New River Clyde rescue boat 'will bring closure to families'
- Published
A father whose daughter's body was recovered from the River Clyde by a charity has said a new rescue boat will help families such as his find closure.
Gordon Goldie joined the Glasgow Humane Society (GHS) following his daughter Sarah's death in 2016.
The society, which has been rescuing people and retrieving bodies from the Clyde since 1790, has now taken ownership of a new £20,000 vessel.
It will be fitted with GPS equipment to help the crew find submerged objects.
Now GHS vice-chairman, Mr Goldie said: "The Glasgow Humane Society recovered our 18-year-old daughter Sarah's body from the Clyde after she went missing in 2016.
"You can't accept what has happened until you get closure and we couldn't get closure until Sarah was brought home."
Sarah went missing on 11 March 2016 and her body was not recovered until 10 April.
Mr Goldie said that after the initial emergency services search, the GHS stepped in to continue looking for Sarah.
He said: "An hour was like a day and a day like a week at that time and in the end the wait for us was four weeks.
"I came home to the house alone and two senior police officers chapped the door. I was told as soon as I saw the two senior officers I would know what the result would be."
He said it brought much-needed closure to the family.
"When she was returned to us it was a great feeling of relief and we couldn't have been more grateful to the charity."
He said the new boat would "dramatically improve how the GHS does this job for families facing the same tragic circumstances as we did".
Named 'Lede', the new vessel is made from high-density plastic and an improvement on its more fragile fiberglass predecessor.
It also has a drop-down bow to assist with rescues and recoveries.
The boat's operator, William Graham, said: "This is more robust on the river. It is larger and there's more space on it for carrying life boats and recovering bodies from the river.
"The last boat was fibreglass and if we hit something it broke and there was a danger you could actually sink. This one is much tougher.
"The Lede's predecessor was designed for speed, which is not really necessary for this job, but this vessel is built for robustness and size and is a real gamechanger. It is a big river and a large area to search but this new boat will make it a lot easier for us."
The bigger boat will also help with maintaining the lifebelts along the river.
The Lede was named after the bomb-sniffer dog owned by officer Graham.
Mr Graham adopted the dog when he left the Army after they served together in Afghanistan. Lede, a black Labrador, worked with him on the river until he died last year.
He said: "It's so fitting that he's back with me on the water in this special way."
The GHS will use the new boat to carry out training and support tasks for groups ranging from the emergency services to schools, sports clubs and private businesses.
It will be berthed at the Kelvin Marina next to the Tall Ship, at the heart of the charity's downriver operating area, between the tidal weir in the east and the Renfrew Ferry in the west.