/olume XLVIII Number 483

The

Lifeboatournal of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Spring 1983 30p

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THELIFEBOAT

Spring 1983

Contents ^0^0^ ,82Lifeboat Services 184

XL VIII LongService Awards 191

40J The naming Of the 37ft 6in Rother lifeboat RNLB Princess of Wales by HRHThe Princess of Wales 192

Eleven Years On . . . a look at the Atlantic 21 rigid inflatable lifeboat byChairman: some of those who know her well 193THE D U K E OF ATHOI.I.

Boat Shows: London and Birmingham 199Director and Secretary:REAR A D M I R A L W. J. G R A H A M . CB MM

Letters -. 200

Here and There 201

Down to the last detail: a model of RNLB Ruby and Arthur Reed 203

Some Ways of Raising Money 204

Editor: „, .. _.„.,J O A N D A V , E S

Sh°relme 2°9

Awards to Coxswains, Crews and Shore Helpers 210Headquarters:Roval National Lifeboat Institution. , ... , „ . c » u / ~ , » u j M u moo in.,, • „ r, j r> i T^ r > T T i - Lifeboat Services, September, October and November 1982 213West Quay Road. Poole, Dorset BH13 y

1HZ (Telephone Poole (0202) 671133).Telex: 41328. Books 215

London Offices:Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Index to Advertisers 216202 Lambeth Road. London SE1 7JW(Telephone 01-928 4236).

COVER PICTURE

The 44ft Wavenev lifeboat Khami exercisingwith a Sea King helicopter from RAF Col-tishall. When the picture was taken, byRichard J. Wilson, Khami was on station atGreat Yarmouth and Gorleslon; she is now inthe Relief Fleet.

Editorial: All material submitted forconsideration with a view to publicationin the journal should be addressed tothe editor, THE LIFEBOAT, Royal Nation-al Lifeboat Institution, West QuayRoad, Poole. Dorset BH15 1HZ (Tele-phone Poole (0202) 671133). Photo-graphs intended for return should beaccompanied by a stamped and addres-sed envelope.

Next issue: the Summer issue of THELIFEBOAT will appear in July and newsitems should be sent by the end ofApril. News items for the Autumnissue should be sent in by the end ofJuly.

Advertisements: All advertising enquiriesshould be addressed to Dyson Advertis-ing Services, PO Box 9, Godalming.Surrey (Telephone Godalming (04868)23675).

Subscription: A year's subscription offour issues costs £3.00, including post-age, but those who are entitled toreceive THE LIFEBOAT free of charge willcontinue to do so. Overseas sub-scriptions depend on the cost of postageto the country concerned. Write toRNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, DorsetBH15 1HZ.

Printers: The Friary Press, Grove Trad-ing Estate, Dorchester, Dorset.

181

NOTES OFTHE QUARTER

FOR LIFEBOAT PEOPLE 1982 was a very fullyear. The Institution's lifeboats werecalled out more than 3,000 times andthe number of lives rescued was thehighest in the past seven years: 1,244.These figures are provisional as moreservice returns have still to be added.Fund raising reached new heights and£16 million was raised during the year.It seems that a slightly increased surpluswas achieved but this must be balancedanainst future commitments such as thebui lding programme of the new 47ftTyne class lifeboats which, at currentprices, cost £430,000 each.

Thanks from Danish PrinceLast January HRH Prince Henrik,

Prince Consort of Denmark made pri-vate visits to the lifeboat stations atBarra and Islay to present plaques tocrews in recognition of their efforts in1979 to rescue the crew of the Danishship Lone Dania. Both lifeboats, a 52ftBarnett and 50ft Thames, were capsizedby huge seas in winds gusting up tohurricane force; both righted successful-ly without any serious injuries to thecrew and returned safely to station.

Return to MablethorpeWhen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

visited Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Seaon February 4 to examine the coastaldefences it was a renewal of an ac-quaintance which had begun when hehad come to these resorts with HerMajesty The Queen a few days after theEast Coast floods of 1953. While atMablethorpe this February His RoyalHighness called briefly at the lifeboatstation where he met branch officialsand members of the crew.

Twentieth anniversaryThe opening of this year's summer

season marks the twentieth anniversaryof the introduction in 1963 of the Dclass inflatable lifeboat, the first of thefast, modern lifeboats under 10 metresin length to enter the RNLI fleet.During the summer months of 1963,starting in May, D class inflatables wereplaced at Aberystwyth. Gorleston.Redcar, Wells, Mudeford. Southwold,West Mersea and Whitstable, and anew page had been turned in the historyof lifesaving at sea. These little life-boats, the smallest in the Institution'sfleet, can be launched quickly off thebeach and are particularly fitted torespond to 'holiday incidents'; theirnumbers grew fast and in summertimethere are now 92 of them on stationround the coast, doing excellent work—of these, 25 remain on station all theyear round.

The late Captain the Hon V. M. Wyndham-Quin, RN, chairman of the Institution from1956 to

Since 1963 lifeboats under 10 metres,including the Atlantic 21 rigid inflat-ables, the 18ft 6in McLachlans. the Dclass inflatables and the Dell QuayDories, have launched on service morethan 26.000 times and have rescuednearly 12,0(K) people.

Inspector's lifeboatGirvan's new 33ft Brede class lifeboat

has been provided by a legacy from MrsElizabeth Vaux in memory of her hus-band Cdr Philip Vaux, DSC RN, whoserved as chief inspector of the RNLIfrom 1939-1951; the legacy is also inmemory of their son Lt-Cdr M. P.Vaux. DSC RN. Present and past lifeboatinspectors were invited to make dona-tions to provide a piece of equipmentfor the lifeboat and have funded thecompass, also paying for its fi t t ing andfirst adjustment.

Three great supportersThe winter months have unhappily

seen the death of three men who,between them, have given very manyyears of much valued service to theInstitution as members of the Commit-tee of Management.

Captain the Hon V. M. Wyndham-Quin, RN, who died on February 27,joined the Committee of Managementin 1939 and served on it for 44 years,right up to the time of his death at theage of 92. He was deputy chairman ofthe Committee of Management from1956 to 1964 and chairman from 1964 to1968. Captain Wyndham-Quin, whowas elected a vice-president in 1956,served at one time or another on all thestanding committees and was chairmanof the Operations Committee from 1954to 1964. His daughter, Pamela, LadyEgremont, is President of the Ladies'Lifeboat Guild.

Captain Valentine Wyndham-Quinserved at sea in the Royal Navy in boththe first and second world wars and wasfour times mentioned in despatches;from 1944 to 1947 he was naval attacheat Buenos Aires. After joining theRNLI's Committee of Management,Captain Wyndham-Quin always tookgreat interest in the well-being of crewmembers; he made it his personal con-cern to find out about their problems atfirst hand and frequently took passagein lifeboats on delivery trips rounddifferent parts of the coast.

Towards the end of 1982, on Decem-ber 3, the death occured of Rear-Admiral K. St B. Collins. Rear-Admiral

Barra Island: HRH Prince Henrik, PrinceConsort of Denmark, presents a plat/ue toCoxswain John Macneil in recognition of theefforts to rescue the crew of Lone Dania madeb\ Barra's 52ft Burnett lifeboat R. A. ColbyCuhhin No 3. With them are Mr H. N.Morrison, branch honorary secretary (r), andmembers of the crew. Prince Henrik alsopresented a similar plaque to Islay lifeboatstation.photograph by courtesy of Reg Allan and

Stornoway Gazelle

Collins joined the Committee of Man-agement in 1955 and served until 1960,ex-officio as Hydrographer of the Navy.He rejoined the Committee of Man-agement in 1964 as a co-opted memberand continued until his resignation in1972. He served on several of the RNLIstanding committees and was at onetime chairman of the General Purposesand Publicity Committee.

Also at the end of last year, onDecember 23, the death occurred ofCommodore J. G. Young, RNR. Com-modore Young was co-opted to theCommittee of Management in 1978 andwas a serving member. He was current-ly a member of the Executive and theFinance Committees.

Penlee investigationThe Department of Trade's formal

investigation into the loss of the Penleelifeboat Solomon Browne and MV UnionStar began in Penzance on March 14. Areport on the investigation will be givenin the next issue of THE LIFEBOAT, in thesummer.

New Year HonoursAmong the awards announced in the

New Year Honours list were:

QBEDonald George Eric Kent, General

Manager, Blyth Harbour Commission.Mr Kent has been chairman of Blythstation branch since 1969, after servingon the committee from the early 1960s.

MBEDenis William Lupton Leslie, chair-

man, Penlee station branch. Dr Lesliehas been a member of Penlee stationbranch committee and also honorarymedical adviser since 1950; he becamevice-chairman in 1969 and chairman in1973. Dr Leslie was awarded theRNLI's silver badge in 1972 and thegold badge in 1982.

Mrs Marion Trewhella RichardsPearce. For service to the community ofSt Ives. Among her services to thecommunity Mrs Pearce was honorarysecretary of St Ives ladies' lifeboat guildfrom 1932 to 1937 and again from 1945until 1967 when she became chairman.Mrs Pearce was awarded the RNLI'sgold badge in 1958 and a bar to the goldbadge in 1970; she became an honorarylife governor of the Institution in 1982.

Loyal friendsThe Civil Service and Post Office

Lifeboat Fund, the RNLI's oldest andmost loyal contributor, raised a splen-did £124,867 for the lifeboats in 1982;and it is not the first time it has reached,and passed, £100,000.

The Fund came into being as long agoas 1866. In the intervening years it hasprovided no less than 41 lifeboats rang-ing from pulling and sailing boats in theearly days to the 70ft Clyde Charles H.Barrett (Civil Service No 35), which wasprovided in the Fund's hundredthanniversary year, 1966. In addition tothe original cost of the lifeboats, the

Fund contributes towards their mainte-nance and towards the rewards to theircrews. The latest Civil Service lifeboatis stationed at Portrush; she is a 52ftArun named after Richard Evans, for-mer coxswain of Moelfre lifeboat, whowas twice awarded the gold medal forgallantry.

Variety ClubOn December 9, 1982, HRH The

Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI,attended a lunch given by the VarietyClub of Great Britain and received acheque for £6,000. The Variety Club,which always supports children with itscharitable activities, has for a numberof years contributed to the RNLI's fundfor children of lifeboatmen lost onservice. In his speech the Duke thankedthe Variety Club who, in spite of theirlighthearted approach, took the task ofhelping others very seriously.

Your journalTHE LIFEBOAT is the oldest house

journal in Britain, having been estab-lished in 1852 when the cover price wasa penny-halfpenny. It has been in con-

tinual production ever since and nowhas a circulation of over 100,000. Yourjournal brings you news of all aspects ofthe lifeboat service and also carriessouvenir and Christmas card brochures,lottery tickets and special notices. Bycareful management, increases in theproduction costs of the journal havebeen kept to a minimum, but postagecharges have increased considerably.The subscription is therefore beingraised to £3 a year. This is a commercialrate designed to make a profit and theactual costs of producing and distribut-ing the journal of Shoreline members,branches, guilds and stations are lower.The cover price of the journal is alsobeing increased, to 30p, again to makeprofit on individual sales. Meanwhile,the traditional standards will be main-tained and we hope you will continue toenjoy THE LIFEBOAT.

Postcode changeThe post code of the RNLI's Scottish

office has been changed. The fulladdress is now 26 Rutland Square,Edinburgh, EH1 2RL. Telephone num-ber: 031-229 2206.

Off the Cornish coast: The Lizard-Cadgwith's 52ft Barnett lifeboat The Duke of Cornwall (CivilService No 33) on exercise with a Wessex helicopter from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose.

photograph by courtesy of RNAS Culdrose

183

West Division

Steering failureLIVERPOOL COASTGUARD informed thehonorary secretary of New Brightonlifeboat station at 1400 on Sunday Au-gust 29, 1982, that the yacht Ocea wasacting in an erratic manner andappeared to be in difficulties just northof Great Burbo Bank. The Coastguardhad been alerted by another yacht,Whiteout, which was standing by, main-taining communications on VHP radioand sending regular reports. Maroonswere fired and at 1410 New Brighton'sAtlantic 21 rigid inflatable lifeboatBlenwatch was launched on servicemanned by Helmsman Edward 'Bev'Brown and Crew Members MichaelJones, Dale Kaye and Tom Baker.

A fresh breeze, force 5, was blowingfrom the south south west. The sea wasslight with waves of three to four feet; itwas three-quarters of an hour beforelow water and there was a small ebbrunning. Visibility was five miles.

After launching, Helmsman Brownset course to pass west of Great BurboBank so that he could approach Oceafrom the seaward end of the main chan-nel. The Coastguard were now told byWhiteout that Ocea was in the mainchannel and that, although the Coast-guard had asked that she return to theRiver Mersey in company with White-out, she appeared to be continuing hersail. Nevertheless, with the windfreshening and the tide starting to flood,Helmsman Brown decided to make surethat all was well.

On seeing the Atlantic 21 lifeboatapproaching the scene of action, White-out headed back down the main channelto make for shelter. The breeze, stillfrom south south west, had increased tostrong, force 6, gusting to near gale,force 7. Generally the seas were eight toten foot high but in the shallow waterover the banks wind and tide werebuilding up waves of 12 to 15 feet. Thetide was now flooding to the south eastat about 2 to 3 knots.

Ocea was sighted across the otherside of the main channel over the revet-ment wall, heading east towards TaylorsBank and some very rough water.Helmsman Brown knew that she wasrunning into trouble and headed

straight across to warn her; in this cross-ing through rough water Crew MemberJones fell on to the port lifting eye andwas slightly injured. Before the Atlantic21 could reach Ocea, however, theyacht broached in a large sea, gybedviolently and appeared to lose control.

It was 1445 when the Atlantic cameup with Ocea. There were two men onboard, the elder of whom was ex-hausted, and, in the prevailing condi-tions Helmsman Brown thought itwould be too dangerous to try to takethem off. He took the lifeboat in and onthe second approach Crew MemberJones managed to jump on to Ocea. Hefound that the yacht was indeed notanswering her helm; her steering gearhad failed and so it was decided to takeher in tow. Survivor lifejackets werepassed over for the yachtsmen and thentwo paddles to help steer Ocea.

