CODE 135: Forty Years of the Dornoch Firth Independent Lifeboat

After a local woman went missing in the autumn of 1981, an organisation was formed to assist the Police and other professional services in such a situation. In 1982, the Dornoch Firth Independent Lifeboat was born.

For the next 40 years, the newly formed East Sutherland Rescue Association (or ESRA) would be on-call 24 hours a day, attending over 300 shouts from Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Police, saving lives and making the waters in East Sutherland a safer place.

To coincide with the 40th anniversary celebrations of ESRA, founder member Neil Dalton takes the reader on a voyage through the organisation's long history. In a no holds barred account, he covers everything from the very common misconception that ESRA is part of/or funded by the RNLI (it isn't), equipment, training, call-outs and inevitable tragedies. But there are many moments of joy, fun and even fame, as the organisation features on the BBC's 999 programme.