The RNLI crew of the Kyle lifeboat were paged from their beds last night after a yacht dragged its anchor and collided with a second vessel.
The lifeboat, which launched at 12.01am, was responding to the late-night mayday call issued by the 45-foot yacht at Plockton Harbour after extremely high winds resulted in the vessel colliding with another vessel moored in the bay.
In dreich conditions consisting of large seas and high winds, the Kyle lifeboat, The Spirit of Fred Olsen, arrived on scene at 12.25am, where the vessel, with two persons on board, had already managed to secure themselves alongside the yacht they had collided with.
The RNLI crew assessed the vessels and occupants and established that no injuries had been sustained, nor had any major damage been experienced. A crew member was put on board the yacht to proceed with the plan to secure the vessel to a nearby unoccupied mooring.
A Kyle RNLI spokesman said: “Due to the very high winds and the close proximity of other vessels, it was decided to use the yachts own engine for propulsion, and to use the lifeboats power to manoeuvre the yacht safely onto the mooring.
“The weather conditions were terrible, and due to the high winds, the casualty vessel had dragged its anchor. Luckily there was no one onboard the yacht which they collided with, and both vessels escaped largely unscathed.”
The lifeboat was stood down at 1.15am after successfully completing its mission of securing the yacht to a new mooring, before arriving back at station at 1.50am after navigating through heavy seas.