05/08/2026
Thank you from Loch Spelve yachtsman
An experienced yachtsman who had to make a mayday call in the dead of night last month has thanked the volunteer crew of Oban Lifeboat for their swift and calm response.
Brian Clarke, whose 15 metre yacht Nadelhorn is based a Craobh Haven, had anchored in Loch Spelve on Mull in a strong breeze in the early evening. Several hours later, the anchor alarm went off warning him and his three companions that they were drifting.
After resetting the anchor, the vessel again began to drift. Brian says it was on the third attempt that things started to go wrong:
“When we were motoring to go and retrieve the anchor, the engine cut out and wouldn’t restart. The propeller was locked solid.
“I now realise that the second time I deployed the anchor it must have landed on a pile of old fishing gear so, when I moved forward, these ropes were now floating below the surface and wrapped themselves tightly around the saildrive and propeller.
“We were now moving forward very, very quickly with no way of controlling the boat which covered half of the distance to the rocks in a matter of a minute.”
For the first time in nearly 20 years’ sailing, just after 11pm Brian made a mayday call to the Coastguard:
“It was an easy decision to make because the situation was dangerous. We had no power, I expected us to run aground and I was worried, given the speed we were moving, that the impact might throw us out of the boat.
“Luckily the weight of stuff around the anchor then slowed us, but we had no idea how long that would be for.
“It was a huge relief first seeing the blue lights and search lights of the Coastguard Rescue team on shore, and then seeing the lifeboat approaching. The entrance to Loch Spelve is quite narrow but the lifeboat’s huge lights lit up the whole hillside before we saw the boat itself.
“Only when the lifeboat was beside us did I start to relax. The RNLI crew were matter of fact, cheerful and calm. They kept saying, ‘don’t worry, this is what we do, this is what we are here for’, but it was a huge thing for me.”
Even with the lifeboat’s strong searchlights illuminating the water, it wasn’t possible to see what was fouling the prop and a decision was taken to bring Brian and his friends back to Oban.
Divers from Mull, assisted by Inverlussa Marine Services at Craignure, later established that discarded ropes and fishing nets had completely entangled the Nadelhorn’s gear.
A few days later, Brian visited Oban lifeboat station to say thank you and share some video taken below the water showing what the divers had had to deal with.
Oban Lifeboat Coxswain Ally Cerexhe praised Brian and his crew for the way they responded to the situation:
“When we arrived, all four people were outside in the yacht’s cockpit with their lifejackets on over warm clothes and wearing head torches. Each had a grab bag of belongings that they were able to reach easily when the decision was taken to bring them aboard the lifeboat.
“It was great that Brian came to see us to update us. The video he showed us taken underwater confirmed our suspicions that the prop was not going to be cleared easily.
“He was absolutely right to call for help when he did. Indeed, he and his crew did the right thing at every stage.”
In the pictures Brian is joined by three of the crew who were on the shout to the Nadelhorn – (left to right) Tom Brook, Coxswain Ally Cerexhe and Gillies Pagan (picture by Stephen Lawson/RNLI); and a picture taken by Brian taken underwater to show the extent of the fouling of the yacht’s propeller.
