Emergency services / Aith lifeboat in Christmas Day call-out
A young fisherman had a lucky escape on Christmas Day when his creel boat lost power off Vementry and was drifting towards rocks at Muckle Roe in strong south-westerly winds.
Aith lifeboat was called out at around 6.30pm to assist the 10 metre Wild Rose (OB401) with one crew on board.
The lifeboat crew managed to get a line on board the vessel, which at that time was near rocks to the west of Muckle Roe, and towed her back to Aith where they arrived at around 9pm.
Aith lifeboat coxswain, John Robertson, was sitting down to Christmas pudding with his family when the alarm was raised.
He said he would like to thank the local RNLI volunteers for showing such commitment, and answering their pagers on Christmas Day.
“Most of the crew were finishing up Christmas dinner, or visiting what family they could, when they were called into action.
“They still showed up to this shout in rapid time, despite poor sea conditions, and used their training to perform a successful rescue. This was a time critical operation. If we hadn’t been able to respond so quickly, there might have been a different outcome.”
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.