Invergordon RNLI lifeboat rescuers help boat after engine failure left it standard in busy Moray Firth channel near Fort George and the Chanonry Point narrows
RNLI rescuers came to the aid of a boat stranded in the middle of a busy channel in the Moray Firth after engine failure.
The Invergordon lifeboat launched on Saturday at 2.37pm to reports that a six-metre rigid-inflatable boat (RIB) had broken down.
The RIB’s occupant had managed to tether the boat to the Craigmee buoy, which is near Fort George in the Chanonry narrows, until assistance could arrive.
The six strong volunteer crew of Invergordon’s Shannon class lifeboat made best speed after spending the morning and early afternoon doing a navigation exercise and emergency drills in the Cromarty Firth, arriving on scene around 25 minutes from the tasking request.
“The crew [of the lifeboat] managed to come alongside the stranded RIB and transfer the sole occupant on to the lifeboat to be checked over while a crew member was placed on the RIB, as due to the location and nature it was decided the safest course of action would be to tow the vessel back to its mooring in Fortrose bay with the accompaniment of the famous Moray Firth dolphins,” said an RNLI spokesperson.
“The lifeboat brought the vessel along side its mooring and stood by until the owner was safely back ashore.”
