By Kirsty Topping
THREE yachts were ripped from their moorings as vicious winds battered Scotland last night.
Lifeboat crews were called to retrieve the boats, including a 33ft Gypsy yacht, which were adrift in the River Tay.
One boat even ended up stranded on the shoreline near Dundee.
Crews were first called out at 8.45pm on Monday night after an owner reported his boat had broken free.
They were called out again at 8.30am the following morning to reports of another boat floating free in the river and discovered a third while out on the water.
Coastguards reported that one boat had come from the Royal Tay Yacht Club in Dundee but were unsure of the origin of the others.
A coastguard spokesman attributed the chaos to boats being insecurely tied up.
He said: “If people had not secured their boats properly, or hadn’t been to them in a few weeks, then the lines will work loose and this is what happens.”
