Lifeboat searches for new coxswain
Life-saving charity RNLI is recruiting a new coxswain for Oban.
Its current man at the helm, Richard Johnson, will be leaving at the end of this year after getting promotion.
Mr Johnson, who has served two years in Oban, will be taking charge of five stations in a new Borders area created by the RNLI, from North Berwick and Eyemouth on the east coast across to Kirkcudbright on the Solway Firth.
There will be lots about living and working in Oban to miss, said Mr Johnson, who was just 18 when he joined the crew of Filey lifeboat in Yorkshire.
‘It’s been the diversity of the job in Oban that’s appealed to me. The whole area is a challenge for the crew from rocks to deep water, currents and the Corryvreckan. We cover about 500 miles of coastline from this station,’ he said.
Since he joined the Oban crew, he has been on about 80 call-outs, 30 last year and about 50 this year so far.
From medical transfers from Mull to towing fishing boats out of danger, every job has involved the skill of the crew.
One of his most memorable call-outs was to a yacht where an out-of-control sail had shattered a crewman’s shoulder.
‘His wife had no experience but we had to get her to sail the yacht on course until we could get help to them. What happens is that people tend to watch you coming to rescue so head right for you,’ said Mr Johnson.
It costs more than £215,000 a year to keep an all-weather lifeboat like Oban’s running and it relies on the public’s generosity.
‘Without the help we get from the public, we wouldn’t be able to survive and keep saving lives at sea. I hope Oban keeps up that generosity,’ said Mr Johnson.
New fundraising chairman Phil Hamilton organised a drop-in at the lifeboat station on Saturday and is appealing for anyone interested in joining the team of organisers to get in touch.
The closing date for the station’s new coxswain applicants is Sunday November 4.