An operation is under way to rescue a yacht which is aground in Widewall Bay, South Ronaldsay.

No one is on board the 23ft Aida, and it was the owner who alerted Shetland Coastguard around 6am this morning, after spotting that the vessel was grounded.

The St Margaret’s Hope coastguard team were called out to assist the owner, and Orkney Harbours were notified.

A coastguard spokeswoman said: “At the moment the yacht is grounded, but moored up and secure on the sand. The owner will wait until the weather calms down a bit and then make arrangements himself.”

The following joint statement was issued by OIC and SIC on Monday evening:

Following discussions today between the conveners of Orkney Islands Council (OIC) and Shetland Islands Councils (SIC) and the transport minister Stewart Stevenson, the following was agreed:

• We recognise the reasonable aspiration which we share to maintain the services delivered by the existing NorthLink contract.
• The performance of the Northlink contract is exceeding the requirements of the available budget - we are therefore not looking for any changes in this financial year.
• We are looking for further improvements in the performance of the Northlink contract to enable services to be delivered within budget in 2011-2012 .
• We will have further discussions through the ferries review and during the preparation of the next North Isles contract.

In addition, the Minister recognised the request from Orkney Islands Council to consider extending the Road Tariff Equivalent (RET) pilot to Orkney but was not able to make any commitment at this stage.

Similarly, OIC highlighted the anomaly whereby the council funds the internal ferry services where this is not the case in other council areas of Scotland.

Conveners Stephen Hagan and Sandy Cluness of OIC and SIC respectively said they were delighted with the progress achieved today and the outcome of the meeting which means no cutbacks in the NorthLink service this financial year. They said they were optimistic that the same will apply next year (2011-2012).

Three more doctors have been added to Balfour Hospital's GP team, to complete the team providing Orkney's acute medical service.

Drs Felicity Brand, Kush Singh and Katie Walter will join Drs Charlie Siderfin, Amar Singh, Elaine Toms and Kevin Woodbridge who, with locum support, have been providing a 24-hour rota since February, including residence overnight at the hospital.

Advanced nurse practitioners have also been recruited to support the team. They are currently training to take on an enhanced role in giving specialist support to the medical and surgical teams in the hospital.

Stromness lifeboat was launched on Sunday to go to the aid of the local yacht Valhalla, which was suffering from machinery failure in the Houton area of Scapa Flow.

The conditions in Scapa Flow at this time were quite difficult with a strong, south-easterly, force six wind, gusting up to force seven.

On arrival at the scene, the lifeboat crew successfully secured a tow line and the yacht was towed safely to Stromness Harbour, where she was able to proceed to the Stromness Marina under her own power.

The Singing Kettle have announced a second show for Orkney, due to high demand.

The children's entertainers will perform their Pirate Party Singalong Show at the Pickaquoy Centre on Thursday, October 9, at 4pm, and again at 6pm.

Tickets for the additional 6pm show go on sale today from the Pickaquoy Centre, on 879900. The 4pm show is sold out.