Lifeboat mechanic teased after crewmates come to his rescue

A Tayside lifeboat mechanic has come in for a ribbing from his own crew after the rescuer became the rescued at the weekend.

Full-time Arbroath mechanic Sam Clow was enjoying leisure time off the Angus coast in a friend’s boat on Saturday afternoon when the engine of the 40-foot vessel spluttered to a halt as they were heading back to harbour.

With children on board, 26-year-old Sam chose not to attempt the tricky manoeuvre of bringing the yacht into the harbour under sail and opted to take the safety-first approach of a call to the Coastguard.

It led to both Arbroath lifeboats being launched just after 3pm – and a few surprised faces when the local volunteer crews discovered whose aid they had come to.

A tow rope to the all-weather lifeboat Inchcape was set up and the yacht party were brought safely home.

“It was a surprise to them when they saw it was me, and a few cheeky smiles,” said Sam, who said the rescue was an illustration of how quickly trouble can strike.

“I’ve had a fair few Whatsapp messages but you’d rather come out of it safely and have a bit of mickey-taking than anything go wrong,” added Sam, who is a helmsman inshore lifeboat.

Arbroath lifeboat operations manager Alex Smith said: “When the call came through I didn’t know it was Sam, I was just told there were adults and children on board.

“He has come in for a wee bit of stick from the rest of the crew, but it was exactly the right thing to do and exactly what the RNLI is there for.”

The rescue under way by Arbroath lifeboat.