RNLI crews from Kinghorn went to the aid of the distressed sailor on Saturday morning
A female sailor had to be rescued off Scotland on Saturday after falling overboard near Inchkeith Island.
The small dinghy had been sailing just south of the island when the crew got into difficulty with three people on board, including a nine-year-old girl.
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When RNLI crews arrived on scene at around 10.30am, they found the woman from West Lothian clinging to the stern of the dinghy.
Lifeboat crews jumped into the water to help the sailor who was starting to suffer from the early stages of hypothermia.
Shortly after, the casualty was put aboard the lifeboat, along with the young girl. From there, they were both transported back to shore where an ambulance was waiting to assess them.
“There was very little chance that the woman would have got back onboard the dinghy without third party assistance
“It was fortunate that this vessel had a VHF radio. Since the vessel was able to call for assistance immediately, and we were then able to find the boat quickly, this lady fortunately had a very lucky escape,” said helmsman Scott McIlravie.
Following the rescue, the sailing dinghy made its way back towards Portobello, escorted by a local police boat.