Fundraiser crosses charity challenge line in Oban
Oban’s RNLI lifeboat station was the finishing line for fundraiser Donna Fryer, who completed the charity’s Run 100k in July challenge on Saturday, before the crew was called off to rescue kayakers in trouble.
The lifeboat crew congratulated and thanked Donna, who called in at the charity’s North Pier pop-up shop marking 50 years of the Oban RNLI station.
Donna, who lives in North Lincolnshire and has long-standing links to Oban and Loch Awe, said: ‘I decided to do this for the RNLI as it is such a worthwhile cause, not only saving lives in open water, but through the education programmes too.
‘What a fantastic end to the challenge,’ she said, thanking the amazing lifeboat crew and donors for their support.
Late on Sunday evening, Oban’s volunteer lifeboat crew were called out to reports of a group of kayakers in trouble at the Falls of Lora and concerns that one of them was in the water.
The Trent Class all-weather lifeboat Mora Edith MacDonald was launched at 10.37pm with the crew reaching the area where the people were last seen in less than 15 minutes.
After a thorough search of the waters and shoreline around Connel in fading light, the team stood down and returned to base.
Later reports suggested the group may have been on inflatables and had safely reached shore.
Oban RNLI water safety officer Tony Hammock warned the stretch of water around the mouth of Loch Etive can be dangerous and should only be tackled by experts with the right equipment including lifejackets. ‘The Falls of Lora can be challenging area of water for even more experienced water users and is not suitable for inflatables,’ he said.
‘As the tides change, the water can change in a matter of minutes from being calm to quite turbulent with strong currents going out to sea.
‘The people who raised the alarm from the shore did the right thing by contacting the Coastguard on 999.'