Paddleboarding fan aims to circumnavigate Loch Ness for RNLI
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A paddleboarding enthusiast has embarked on a challenge to circumnavigate Loch Ness to raise funds for the lifeboat service.
Events coordinator Morag Fraser, of Drumnadrochit, plans to paddle the loch's 80km perimeter in sections by the end of this year.
She aims to raise £1000 for the RNLI which has a volunteer-operated station at Loch Ness and she is already a quarter of the way to the target.
She also has set up a page at www.justgiving.com/page/morag-fraser for people to give donations.
"I work with the team which delivers the Loch Ness Marathon and Etape," said Mrs Fraser, of Caledonian Concepts.
"I was inspired by others taking on Loch Ness challenges."
The 51-year-old took up paddleboarding four years ago just before undergoing a hip replacement and says it helped with her rehabilitation.
Although many people paddle the length of Loch Ness, she decided to paddle the perimeter for her fundraising challenge, paddling as and when the wind allows.
"I'll paddle in any direction and probably in no particular order, with the aim of completing the challenge by the end of 2023," she said.
She completed the first 14km section from Fort Augustus to Alltsigh in just under four hours.
"It was amazing," she said.
"You get a totally different aspect of the landscape seeing it from the water.
"It was reasonably calm and there was a tail wind which definitely helped."
Time and weather will determine when she embarks on the next section.
"Ultimately, making sure I am safe on the water is the main thing," she said.
"I don't want to have to be rescued by the RNLI lifeboat!"
Loch Ness lifeboat station is crewed by volunteers who provide a 24 hour search and rescue service. It is based at Urquhart Bay, Drumnadrochit.
Last month, it was involved in a rescue operation after a man fell down an embankment.
