As Paul Buchan’s cries for help rang out across the fishing vessel, deckhand Charlie McDonald ran to his side without a second thought.
The young fisherman’s leg had snapped in two during an accident while sailing off the north-east coast.
As he rapidly lost blood, it was a race against time to ensure he stayed alive.
Tragically, the 22-year-old Mr Buchan’s right leg had to be amputated.
But despite the life-changing injury, he is still here to watch his baby son grow up – and says he will forever be in debt to Mr McDonald for saving his life.
Miraculously, it was the second time the experienced crewman from Rosehearty had saved someone’s life at sea.
In 2001, while sailing 80 miles off the coast of Fraserburgh, fisherman Martin Bruce fell into the water in the middle of the night.
Mr McDonald plunged into the water in darkness to save his pal – who survived – and was later honoured for his bravery.
Last night, the 45-year-old, who has been a fisherman since the age of 18, said his young daughters described him as their “hero”.
But the modest crewman said he had only done what any of his fellow crew mates would have in his position.
“I know that if anything ever happened to me at sea the crew would be there for me as well,” he said.
“When we are out at sea we only have each other. Every fisherman looks out for one another.”
The latest incident on the Banff-registered Fruitful Vine on June 13 brought back painful memories for Mr McDonald as he realised Mr Buchan’s life was in jeopardy.
He cut away the fisherman’s oilskin trousers as gently as he could to see what the damage was, and quickly tied a tight tourniquet around his leg.
Inside, he was panicking.
But on the outside, he knew he had to be strong.
“I tried to keep myself together for Paul’s sake,” he said.
“He was screaming as I did it and my hands were covered in his blood.
“I kept saying ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’.”
As they waited for help, Mr McDonald and skipper, John Nichol, asked the young fisherman about his girlfriend, Jan, and his baby son, Thomas.
“It was a huge relief to us when the helicopter arrived and the real professionals took over,” he said.
“It was a couple of hours later we heard that they couldn’t save his leg.
It was devastating news.”
Mr McDonald said it had been Mr Buchan, from Peterhead, who had handled the devastating ordeal best.
“We have all been deeply affected by this and I think Paul is the one who has coped the best,” he said.
“He is a very brave and gutsy man and has the right attitude and determination to get through this.”
The first life he saved
With every crucial second that passed, all hope of finding fisherman Martin Bruce alive in the bitterly cold North Sea faded.
It was the summer of 2001, in the dark of night, when the 23-year-old crewman plunged from the 60ft prawn vessel he had been working on.
When an hour had passed, the crew of Fraserburgh-registered Day Dawn thought they would never find him again.
But out of the darkness, they heard his cries for help and turned the boat in his direction.
His quick-thinking crew mate, Mr McDonald, realised the time it would take to turn the boat around could prove fatal.
So he kicked off his boots then dived in to the sea wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
“We saw Martin go under. It was just that split-second decision just to go,” he recalls.
“The thing that will stick with me was just how cold the water was. It takes the wind right out of your lungs.
“I swam what was about 15 to 20 yards to reach Martin then I got a hold of him and tried to keep his head above water.”
Mr Bruce was hauled aboard the trawler, and taken to Lerwick’s Gilbert Bain Hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
Mr McDonald said it was a miracle he survived.
“When you’re aboard a boat, you have to watch each other’s backs as it’s a dangerous enough life as it is,” he said.
The Royal Humane Society – the UK’s leading organisation for honouring lifesavers – awarded Charles for the rescue two years later.
“It’s something that myself and my family are extremely proud of,” he said.
“My daughters tell people that their dad is a hero.”