Scottish Field Magazine has an online edition and a friend pointed out a very interesting Islay related article published there. I'm not sure when it was written although I know the person who wrote it indirect. The author is Polly Pullar and one of her connections with Islay is through her work for the Dunlossit Estate when she took pictures of the Dunlossit Pigs. Back to the story and from the title you can have a clue that it's about the people who work voluntary for the Islay Lifeboat stationed at Port Askaig. Polly gives an interesting account of the "stout-hearted volunteers of the RNLI in Islay". A quote from Pollies article: Continue reading......

The Islay Lifeboat volunteer crew come from all walks of life. The team exercising today consists of Dunlossit Estate forester Peter McGregor, Scott Urquhart, who has a car hire business, Raymond Fletcher, tractorman on Dunlossit Estate, his father Rondy Fletcher, stockman on the same estate, and Derek Middleton, a shepherd who incidentally is also a volunteer fireman. Without their dedication thousands of lives would be lost. Most rescues are at night and sometimes they may be out for hours on end in massive seas and terrifying gales. In the past five years the Islay crew have rescued 89 people in a total of 68 search and rescue call-outs, and witnessed high drama in the process.

But perhaps the most astonishing part of my inauguration into the world of the lifeboat is to see at first hand the incredible dedication of the crew and that bond through camaraderie that makes them totally unique. 'When that pager goes off you have no idea what is going to happen. You just go. There is no time for fear or worry because we are all so busy just getting on with the job despite the weather. It fairly makes the adrenalin run,' says Peter McGregor with a grin. In a world where real values increasingly seem to have altered out of all recognition, it restores faith in human nature, and certainly makes me realise that in this country we surely have some of the best rescue facilities on earth.

Tag: rnli lifeboat port askaig

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