Portree RNLI

17/10/2026

The Skye Bridge has been carrying vehicle traffic since 16 October 1995, marking a 31 year anniversary yesterday.

It’s an iconic landmark, so we couldn’t resist sharing some photos of Stanley Watson Barker 14-16 and Peter and Mary 13-59 sailing under our local bridge.

We’re sure that our flanking station at Kyle Lifeboat RNLI has plenty more Skye Bridge content 😉

09/10/2026

As Lord-Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty ( Inc Skye and Lochalsh), Joanie Whiteford represented His Majesty The King, who is Patron of RNLI at the Naming Ceremony and Service of Dedication of the Shannon class lifeboat 13-59 Peter and Mary at Portree Lifeboat Station on Saturday 3rd October.
This lifeboat was made possible by a gift left in the Will of Gladys Mary Pitts.
Pictured are Renton and Lindsey Doig, friends of Mary and Peter, who handed the lifeboat into the care of the RNLI.
Jill Hepburn, Head of Region, accepted the lifeboat on behalf of the RNLI and handed it into the care of Portree Lifeboat Station.
Douglas MacDougall, Lifeboat Operations Manager, accepted the lifeboat on behalf of Portree Lifeboat Station.
Stephen Plant, Station Chaplain, led the Service of Dedication.
Photo credit- Willie Urquhart (WHFP)
Portree RNLI

07/10/2026

Here are some pictures of Portree lifeboat Peter and Mary out on a training exercise recently 📸 it was a beautiful evening for it!

07/10/2026

The brand new Portree RNLI lifeboat was officially named over the weekend in a special ceremony at the lifeboat station.

The Shannon class vessel, RNLB Peter and Mary 13-59, took over the official title of Portree Lifeboat on 1 June 2026.

She was officially named on Saturday 3 October 2026 with Portree RNLI volunteers, fundraisers, RNLI regional representatives, the Lord Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty Mrs Joanie Whiteford, invited guests, and members of the local community all in attendance.

The new lifeboat was made possible by a gift left in the Will of Gladys Mary Pitts who, along with husband Peter, spent many happy years cruising and the sea was central to some of their most cherished memories.

During the ceremony, Renton Doig, friend of Mary and Peter, handed the lifeboat into the care of the RNLI and poured a special dram of Isle of Raasay Distillery malt wh**ky over her bow.

Speeches were made by David Beaton, Chair of the Lifeboat Management Group; Jill Hepburn, RNLI Head of Region; Douglas MacDougall, Portree RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager; and Renton Doig, friend of Peter and Mary. Stephen Plant, Port Chaplain, led a Service of Dedication.

Following the ceremony, the lifeboat then carried out a short demonstration of her capabilities and gave a nod to the retiring Portree lifeboat of 3 decades, Stanley Watson Barker 14-16.

Read more about the ceremony through the link in the comments! 🧡

05/10/2026

LAUNCH 📟 RNLB Peter and Mary was requested to launch by HM Coastguard this morning (Monday 5 October) following a pan pan signal from a fishing vessel with machinery failure north west of the island of Rona.

The pagers carried by the Portree RNLI volunteers sounded at 10.36am and the lifeboat made best speed at 25 knots with six crew onboard towards the position of the fishing vessel.

A pan pan is a radio alert used to declare an urgent situation that requires help but does not pose an immediate danger to life or the vessel itself.

On arrival at the scene, the lifeboat crew found that the casualty vessel was already being towed by a second fishing vessel, but due to the squally weather conditions, this tow line then parted.

HM Coastguard requested the Portree RNLI lifeboat to assess the situation and, following RNLI checklist protocols, the Coxswain of the lifeboat determined that the best and safest course of action was to take the casualty vessel under tow to the shelter of Portree harbour.

The fishing vessel was made safe alongside Portree pier and the lifeboat was stood down, refuelled, and made ready for service once again.

Stuart Nicolson, Portree RNLI Coxswain, said:

‘This posed to be a challenging situation, with squally weather conditions, but the training of the crew kicked in to help successfully bring the casualty vessel into the safety of Portree harbour.

‘I’d like to thank all our volunteer crew members who responded quickly to their pagers.’

05/10/2026

Our neighbours at Mallaig RNLI lifeboat are recruiting a Station Technician. Click on the link to find out more and to apply! Come and be part of the RNLI 🧡

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue.

03/10/2026

We had a very special official naming ceremony today for our new lifeboat Peter and Mary 13-59. A huge thank you to everyone who was part of the day 🧡💙 we’ll be sharing more about the ceremony in due course!

02/10/2026

Our station flag is currently flying at half mast in memory of the volunteer crew member at RNLI Hastings Lifeboat Station who passed away on Wednesday. Our thoughts and condolences go out to all the crew, family and friends in Hastings at this very sad and difficult time.