118184: Stranding on Sgeir an Leusain, 1880s

The story of a near tragedy on Sight Rock, known to Beàrnaraich in the 19th century as Sgeir an Leusain, is told in Sea Names of Berneray:

[During the mid 1880s three brothers from Berneray, Alexander, Donald and John Paterson] … went on a sea-fowling trip to this skerry. Two of them with two guns and a dog were left on the rock and [Donald] rowed the boat away from the skerry so as not to unsettle the passing birds. After some time a strong wind blew up and he was unable to make a landing on this rock, losing one of his two oars in the process.

Fortunately he was able, somehow or other, to land on the shores of Berneray and raise the alarm. By this time it was completely dark and stormy, but a sturdy boat was selected along with a crew of strong young men, who set out in total darkness into the eye of the storm, to rescue the stranded fowlers on Sgeir an Leusain. No mean feat of navigation in the darkness, considering all the other shoals, skerries and islands which were in their way, and the distance involved. They had matches and guns in their possession and when they estimated that they were in the vicinity of this rock, they fired a volley of shots.

They got an immediate reply from the stranded men who were rescued with only seconds to spare. They were up to their elbows in the sea and holding onto each other. One of the men had his dog over his shoulders and round his neck to keep it from drowning. The two men and the dog were none the worse of their adventure, but [Donald] who raised the alarm never got over the physical and mental strain of the ordeal …

In this incident the unwritten code of going to sea with less than three oars was broken, with almost fatal conseqences. The redeeming feature was that Paterson knew the name of the skerry concerned and the rescue crew knew its approximate position, even in the darkness. This rock is covered by the tide at high water mark and undoubtedly the local system of naming every shoal, rock and island paved the way for a very speedy rescue.