Kyle RNLI volunteers gathered in the Kyle of Lochalsh lifeboat station last weekend to thank four long=standing stalwarts of the Kyle lifeboat family.
At a barbecue and paella night on Saturday evening, the remarkable 100 years of their combined service was celebrated.
One of the stalwarts was John MacRae, who retired from active service with the RNLI last Autumn after volunteering for 26 years.
Throughout his years of volunteering, John was also the lifeboat press officer between 2010 and 2013 and the lifeboat training co-ordinator between 2014 and 2018.
In March this year, there were three other retirals from the station, with Sandy Murray, David Macleod and Norman Finlayson senior taking a step back from their roles.
Sandy Murray volunteered for 28 years and was one of Kyle RNLI’s original shore crew, helping launch and recover the lifeboat from when the station was first formed in 1995, until March 2023.
He was also heavily involved in the management of the station during the past 19 years, starting as the chairman of the Lifeboat Management Group in 2004, then becoming a deputy launching authority in 2013.
Sandy then progressed to lifeboat operations manager from 2014.
Norman Finlayson senior also volunteered for 28 years. He was one of the original lifeboat crew and a senior helm between the station’s inception in 1995 and 1999, when he retired from the boat and became shore crew until 2005.
Norman also held various managerial roles at the station, including the lifeboat training co-ordinator between 2001 and 2004. He became a deputy launching authority in 2005 and held this role until earlier this year.
David Macleod volunteered for 18 years and was one of Kyle RNLI’s lifeboat crew from 1995 until 2004, when he took a step back from volunteering for a few years due to other commitments.
In 2014, David returned to the station to become one of the station’s deputy launching authorities, stepping down from this role in March.
The retirees were all awarded certificates of service from the RNLI.
Norman senior was unable to attend the celebrations, but his son, Norman junior – a senior helm at the station – received a certificate and tankard on his behalf.
Helm and deputy launching authority for Kyle RNLI lifeboat Andrew MacDonald said: “Saturday was a chance for everyone to come together and thank the four retirees for all their years of service. Everyone had a great evening with a wonderful spread of food and there were many laughs, as stories were told and tales regaled.
“There was even time for a race between the retiring crew and the recently joined crew, to find out who could put on and take off the lifeboat crew’s equipment the fastest.”