A cabin cruiser was towed to safety by a Loch Ness RNLI boat yesterday afternoon after it collided with rocks at Fort Augustus.
The Bayliner Cabin Cruiser, which was carrying a man in his 70s and his grandson, was blown ashore following an engine failure.
Lifeboat helmsman, Neil Stebbings, said that the 20ft-long boat hit the rocks at a deep point approximately 150 yards along the beach from St Benedict’s Abbey, and that the man’s grandson jumped on to the shoreline to fetch help when it grounded.
The Loch Ness lifeboat was called out at 1.20pm to pull the boat out of trouble. Three lifeboat volunteers and one local member of HM Coastguard were at the scene.
The cruiser, named the Capri 1952, was heading towards the Boathouse restaurant to dock before its engine failed and it was blown ashore.
On arrival, the lifeboat attached a rope to the vessel and helped tow it into the mouth of the Caledonian Canal at Fort Augustus, where it is now tied up to the jetty.
Lifeboat crew member Drew Taylor had helped the man off the boat in advance.
Mr Stebbings said: “There was no serious damage to the boat – but the propeller was chewed to bits. There was water inside it but the way it was sat on the beach meant the waves were crashing into it and going overboard.”
The reason for the engine failure was not established and the man on board was unavailable for comment.