The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Drama at harbour gala as lifeboat crew leap into action
More than 1,000 people attended a gala at Mallaig harbour to help raise funds for two lifeline local charities.
Money accumulated through local donations and a large raffle on Saturday will be split between the Fisherman’s Mission, which provides support to active and retired fishermen and their families, and the RNLI Mall aig lifeboat service.
It was the first time the two charities had staged their annual galas as a joint event.
One of the event highlights was the boat race, where six skippers steered their vessels on a route set by the Mallaig lifeboat crew.
But this was dramatically interrupted by a lifeboat callout.
A member of the public had alerted Stornoway Coastguard at 2.10pm to an 85-year-old woman who was struggling to make her way out to her yacht in a dinghy from the shore at Isleornsay, in the south of Skye.
But, by the time the crew had arrived, she had made it back to her vessel safely.
Meanwhile, local fisherman Allan Cameron won the gala boat race by finishing in a time closest to what he had estimated.
Karen Calder, area manager for the Fisherman’s Mission, estimated that “at least 1,000” people had turned out for the event, which preceded an evening ceilidh.
She added: “It was a great day. There were a lot of families there and it was good to see a lot of families coming back to the area especially for this weekend.
“The lifeboat got a callout near the beginning of the race, but they were away and back again in a couple of hours.”
During the event, there was also a procession involving a pair of Jacobites pulling a cart which carried the gala queen and princess to the village pier.
The boat race also had prizes for best-kept boat of the year, which was won by Robert Summers in his vessel, Rebecca Janeen, and for the best decorated boat on the day, won by Michael Morrison.
The total amount of money raised is yet to be finalised, but Mrs Calder added: “The money raised willmake a huge difference to these lifeline charities, as it’s getting harder each year to keep the money coming.”
“The money raised will make a huge difference to these charities”