Rita Campbell
The power of Oban Lifeboat came into its own when it rescued a 70ton two-masted sailing vessel used for corporate hospitality events.
The Aberdeen based Kommandoren lost power in the Firth of Lorne with six people on board on Sunday night. The Trent Class lifeboat was called out to assist her.
On reaching the ketch at 6.25pm, lifeboat Coxswain John Hill put a crew member on board to rig a tow and the lifeboat headed for Oban Bay with the casualty in tow.
During the short trip to Oban the Kommandoren managed to regain power and berthed herself at the North Pier.
After making some repairs Kommandoren is now on its way to James Watt Dock in Greenock. where it will join a flotilla of up to 250 ships and smaller yachts sailing into Glasgow to celebrate the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
The vessel is owned and operated by Hays Ships, which operates a fleet of survey, research and patrol vessels and uses the sailing vessel Kommandoren as a corporate hospitality venue for conferences and exhibitions. Earlier this year she attended the Oceanology International 2014 exhibition in London where she was used as a reception and hospitality area for Hays Shipping.
Unlike similar corporate hospitality vessels, the Kommandoren is an original ketch rigged sailing ship built back in 1891. Not much is known of her history but she was originally built in Denmark and traded the Baltic Sea carrying cargoes ranging from fish to coal.