Drumchapel Apprentices Rescued From North Sea

Eight young adults had to be rescued from the stricken Clyde Challenger yacht when it got into difficulties in the North Sea at night in gale force conditions.

The apprentices from City Building were taking part in a tall ships race aboard the 60 ft yacht, when the vessel started taking on water.

The incident occurred 125 miles east of Newcastle after an exhaust pipe from the main engine burst. Skipper Roy Graham raised the alarm.

The apprentices, two supervisors and three crew were quickly transferred to another race yacht and then to the Norwegian coastguard clipper Andenes, the race safety vessel, which took them to safety in a Dutch port.

No one was injured and spirits remained high.

Jim Smith, development officer with the Drumchapel based host organisation, Clyde Sail Training Trust, said: ‘When the SOS was put into the Norwegian coastguard he questioned if the crew were sure the vessel was in difficulty because he could hear the youngsters singing in the background!’

Everyone was back home in Glasgow within a few days of the incident.

Jim continued: ‘The most important issue was to get the youngsters to safety. The skipper has since been awarded a prize of a silver platter for outstanding seamanship from Sail Training International.’

As reported in the LOCAL NEWS, high school pupils from Drumchapel had successfully crewed the Clyde Challenger to complete the previous stage of the race from Liverpool to Bergen.

The vessel returned to Glasgow last month following repair and a complete overhaul in the Dutch port of Dan Helder. The apprentices were on the Clyde Challenger as a reward for performance and for fundraising efforts on behalf of the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow.