RNLI marks 15th anniversary of operations on Loch Ness
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LIFESAVERS from the RNLI are celebrating the 15th anniversary of operations on Loch Ness.
The charity has run a lifeboat on the key waterway since April 2, 2008 – during which they've been called out to 272 separate incidents and saved 13 lives.
Marking the occasion, a spokesperson for the RNLI said: "[It's] all made possible by the time and effort given by the many local people and the RNLI family who have contributed now and in the past. We thank them all."
The 15-year operation of the base had its genesis a couple of years earlier, in 2006, when the RNLI recognised that its policy for providing lifeboats also extended to non-tidal waters.
Following an agreement in 2007, the local rescue boat activities were transferred to the RNLI and the station was established the following year.
Related: Loch Ness RNLI pit crew poised for emergencies 24 hours a day
Prior to 2008, search-and-rescue activities on the loch were co-ordinated by the Coastguard from units in Fort Augustus and Drumnadrochit.
In 2008, the lifeboat B-707 was placed on service at the Loch Ness base, and was replaced in 2011 by B-737 Thelma Glossop, and then by B-763 Colin James Daniel in 2013.
A major date in the Drumnadrochit base came in 2015, when the RNLI launched a £1m appeal for funds to build a new lifeboat station at Loch Ness where the lifeboat could be housed indoors.
By 2018 this dream was realised, and that year the Atlantic 85 Lifeboat B-902 Sheila and Dennis Tongue began service from the new station.
