Holiday-makers feared for their lives after becoming trapped in Stroma sea cave
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A GROUP of English holiday-makers feared for their lives after becoming trapped in a sea cave during a sightseeing tour from John O’Groats on Tuesday.
All 10 escaped unscathed following their 90-minute ordeal on the uninhabited Pentland Firth island of Stroma.
Along with the two crew of the rigid-hulled inflatable tour boat, they clambered out on to the top of the cave from where they were rescued by lifeboat.
After landing back at Groats, members of the party recalled their fear that they would be drowned as the 11-metre-long vessel was battered against the sides of the cave in a two-metre swell.
The five couples, all in their 50s and from the south of England, had booked an hour-long pleasure trip on the NorthCoast Explorer, which set out at 2pm.
They were about three-quarters into the cruise when the boat entered a cave at the Gloup to the west of the island.
Sales manager Lucy Faux said: "We were having a lovely day up until then. When we went into the cave, I heard one of the crew shout that they had lost reverse gear. We were getting swept deeper into the cave which was quite narrow and the sides of the boat were banging against the rocks."
As they went 20 to 30 metres in, three of the inflatable panels around the front of the vessel burst and the bow dipped.
Mrs Faux said: "That was definitely the worst moment as the boat lurched forward and water started rushing in up to our knees. I really thought then that we were all going to die. I remember first saying a prayer and then thinking of my children and my grandchildren – it was the worst 30 seconds of my life though it felt a great deal longer.
"I don’t know what it would feel like to drown but I really thought that could happen."
The 55-year-old, from Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, praised army officer Brian Sherrington for taking control of the situation.
She said: "Brian reckoned it would be too dangerous to stay on the boat and told us all to get off."
The passengers, one by one, duly jumped on to a rock ledge and made their way along the edge of a cliff to a shelf of rock on top of the cave.
Mrs Faux said: "The way the boat was being tossed about, I think we would have been goners had we stayed on it. I was really worried about my husband, Nigel, who was last off as the boat was by then really moving about and I feared he would be left on it."
The alert was sounded by the crew, with an RAF helicopter from Shetland scrambled, along with Thurso lifeboat.
A nearby yacht, Gulan, also stood by, ready to help.
The chopper arrived on the scene but by then the lifeboat was there and had launched its Y-boat to pick up the group, two at a time.
Liz Helling, a businesswoman from Wendover in Buckinghamshire, said: "The lifeboat men did a great job in getting us off as it was a good four-to-five-feet drop to the small inflatable which was bobbing about quite a bit."
She said they were very relieved to see help arriving after their ordeal in the cave and the 40-minute wait outside.
Mr Sherrington, a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Engineers from near Newbury in Berkshire, believed a tragedy had been narrowly averted.
He said: "What I was worried about was if the edge of the boat went underneath one of the jagged rocks, it could easily tip over, given the swell that was running. I was really worried whether we were going to get out alive."
The 52-year-old veteran of Northern Ireland, the Falklands and the two Gulf wars, added: "I know about rigid-hull inflatables and how safe and stable they can be but the situation we were in was unbelievably bad and I’m just relieved we all got out of it safely."
The passengers and two crew were met off the lifeboat by six members of Duncansby coastguard team.
Station officer Ivor Thomas said: "The 10 passengers were a bit upset when they arrived. They were shaken up quite a bit by the experience they had."
Mr Thomas said the NorthCoast Explorer had 500 litres of diesel fuel on board.
He said: "There’s no sign of any pollution but we will be continuing to monitor the situation."
Billy Munro, a partner in NorthCoast Marine Adventures, which operates the tour boat, said: "It looks like the vessel had a hydraulic problem which stopped it going astern.
"When it became apparent there was a problem, the priority was on getting the passengers to safety, which they all were."
Mr Munro said the boat had two trouble-free runs earlier in the day.
