CREW TRAPPED AS GALES LASH STRICKEN TRAWLER

A STRANDED trawler battered by high seas hundreds of miles west of Scotland was last night taken in tow in a rescue operation - sparking a series of bizarre coincidences.

The Audacious was a new vessel built to replace the Audacious 2, which went down in the same area two years ago. In both cases, an Irish fishing vessel called the Grove was involved in the rescue.

The operation was carried out as strong winds lashed Scotland, tearing a cargo ship from her anchorage in the Orkneys and forcing a major football match to be postponed in Glasgow. In the Orkneys winds up to 120mph made the Honduras-registered Brio drag her anchor in Kirkwall Bay.

Coastguards said the Audacious, registered in Buckie, north-east Scotland and carrying a crew of seven, sent out a distress message after her wheelhouse windows were shattered in gale-force winds.

The location off Rockall and 250 miles west of the Hebrides, put it at the limit of helicopter range and an RAF Nimrod plane and other vessels were dispatched.

An Irish fishing vessel, the Edina, arrived first but conditions were unsafe for the crew of the Audacious to be taken off. Later the Grove managed to secure a line, and was towing the Audacious to meet her sister vessel, Solstice.

Meanwhile, plans to raise the Solway Harvester, which sank this month with the loss of seven crew, were delayed by gales.

The Celtic match with Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Parkhead was postponed half an hour before kick-off when 70mph winds led to roof safety fears.

Copyright 2000 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.