When a trawler hit propeller problems in force 9 winds and high seas, it took the skill and bravery of two lifeboat crews to bring the fishermen back to safety

On the belts, in the pockets and on the tables of the Girvan and Troon lifeboat crews, pagers buzzed madly at 2.05pm on 14 January 2015. Lunches were abandoned, frantic calls to pick up the children made and- in the case of Girvan Crew Member John Tait- a shopping trolley left in a supermarket aisle, in the rush to get to the lifeboat.

The 140-tonne trawler Spes Bona had fouled its propeller 6 miles off Troon, Ayrshire, and was now at the mercy of rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. With the crew struggling to free the propeller as huge waves broke over the stern, Skipper Robin Gibson knew that he and his crew needed the help of the RNLI to make it back to shore.

Having left Girvan in a hurry, the town's lifeboat Sylvia Burrell arrived at the scene at 2.45pm under the command of Second Coxswain Gary McGarvie. Gary recalls the trawler skipper's reaction to seeing the Mersey class lifeboat: 'Because he's based in Troon and he's used to seeing their bigger lifeboat, he saw us coming over the top of the wave and thought: "What the hell is that wee boat going to be able to do?"'

Troon's Trent class lifeboat was still fighting to get to the scene. Heading into the worst conditions he'd been out in, the last thing that veteran Coxswain Joe Millar wanted to hear was that one of his crew was unwell. But Mechanic Andrew Alston had fallen ill and was deteriorating rapidly. With no nearby harbour and the conditions too dangerous to risk a boat-to-boat transfer, Joe was left with no option but to request a helicopter evacuation.

A Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter arrived shortly after, but the huge swell violently throwing the boat around made it extremely difficult for the winch man to get aboard. He hit the deck and narrowly missed serious injury- it was going to be too dangerous to make another attempt in the conditions. So Joe headed towards slightly calmer waters. This time, the winchman managed to reach the deck safely. He helped Andrew aboard the aircraft and on to hospital. Joe and the crew were now able to continue towards the trawler- but they were a crew member down and faced mountainous seas.

Meanwhile, the Girvan crew had attached a tow to the trawler and, despite weighing just 14.3 tonnes, the 'wee' Mersey class began to tow the trawler towards land. But then the tow rope snapped under the strain. The crew replaced it, knowing that there was every chance it could happen again. So they breathed a sigh of relief when an orange flash appeared on the horizon: Troon lifeboat crew had arrived to take over the tow.

While Troon volunteers attached a tow rope, the Girvan crew's work wasn't done for the day. With conditions still deteriorating, Girvan lifeboat acted as a drogue (a device attached to the stern to slow and prevent the trawler from broaching or excessively speeding into oncoming waves). All three boats were relentlessly thrown around by the sea on the way back to Troon Harbour. 'At one point on the way back, I thought: "Have we bitten off more than we can chew here?"' says Coxswain Joe Millar.

When Troon Harbour came into view, Joe and Gary were relieved - but knew that the hardest part of the rescue was yet to come. The crews had to enter the harbour at speed while maintaining control of the trawler in powerful waves. With the walls either side of them, they only had one chance to get it right. 'Out at sea, if anything went wrong, we had time to sort it out and fix it,' says Joe. 'In the harbour, if we made a wrong move, it would have ended in tragedy.'

Despite the physical and mental challenges they had already faced offshore, the lifeboat crews kept their concentration and safely brought the trawler in. With the stricken fishing vessel safely tied up, the relieved mariners all stepped onto dry land at 6.30pm, after a gruelling 4.5 hours at sea. Other Troon RNLI volunteers were waiting for them with chips and tea at the ready. The local volunteers enjoyed short journeys home, but the Girvan crew members faced another arduous stretch at sea. After warming up, they headed back into the rough swell, 91mph winds and falling darkness for a 3-hour trip back to their home town.

For their boathandling, leadership and courage, Coxswain Joe Millar and Second Coxswain Gary McGarvie are awarded the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum. Allan Craig, Paul Morledge and Trevor Boyes from Troon, and Barry Hubbard, lan McClymont, Henry McMaster, Keith Woods and john Tait from Girvan also receive a Framed Letter of Thanks from the RNLI Chairman.

Words: Jack Barclay
Photos: Richard Whitson and Jack Barclay

'He said that they were the worst conditions he'd ever been out in'

I was very relieved to see the trawler tied up. We'd been in the boathouse for about 20 minutes when the skipper of the Spes Bona came around to thank us. He's a very well respected and experienced fisherman, and he said that they were the worst conditions he'd ever been out in. It wasn't bad going considering what potentially could have happened. The skipper wrote to us afterwards to say thank you. He wrote: 'It is not until you face these circumstances yourself that you appreciate the enormity of what your service does - and means - to all the fishermen from this area. Thank you.'

JOE MILLAR

TROON COXSWAIN