The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Anstruther Lifeboat saves crew and trawler in storm off Fife Ness
Volunteers battle through the night in rough seas and 40mph winds
Volunteer lifesavers battled through the night in stormy seas to rescue the crew of a stricken fishing vessel.
Anstruther RNLI fought challenging conditions for five hours to slowly haul the 100-tonne trawler and its five-strong crew to safety.
Wind speeds of up to 35 knots – 40mph – hampered the rescue mission of the Grianan Oir, which lost power when its net wound round its propeller.
The lifeboat crew was paged shortly before 10pm on Monday night to a report of a fishing boat in difficulty six miles east of Fife Ness and launched the all-weather lifeboat.
The team reached the vessel shortly after 11pm. It was a slow and treacherous voyage, with the lifeboat pulling at maximum capability.
It was 4am before they docked safely in Anstruther Harbour.
Anstruther Lifeboat coxswain Michael Bruce said: “The conditions weren’t great at all.
“We put out our maximum length of tow rope and the boat was dancing about.
“Towing a boat that size is always dangerous, especially in weather like that.
“We were in open water so there was no immediate risk.
“The weather seemed to freshen just before we reached the harbour and even shortening the tow rope to a manageable length took us a good 40 minutes. It would usually take five to 10 minutes.
“Because it was so heavy we were using all the power we had to manoeuvre it.”
The 56ft long Barra-based vessel had been about to return home laden with a full catch when the cod end of its net became entangled and it was forced to raise the alarm.
It suffered no serious damage and remained in Anstruther Harbour until yesterday afternoon until it could launch on the tide.
Skipper Angus MacLeod said: “The offshore wind didn’t help. The boys did a very good job getting us back to the harbour in those conditions.”