Navy comes to get its Yellow Submarine back
Published: September 9, 2005
A YELLOW submarine reeled in by island fishermen three months ago was finally collected yesterday by the Royal Navy.
HMS Blythe arrived in Islay, in the Inner Hebrides, to retrieve its remotely operated vehicle.
The 10ft-long craft, which weighs nearly a ton and is used to detect mines, had become a tourist attraction on the island.
The local Bruichladdich distillery have produced 12,000 bottles of Yellow Submarine whisky to mark the event and presented a case to HMS Blythe’s captain.
The unmanned submarine was found floating three miles from the Mull of Oa by John Baker, 49, when he was fishing for lobsters in May. The vessel was kept on display in the garden of his brother-in-law, Harold Hastie, who helped him bring it to dry land.
The Ministry of Defence at Faslane Naval Base initially denied that the sub belonged to them.
Father-of-two Harold, 51, who lives at Port Ellen, said: “I’m quite sad to see it go. The submarine has caused a lot of excitement.
“I’ve had a procession of tourists from as far afield as Sydney and Seattle getting photos taken beside it.”
A Faslane spokesman said the fishermen would receive a salvage fee worth several thousand pounds.
He said: “It’s been a good day’s fishing for them.
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