Lerwick Lifeboat rescues yacht and dog in space of 24 hours
THE LERWICK Lifeboat crew has had a busy past couple of days with two very different call-outs.
On Tuesday HM Coastguard was contacted by a Norwegian-registered yacht with four persons on board.
The vessel was 25-miles east of Bressay with a damaged mainsail and an overheating engine.
With no other vessels in the area, Lerwick lifeboat was asked to assist, launching at just after 10.15pm. Sea conditions were poor, with a force seven south-easterly wind, and a two to three metre swell.
The lifeboat reached the stricken vessel at around 11.30pm, setting off a flare to locate the yacht in darkness.
With the mainsail jammed in the mast, the yacht was sailing at roughly 10 knots, and it was decided the safest course of action was for the lifeboat to stand off and escort the vessel to the safety of harbour.
The lifeboat and casualty vessel arrived in Lerwick Harbour just before 1am where the crew of the yacht were finally able to drop the damaged mainsail.
The yacht was able to berth alongside the pier under its own power and were met by the Lerwick coastguard rescue Team, on hand to assist.
The lifeboat was refuelled and returned to her berth ready for service at 2am.
Later on Wednesday evening Lerwick lifeboat crew were paged at 7.40pm to go the aid of a dog walker in Lerwick, whose young dog had run off.
The owner had scrambled down steep banks on the east side of the Knab, but having retrieved their dog then found they were unable to safely climb back up.
The Lerwick coastguard rescue team also attended with rope rescue equipment, incase it was needed.
It was considered safest to take the dog and its owner off the shoreline by sea and so the lifeboat crew launched their ‘Y-boat’ – a small inflatable used in shallow water – to recover them.
Both the dog and its owner were taken aboard the lifeboat, before being safely returned to dry land, around an hour after the lifeboat was launched.
Lerwick Lifeboat coxswain Stephen Manson said: “I’m grateful that both these very different incidents concluded with positive outcomes.
“Our volunteer crew are trained, equipped and on- call 24/7 to save lives at sea – we never know what incidents we might be asked to launch to.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
