Portree RNLI raise over £3000 at annual Burns Supper
The Isle of Skye’s RNLI team have raised £3,800 during their annual Burns Supper held earlier this year.
A well-attended celebration of Robert Burns took place on January 24 at Portree’s Royal Hotel – members of the public were treated to a three-course meal alongside speeches, music and some of the poet’s most famous works.
The money raised will now be donated to the island’s Portree station.
David Beaton, Chairperson of the Portree RNLI fundraising committee, was compared for the evening.
He said: “The annual Portree RNLI Burns Supper is a highlight on the fundraising calendar and to start 2026 with a significant amount of money raised for our local lifeboat station is just brilliant.
“2026 is going to be a big year for us at Portree RNLI, with the arrival of a new Shannon class all-weather lifeboat later this year.”
The new service lifeboat cost the station £2.78 million to build.
This figure excludes the day to day running costs of the service throughout the year, alongside the upkeep of essential PPE and equipment for volunteers.
Mr Beaton added: “It is an expensive operation, but we always receive great support from our local community, many of whom are surprised to hear that the RNLI is a charity that relies on donations.”
Portree RNLI, based in the capital of the Isle of Skye, is currently the home of a Trent class lifeboat, Stanley Watson Barker, which has been at the station since 1996.
The new Shannon class lifeboat Peter and Mary is due to arrive on Skye later this year, following the official bell-ringing ceremony at the All-Weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole on 27 January and ongoing crew familiarisation training.
The RNLI is the charity that has been saving lives at sea for over two hundred years.
There are over 5,700 volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew members at 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, with a further 4,000 volunteer shore crew members.
Volunteers are on call and ready to respond to calls for help 24 hours a day all year round.
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