Tobermory RNLI tasked to mayday before training exercise
Tobermory RNLI’s volunteer responded to a mayday from a yacht on Tuesday June 12 prior to carrying out a planned exercise on the newly restored Tobermory lighthouse path.
The pagers of the volunteer crew went off just after 4pm following a call for help from a yacht in distress in Loch Sunart.
The crew were just slipping lines at the berth when Stornoway Coastguard advised them to stand down as the yacht was no longer in difficulty.
Coxswain David McHaffie said: ‘We would much rather be called at an early stage and have to stand down than be called out when things have gone badly wrong. The skipper took exactly the right action.’
A few hours later, at Tuesday night training, the crew carried out an exercise along the newly restored path to the lighthouse at Rubha nan Gall. Four members acted as casualties while the rest of the crew on the Severn-class lifeboat Elizabeth Fairlie Ramsey and her daughter craft carried out a shoreline search to locate, treat and evacuate them.
Operations manager Sam Jones said: ‘Since its welcome restoration last year, the lighthouse path is once again hugely popular with locals and visitors. It has seen a significant increase in users compared to a few years ago and, while the path is much improved, there are still some steep drops. Tonight’s exercise was aimed at ensuring that we are well prepared for any eventualities on this wonderful path.’
The popular lighthouse path has been restored through a project led by the Mull and Iona Community Trust and supported by Scottish Natural Heritage with assistance from the Northern Lighthouse Board, Scottish Sea Farms and Glensanda Quarry.