Lifeboat drama off the May

Dunbar (left) and Anstruther (right) lifeboats just of the east side of the Isle of May.

A bit of excitement amid the howling wind today when at lunchtime we saw the Anstruther lifeboat tearing in from the North Sea at a rate of knots straight to the island. Behind it was the Dunbar lifeboat going a bit slower but still disappearing in spray as it went bows on to the big swell. A further study showed it towing a small yacht called Dancer which had a shredded foresail. Both lifeboats came on in to the lee of the island before a bit of fiddling around enabled them to swap towing lines so the the yacht could be towed on in to Anstruther.

Taking the yacht Dancer under tow.

Living on an island 6 miles out into the North Sea, it is a constant reassurance to have those lifeboats on standby to help with any emergencies. We were delighted when the RNLI did very well out of the sweep stake we were running for the Eurovision Song Contest (winning last year with Azerbaijan and this year as well) and currently have England  in the Euro 2012 sweep stake so hopefully that will be a good omen and more winning will go their way (England need all the help they can get !).
 Meanwhile the island is absolutely waterlogged after another 24mm of rain was dumped on midsummer's night. The birds have bit hit hard again with lots more puffin burrows flooded while some of the paths are like stream.

Three tarn nick has grown to four tarn plus a stream nick.

Another flooded puffin burrow

But on the bright side the south westerly gale that got the yacht into trouble is now drying out the island if giving it a bit of a battering at the same time. If its not pouring its blowing. 

Alterstanes getting a washing down.