Ness lobster boat beached after system failure
The skipper of a small fishing boat which he had to beach after taking on water has thanked the rescue services who offered to help him out.
Edwin Leslie, of Scatness, said he “can’t emphasise enough” his appreciation for the crew of Shetland coastguard’s rescue helicopter, which called out on Friday when the 25ft Leona Jane suffered problems in the early afternoon.
Mr Leslie was sailing the vessel single-handedly towards his lobster creels at Horse Island near Sumburgh Head just before 2pm when a pipe in his water cooling system burst.
The rescue helicopter was scrambled from its nearby base and the Lerwick lifeboat was also launched after the water started seeping into the vessel. Mr Leslie beached the fishing boat on the sand at West Voe, but he was grateful the emergency services had been on hand.
“I’d like to offer many thanks to everybody that helped in any way. Rescue 102 was called out, the lifeboat and the on-shore coastguards all helped out, and I’d like to thank all who called afterwards and wished me well.”
Despite the incident Mr Leslie managed to carry out repairs to his vessel, before heading to the Ness marina at high tide later in the day. He set out to sea again in his boat on Monday.
