Praise for Barra lifeboat crew 24/1/12
A lifeboat crew who rescued a charity rower after his oar had broken have been praised
for their professionalism during the long call-
Volunteers from the RNLI station at Barra spent nearly nine hours in rescuing Gaelic television and radio presenter Niall Iain Macdonald.
They launched the all-
They established a tow to his ocean going rowing boat and then took him to Leverburgh, reaching there at 8.05pm where Mr Macdonald and his boat were handed into the care of the coastguard.
The lifeboat then returned to Barra, arriving at 12.05am on 18 November, under the command of volunteer coxswain Donald MacLeod. The weather was squally with poor visibility and force six southerly winds.
Michael Vlasto, the RNLI’s Operations Director, has written to the crew to thank them and he said, ‘This was a long service in poor weather and Coxswain MacLeod and all of his crew are to be thanked on my behalf for their stamina, professionalism and team work.’
A letter of appreciation from the RNLI’s Operations Director is an accolade for a station and in 2011 out of more than 1,000 launches in Scotland only few of those merited such a letter.
Mr Macdonald was rowing his boat Nyamezela from Castlebay on Barra to Stornoway over
a three-