Oban Lifeboat to the rescue - twice
Oban Lifeboat rescued two people from a sinking motorboat near Lismore lighthouse on Sunday and helped another yacht which had grounded at the north end of Seil on Monday.
On Sunday September 20, a 16ft (five-metre) motorboat was taking on water near Lismore. Its crew phoned the coastguard to raise the alarm with RNLI volunteers who launched the Mora Edith MacDonald at 2.10pm to head to the south east tip of the island.
The people on board had decided to stay close into shore in case the boat sank and thankfully were both wearing lifejackets.
‘Once alongside the vessel, the two people on board were transferred onto the lifeboat and the boat was taken under tow whilst the lifeboat’s salvage pump worked to stem the water ingress.
‘The lifeboat continued the tow into Dunstaffnage marina where the boat was taken onto the slipway, enabling the owner to have it lifted to assess the damage. The two people on board were transferred ashore,’ said an RNLI spokesperson.
The lifeboat left at 4.30pm and returned to Oban where she was ready for service again by 5.15pm.
The crew were woken by the sound of their pagers early on Monday, September 21, to a Mayday call from a 32ft (9.5m) yacht understood to be aground and taking on water in the popular anchorage of Puilladobhrain at the north end of the Isle of Seil.
On arrival it was clear the yacht was well aground but did not appear to be taking on water. The volunteer crew launched their daughter craft, known as the ‘xp boat’, to assess the situation and the two people needing help. With the tide not due to rise for a few hours, the decision was made to take one of the sailors back to Oban, leaving the skipper on the yacht. The volunteer crew went back to Oban for an hour’s rest, before launching again to refloat the vessel.
The ‘xp boat’ was used again to check for any damage and make sure the yacht had full propulsion and steering.
Once the vessel was clear of the shore and with no damage found, it was able to go under its own power, escorted, back to Oban where it safely secured to a mooring. The lifeboat returned to station where it was cleaned in accordance with Covid-19 requirements and was ready for service again by 7.30am.
‘Once alongside the vessel, the two people on board were transferred onto the lifeboat and the boat was taken under tow ’