A north lifeboat was launched yesterday to help three people, one of them a child, in an inflatable dinghy who were being blown out to to seas just off the Nairn coast.
Aberdeen Coastguard tasked Invergordon Lifeboat and Nairn Coastguard after a member of the public raised the alarm at about 2.20pm.
Nairn station officer Tom Rennie and another volunteer drove down to the beach at Kingsteps and saw that the trio had run into a sand bar as the tide was going out.
Two men in their early 40s were in the inflatable alongside a child of about nine or 10 years old, who was apparently not wearing a lifejacket.
A Coastguard spokesman said that the inflatable was about half a mile from the shore, where a woman and a toddler who were both part of the group were standing.
Mr Rennie said: “They were struggling against the wind and the tide and just weren’t getting anywhere. When we arrived they had just come off after hitting a sandbar. But if they had not hit the sandbar they would have been out into the Moray Firth. They were being blown out to sea but they were lucky.
“People just need to be careful with the tides here and if you don’t know the area it can catch you out.
“It was good that the lifeboat was coming as they carry the small boat so they can come into shallow water.
“We’re just glad that someone called. We don’t mind getting called, even if it turns out to be a false alarm. That’s what we are here to do”.
Invergordon Lifeboat was also launched yesterday but they were requested to stand down at about 2.50pm once it became apparent that everyone in the group was safe.
Lifeboat spokesman Michael MacDonald said they were “lucky to come to rest on a sandbank”, adding: “If the wind had picked up it could have been blown them further out and they could have been put in more danger.
“Especially with the warm weather we have had, and hopefully continue to have, sea safety plays a big part. Be careful if taking any inflatables out on water without any means of propulsion. You need to remain cautious and check out the tides, and if you are going out on the water tell someone about it and get them to keep an eye on you”.