By the time we arrived the Lifeboat was on scene and the Helicopter was doing a grid search of the immediate offshore area. The engine on the fishing boat had failed and the crewman had decided to make the boat secure and wait till he was seen in the morning by other boats on their way out to the fishing grounds. Barra Lifeboat towed the fishing vessel into NorthBay harbour and the helicopter returned to base in Stornoway. After checking on the physical condition of the fisherman when he had arrived in NorthBay the Isle of Barra Coastguard team were stood down and returned to Castlebay at 2330 hours. On this occasion the search was relatively brief but on occasions it can last for over 24 hours and the fatigue of the searchers soon becomes a very important consideration before they themselves become casualties.
Wind chill can very rapidly cool the fittest of people.
On some occasions the role of the Coastguard Auxiliary service can be crucial to the lives of the casualties as the following example which was honored with the Chief Coastguard commendation in 1998 on the cliffs of North Cornwall. This occurred during very poor sea conditions, as there was a heavy swell from the NW that produced very large surf around the rocks. Hence access was impossible. The boy's father was on the beach and swam in after him, but although he was able to rescue the boy, they could not get back to the beach and were washed into a cave. The local inshore lifeboat attempted to rescue 2 casualties, but due to the sea conditions, the lifeboat capsized, and 2 crewmembers were washed also into the same cave as the original casualties.