When their pagers woke them in the early hours of Sunday 25 October 2009, Kirkwall lifeboat crew didn’t know they were to face 9 hours at sea and an injury of their own

Stronsay, looking like a missing piece of  some Norse god’s giant jigsaw puzzle, is one of 67 islands that form Orkney. Its several beaches include that in Mill Bay with its central rock ‘seat’. The Mermaid’s Chair is where (so folklore says) storm witch Scota Bess sits and casts her spells – perhaps this was one of them.

The tale began 4 days earlier when a 16m Bermudan sloop Inanna and her three crew left Stavanger in Norway to sail to Denmark. After about 100 miles, a south easterly gale in the North Sea had simply ripped their sails to shreds, leaving them with no other option than to head for shelter under motorpower, eventually arriving at Stronsay at 2am on the Thursday.

The fuel gauge showed they were running low and their GPS battery hadn’t long either so they dropped anchor in Mill Bay. But at dawn, huge waves were still entering the bay with a wall of broken water across the entrance. Waking up to see the yacht with its torn sails and no sign of any crew, a local resident was so concerned that they called Shetland Coastguard.

Unable to contact Inanna by radio, the Coastguard tasked both their own helicopter Rescue 102 and the RNLI’s Severn class lifeboat at Kirkwall to investigate. Arriving first, the helicopter crew saw the treacherous conditions and warned the lifeboat, which duly abandoned its approach. The helicopter finally made radio contact with the yacht’s skipper and advised him to evacuate – but he and his crew were unwilling, wanting to sit out the weather.

Falling off a cliff

And so they waited. But by the early hours of Sunday it was certainly not the place to be – the wind direction had changed. An easterly force 10 storm was now pounding straight into the bay and Inanna’s crew were woken by a loud crashing sound. The force of the sea had ripped the windlass (an anchor winch) from the bow of the yacht. The crew immediately dropped their second anchor but were forced to let that go too. For fear of running aground, they sent out a mayday.

The Coastguard helicopter scrambled and Kirkwall Lifeboat Operations Manager Christopher Irvine paged the crew at 12.56am. Just 13 minutes later the Margaret Foster launched with Second Coxswain Stewart Ryrie and four crew members onboard. ‘To avoid the worst of the weather and the tidal overfalls [steep, breaking seas caused by opposing currents and wind], I took the lifeboat through the buoyed channel in Wide Firth before passing north of Green Holm,’ explains Stewart. He kept the lifeboat in deeper water but a heavy swell made going slow. An hour later, the lifeboat was still encountering 4–6m breaking seas with a 5m swell.

Shortly after 2am, the lifeboat hit a very steep wave and launched off the crest. Stewart says: 'It was like the sea had disappeared and we fell into a hole.' For up to 5 seconds she was in freefall before crashing into a deep trough. Shockwaves went through the lifeboat. Stewart heard an agonising scream from one of his crew: ‘They were all strapped into their seats of course but one, Iain Seatter, was in a great deal of pain – he had some kind of back injury.’ There was no choice but to divert to Stronsay Harbour, where they were met by a doctor. He diagnosed soft tissue injuries only but Iain’s shout was over. Shetland Coastguard retasked the helicopter to airlift the injured lifeboatman to hospital.

Volunteer recruit 

The noise of the rotor blades had woken Bill Miller, a retired Scotland Yard Detective,11 turned local fisherman and RNLI fundraising

Branch Secretary. He went down to the pier and helped the Harbour Master with the winchman’s transfer. The strong winds made the manoeuvre dangerous, Bill explains: ‘We were concerned that the line would get caught in the helicopter’s rear prop with dire consequences for the helicopter or the winchman.’ After some difficulty, at 3.50am, Iain was successfully winched up in a stretcher.

But this left the lifeboat with just four men onboard – not enough for safe operation in such severe weather. So Stewart asked Bill if he would be willing to go with them. He agreed immediately even though he knew he’d be risking his own life. Stewart comments: ‘His invaluable local knowledge made Bill an ideal choice.’ Divisional Inspector of Lifeboats for Scotland, Wave Crookes, applauds Stewart's ‘commendable leadership and determination’, adding: ‘He motivated his remaining crew to continue despite the conditions. And Bill is a fine example of the spirit that the institution is built on.’

Although there was still a heavy swell and the occasional large wave, the lifeboat made 6–7 knots, making the trip leading up to Mill Bay as comfortable and safe as possible. The Coxswain and his crew were, however, all aware of the severity of what they would face. With the wind blowing towards the shore there would be little room for error and they needed all their courage and commitment to cross the entrance to the bay with a reef each side. Stewart’s concentration was crucial in steering the boat through the breaking seas. Bill recalls: ‘Visibility ahead was zero and it was impossible to see what was following on behind too. Suddenly we got hit by a massive following wave, which spun the lifeboat around 180° so we were facing out to sea again!’ The lifeboat broached twice but

Stewart kept his nerve and persevered until they were in the relative shelter of the bay.

A waiting game

Meanwhile Inanna’s crew had fortunately found their fuel gauge to be faulty and had been motoring back and forth in the calmer west of the bay to keep clear of the shore. Now the skipper shone a light towards the lifeboat whose crew threw a line to secure the yacht to their stern. Stewart knew it would be unwise to leave the bay in the continuing severe gale and darkness and so dropped anchor for 2 hours, allowing both crews to take stock and get some rest.

When first light came at 7.18am, the lifeboat released the line before hauling up its anchor. Inanna followed under its own power. The entrance to the bay was still a maelstrom but miraculously there was now a 100m gap of clear water to navigate through. The lifeboat led the yacht clear of Papa Stronsay towards Whitehall Pier where they arrived safely at 8.20am, to be greeted by Bill's wife Breda with hot food and drinks.

Kirkwall’s lifeboat eventually returned to station at 10.10am. Wave says: ‘The only damage to the Margaret Foster was sheared pipe mounting brackets. Unfortunately, Iain damaged a bone in his back, although he is now back at work on light duties.’ Bill is full of praise for: ‘the cool, calm and professional manner in which Stewart handled the lifeboat and the professionalism and dedication of the crew members. When you witness something like this at first hand as I did, it makes you proud.’

Official recognition came in February with Second Coxswain Stewart Ryrie being awarded the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum.