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accident and Marshall had fallen into the sea, and the two of them ran back out of the
station. With Macarthur only dressed in his working gear and shirtsleeves, he was able
torunfasterthanDucat.TheybothmadetheirwaydowntothewestlandingandDucat
pointed out the rope that Marshall had been trying to free, saying that they could use it
to throw to Marshall, who in the intervening minutes had drifted further out to sea. The
waves were up to 30ft in height and were crashing around them as they freed the rope
and made their way slightly further down the rocks to be in a better position to throw
thelinetoMarshallandthen,withthestrengthoftwomen,haulhimin.Ducatpondered
the idea as he made his way down the rocks whether an option might be to take off his
gear and tie the rope around his waist while he swam out to Marshall, but he worried
whether Macarthur would have the strength to haul them both in. With Marshall in the
water, facing Ducat and Macarthur, and a drenched Ducat and Macarthur preoccupied
with tying the rope around Ducat's waist to act as an anchor while they threw the rope
out,noneofthemensawagigantic wallofwateraround60-70fthighfastapproaching
them.
There was a brief moment of quiet as the trough preceding the giant wave added a
surreal moment of peace to the scene. Sensing the danger, both Ducat and Marshall
looked up at the wall of water towering above them before it hit with tremendous and
overwhelming power.
Notes
1
Reconstruction is based on Walter Albert's theory.
2
NLB Register of Lightkeepers Scottish National Archives File NLC4/1.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Account of visit by a minister to Flannan Isles Lighthouse, April 1900, in
Scotsman
29
December 1900.
