Coastguards criticise drunken sailor after plunge into loch

Published on Saturday 26 June 2010 20:07

COASTGUARDS have blasted a drunken sailor who sparked a major rescue off Skye after falling out of his boat.

The man toppled into Loch Dunvegan while starting the outboard motor of his dinghy.

The empty boat, which was a tender for a nearby dive vessel, then began circling with the drunk in the water. Coastguards now believe the sailor was actually attached to the boat.

"He then managed to free himself and get ashore, where he was assisted by locals," said a spokesman for Stornoway Coastguard. "He was a very lucky man given his plastered state."

Stornoway Coastguard search and rescue helicopter, Portree Lifeboat and Dunvegan Coastguards were all sent to the scene around 10pm after receiving a 999 call from a member of the public.

"He was too drunk to get much sense out of. He was a very, very lucky man. This could have turned out a lot worse," said a spokesman for Stornoway Coastguard.

Elsewhere on Skye, two men were rescued after a fire broke out on their fishing boat, which later sank.

Smoke was seen coming from the 39ft-long Sarah Lena as she was going into harbour at Uig just before 5pm on Friday.

The men, who were uninjured, were taken off the vessel by a local boat as the Portree Lifeboat stood by.