Five fishermen have been rescued after their 160-tonne boat came seconds away from smashing into rocks near Peterhead Harbour.
The vessel was towing a second boat when they were hit by massive waves and gale force winds on Friday afternoon.
The alarm was raised at 4.30pm after the tow line broke several times and the boats began to be pushed towards the rocks.
Thankfully, rescue crews arrived within minutes and were able to re-attach the drifting vessels before they successfully made their way into safer waters.
Patrick Davidson, coxswain for RNLI Peterhead, said he immediately realised what a perilous situation the fishermen were in and called for a rescue helicopter to help.
He said: “If we had arrived seconds later the boat would have hit the rocks and it may have been a different outcome.
“As soon as I saw how close she was to the rocks I immediately requested the helicopter - due to the perilous situation I realised we only had one attempt to get this right.
“The crew and the skipper of the boat could not thank the lifeboat enough and said they’d be forever grateful which makes all the effort worthwhile.
“This was a really tremendous effort by the crew showing great teamwork and seamanship by all involved in really difficult conditions.
“There has been weather and flood warnings in place across Aberdeenshire today - the conditions were very dangerous but everyone worked together to ensure the safest outcome.”
Jurgen Wahle, Lifeboat Operations Manager, commended the crew for their quick and crucial efforts to save lives at sea.
He said: “This was really a phenomenal performance by all involved, showcasing great leadership from Pat on his first shout as coxswain and excellent teamwork from the rest of the crew.
“This was a critical incident and the effort from everyone on shore and at sea has resulted in five lives being saved.
“It is a tremendous outcome, and I’d like to commend the bravery displayed by the crew.”
