The RNLI spent eight hours rescuing three men from their grounded boat on Wednesday afternoon.
Kirkwall RNLI lifeboat went to the scene of the three men after receiving a message that a vessel had run aground on rocks in strong tides.
The lifeboat and her crew launched at 4pm and arrived near the scene just before 4.30pm.
The vessel had gone aground on Seal skerry off Eday and was lying over to one side with the tide pushing her onto the rocks.
The lifeboat was unable to get close enough to help so an inflatable craft was sent to investigate.
An RNLI spokesperson said: “As the boat was not taking water at this time it was decided to leave the three crew aboard to monitor the condition of the hull.”
Assistance was sought from another local vessel and the boats waited until the tide rose sufficiently to refloat the casualty vessel off the skerry.
At around 6.30pm the three crew could be transferred onto the lifeboat.
Finally, just after 10pm, the stranded boat had been raised enough by the rising tide for a tow off to be attempted and the crew placed back on board.Â
Once they’d checked that there were no signs of water ingress, the crew restarted the engine and made their way to Pierowall under the escort of two lifeboats.
After returning to their station and refueling, Kirkwall RNLI was readt for service again at 12.10am.
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