Volunteers at Kessock RNLI Lifeboat Station will be taking to the water in a new £160,000 rescue boat – thanks to a generous donation from a benefactor.
The crew’s new Atlantic 85 class vessel was officially named at a ceremony in the Black Isle village, near Inverness, yesterday.
The Robert & Isobel Mowat was funded by a legacy left to the RNLI in the will of Dr Isobel Stewart Fenton, who died at Murrayfield Nursing Home in Edinburgh in November 2009.
She bequeathed £200,000 for a new lifeboat, to be stationed on the east coast of Scotland and named in memory of her parents.
The remaining £40,000 is to be used towards the upkeep and maintenance of the boat.
Following the arrival of the new craft, the Kessock crew have completed extensive training in her additional search and rescue capabilities, which give them more scope than the previous Atlantic 75 lifeboat.
And, since being officially placed on service at the station in January, she has already launched on 10 occasions.
These included going to the aid of a yacht that ran aground near Fortrose, evacuating the sick captain of a chemical tanker heading for Inverness harbour and searching for a missing person in the river Ness area.
Chairman of the Kessock lifeboat management group, Alan McDiarmid, said yesterday’s ceremony was “the opening of a new chapter” in the 21-year history of ttation.
He said: “This lifeboat is going to be a big part of the lives of our crew for years to come.
“The RNLI is held in high regard in every community it serves and that is where its strength comes from.”
The lifeboat was handed over to Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Government and RNLI Council Member, Sir Peter Housden, by Dr John Horn on behalf of the family of the late Dr Fenton. It was then passed into the care of Lifeboat Operations Manager at Kessock, Gary Freidman.
Mr Freidman said: “On behalf of all the station volunteers, I would like to thank the donor’s family. Their generosity will further enhance the life-saving capabilities of the station.”
The lifeboat was officially named by Sheila Percy, on behalf of Dr Fenton, before being launched for a short demonstration.