at 8.25pm. Both of these shouts were classed as false alarms with good intent.
On Sunday June 21 the crew assembled and were ready to launch to a report of a person in the water at Clauchlands Point when the Coastguard cancelled the call following confirmation that the person was out of the water and safe. These shouts marked the first few times the lifeboat has been launched since the last regular training night back in March. Despite lockdown, the crew have still been working hard to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.
Trainee helm, Sam Bourne, who attended the shout on Friday evening said: ‘Given the nature of what we do, the less call outs we receive the better as it means everyone is staying safe. However, it felt good to be back out on the boat, and it really underlined the value of the online training we’ve been doing while we’ve not been able to go to sea. Everyone just fell back into all of our usual protocols and procedures, and worked together as well as we always have. As the saying goes, just like riding a bike!’