Stormy Stan gets the crowd going at RNLI Open Day

of £4,000 for the local lifesavers.

Organised by Steven Munro of Ionad Spors Leodhais, and sponsored by Stornoway Round Table, the Family 5K Fundraiser proved popular, despite the rain and wind of the morning.

First across the 5K finish line, in a time of 18minutes and 46seconds, was Roddy Gillies; while Keith Bray Jnr took the title of First Child across in a time of 20minutes and 20seconds, and Ellen Cameron was first female with a time of 23 minutes and six seconds.

And the winners of the Lifeboat Family 5K – the family with most members to cross the finish line – were the MacDonald/Mackinnon/Donnovan family with a total of ten family members spanning three generations taking part to raise funds for the RNLI.

At the Open Day, Stormy Stan the Lifeboatman was popular with young and old visitors alike, and enjoyed meeting people as he took a stroll through Stornoway town centre.

Visitors were entertained by local band Rock Island Line, and in the hotly anticipated Emergency Tug O’ War, the trophy is now safely back in the Lifeboat shed as the lifeboat boys beat off competition from the local fire heroes and Stornoway Coastguard to regain the title.

And popping in to say hello at the Open Day was Niall MacLeod, from Glasgow, who completed the 185 miles Barra to the Butt of Lewis cycle route to raise funds for the three Western Isles RNLI stations at Stornoway, Leverburgh and Barra.

If you’d like to show your support and sponsor Niall, his JustGiving page can be found at: website

A huge thank you goes out from all at Stornoway RNLI to everyone who visited and donated on Saturday! We look forward to seeing all again at next year’s Open Day.