For Argyll

Television presenter and producer, Muriel Gray with husband, producer Hamish Barbour, nine year-old son Angus, eight year-old nephew Ryan, sister-in-law and two friends were in Greenock yesterday - as were a huge contingent of people from Argyll - to see the QE2 on its farewll tour of the UK. They were all on board the 24ft cruiser Eileanach owned by friends and were on their way back to Rosneath when it started to take on water, sinking beneath them.

A military boat nearby pulled them to safety and handed them over to Strathclyde Police whose launch delivered them to paramedics. The children were treated for slight exposure and the adults for shock. Clyde Coastguard said the group were all wearing lifejackets.

The Herald reports Muriel Gray’s typically vigorous account of th event.

‘We had been sailing for about 20 minutes, and were in the middle of the Clyde, when we started to see a little bit of water coming into the boat. We had just got alongside a large naval vessel when the water started coming at the back of the boat in a serious way and we had to start bailing. Our skipper immediately phoned the Coastguard and we beckoned to the skipper of another small vessel who was alongside to take the children on board. As we were talking to him our boat sank like the blooming Titanic. Although we were all wearing lifejackets our first concern was trying to keep the children afloat. They were pulled on board the vessel that came alongside. Within minutes loads of other boats came to our rescue.’