New crew members with Buckie lifeboat were put to the test on Sunday as they responded to their first call-out.
The crew was conducting a routine training exercise when they were alerted to a distress signal in the Moray Firth.
The station’s Severn-class lifeboat, William Blannin, was located 1.5 nautical miles off Findochty when the alert came through.
Using radio direction finder (RDF) equipment and a visual search, the crew was able to locate the beacon, bring it onboard and deactivate it before returning to Buckie.
An investigation showed it had accidentally become dislodged from its stowage on a local vessel which had been put to sea at almost the same time as the lifeboat, so the EPIRB was returned to its grateful owners.
‘This was a valuable opportunity’
The incident was the trainee’s first experience of life as an RNLI volunteer.
Coxswain Gavin Hyne said the incident was a good learning experience for new staff on the job.
He said: “This was a valuable opportunity for newer crew members to put into practice some of the skills they had only seen inshore briefing.
“The crew switched from training to operational mode in seconds and delivered a highly professional service.
“Had this EPIRB been indicating a genuine vessel in distress, today’s performance showed that our combined radio and visual searches would have quickly located the casualty.”
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