Oban Lifeboat celebrates the New Year with an early shout, a glimpse into its work in 2008 and an action photo by Dennis Hardley

Here she is, the Oban RNLI Lifeboat – Mora Edith MacDonald, turning under speed and looking the business in a super action photograph by Oban photographer Dennis Hardley. For Argyll has just received this as a New Year greeting from the Oban Lifeboat station to all of us who are grateful for the range of life-saving services it provides in Argyll waters.

The lifeboat had an early New Year shout. She was called out on Saturday 3rd January just after 6.00pm to help in the evacuation of a female patient to the mainland from Craignure on the Isle of Mull. The crew were assisted by two Ambulance Service paramedics and the lifeboat arrived back at Oban at 7.30pm. The patient was then transferred to Lorne and the Isles District General Hospital by ambulance. Job done. Again.

The Oban Lifeboat is one of the busiest in Scotland. She was called out on a total of 53 shouts in 2008. You may be interested in the range of emergency situations she answers – so here is the breakdown for 2008:

• 16 Yachts in trouble
• 10 Medical Evacuations from Mull
• 6 Medical Evacuations from other islands and vessels
• 6 Assist Divers
• 5 Fishing Vessels in trouble
• 2 Vessels on fire
• 2 Canoes & Windsurfers in trouble
• 2 Persons in the water
• 1 Missing Person
• 1 False Alarm with Good Intent
• 1 Assist Coastguards
• 1 Assist Police

This makes interesting reading. It is a reminder of the broad spectrum of support provided by the Lifeboat service as a whole for people, users of the seas and other service agencies in the waters of Argyll and the whole of the UK.