FOGGY conditions saw North Berwick’s RNLI crew called out twice in the space of 24 hours.

The first page came at 9.45pm on Friday after members of the public spotted an object in the water off Gullane bay, three nautical miles to the west of the station.

North Berwick Coastguard Rescue Team arrived on the scene as the lifeboat was making its way to Gullane but, due to the rapidly fading light and incoming haar, were unable to determine what the object was.

The lifeboat made good speed to the scene and were guided onto the object by members of the coastguard team.

The object turned out to be a marker buoy attached to a creel.

Hamish Barbour, helm, said: “The first informant did exactly the right thing by calling the Coastguard, the visibility on scene wasn’t great and fishing buoys can very easily look like a persons head bobbing in the water.

“If in doubt, call 999 for the Coastguard.”

The second call out came at about 1.55pm yesterday (Saturday) after members of the public reported concerns for a group of stand up paddleboarders who had been seen by Craigleith Island, when the haar once again blanketed the area.

With visibility dropping below 100m at times, the lifeboat launched and started a systematic search of the area between Craigleith Island and the shore, before starting a shoreline search as new information became available.

After two hours with nothing found, the lifeboat was stood down as investigations on shore had identified the paddleboarders involved and established that they had made it safely ashore.

Helm Callum MacLeod said: “This was a search based on minimal information in tricky conditions.

“Thankfully the paddleboarders were safe and well.

“We thank the members of the public and other water users for the information they gave us.

“At this time of year the Firth of Forth is prone to sea fog, or haar as it is called on the east coast of Scotland, when relatively warm winds blow over the cold sea.

“If you’re headed out on the water always check the weather forecast, wear an appropriate buoyancy aid or lifejacket and carry a waterproofed means of calling for help.”