With the yacht in tow, HelmsmanBrown did not think it wise either tocross Taylors Bank or to head into theseas to try to go round the bank. Hedecided to keep the sea on his quarterand head for Southport. A bucket wasstreamed from the yacht as a makeshiftsea anchor to prevent a tendency tosheer to port and the tow started at1450. A Coastguard mobile followedthe progress of the tow from the shoreand recommended that Hoylake lifeboatbe launched to stand by. So, at 1550,Hoylake's 37ft 6in Rother lifeboat MaryGabriel was launched on service underthe command of Coxswain JohnMcDermott and course was shaped forthe position of the tow.

Meanwhile, New Brighton Atlantic,with Ocea in tow, was heading towardsSouthport at about 2 to 3 knots, withthe wind freshening all the time. Oppo-site Birkdale a large cresting waveknocked the yacht on to her beam ends.The sea anchor made with a bucket waslost and another had to be contrived be-fore the tow could continue.

Hearing from the Coastguard thatconditions at Southport were impos-sible, Helmsman Brown decided tohead for the estuary of the Ribble. Eventhen, he thought that the seas would betoo bad for the Atlantic to attempt theriver entrance with her tow, and so heasked that Lytham-St Annes lifeboatshould launch.

The relief 46ft 9in Watson lifeboat SirGodfrey Baring, on temporary duty atLytham-St Annes, slipped her mooringsat 1714 under the command of Cox-swain Arthur Wignall and set out torendezvous with New Brighton Atlanticoff Wall End Buoy at the entrance tothe Ribble. While waiting for Sir God-frey Baring, Helmsman Brown main-tained steerage way heading into theseas. The waves were now 15 to 20 feethigh and some of them were breaking.Lifeboat and tow were dropped heavilyinto several troughs and at times thelifeboat crew could see right underOcea's hull.

Sir Godfrey Baring arrived off WallEnd Buoy at 1730 and, manoeuvring

with great skill in the large, breakingseas, Helmsman Brown passed the towacross to the Watson lifeboat. Duringthe tow the elder of the two yachtsmenhad recovered and so it was decided totransfer them both to Lytham-St Anneslifeboat for the difficult passage into theRibble. It took seven approaches byNew Brighton Atlantic before the twoyachtsmen and Crew Member Joneswere all taken off Ocea. Then, after twoattempts, the two yachtsmen were safe-ly transferred to Lytham lifeboat; it wasan operation which called for great skillfrom both crews.

The whole manoeuvre was completedby 1800. The Watson lifeboat Sir God-frey Baring then took Ocea into theRibble and placed her on moorings andput her crew ashore; she was back onher moorings and once again ready forservice by 1945. New Brighton Atlantic21 lifeboat Blenwatch rendezvousedwith Hoylake's Rother lifeboat MaryGabriel at 1815 and was escorted backto the main channel leading into theRiver Mersey. Mary Gabriel then re-turned to Hoylake and was recoveredand once again ready for service at2115. Blenwatch returned to NewBrighton and was rehoused and readyfor service at 2035.

For this service the bronze medal wasawarded to Helmsman Edward B.Brown of New Brighton and the thanksof the Institution inscribed on vellumwere accorded to Crew MemberMichael Jones; medal service certifi-cates were presented to Crew MembersDale Kaye and Tom Baker. Letterssigned by Lt-Cdr Brian Miles, deputydirector, expressing the Institution'sappreciation to the crews of Hoylakeand Lytham-St Annes lifeboats weresent respectively to Coxswain JohnMcDermott and Coxswain Arthur Wig-nall.

South West Division

Yacht on rocksA RADIO MESSAGE at 0924 on ThursdayJuly 15, 1982, reported that a yacht wasaground in the area of the Western Car-racks, three miles west of St Ives. Thehonorary secretary of St Ives lifeboatstation immediately assembled crew forthe D class inflatable lifeboat and putthe 37ft Oakley lifeboat on standby.

The morning was overcast with a lightto gentle breeze, force 2 to 3, blowingfrom the north west. It was 2V2 hoursbefore high water neaps.

The D class lifeboat launched on ser-vice at 0927, manned by Helmsman EricWard and Crew Members ThomasCocking, Jnr, and John Stevens, andcourse was set close inshore so that thecasualty would be reached as quickly aspossible. While on passage HelmsmanWard spoke by radio with St Ives fishingvessels in the area and was told that aliferaft, which appeared to be occupied,could be seen inshore of the yacht.

184

Arriving at 0952, the inflatable life-boat found the yacht Ladybird just westof Whicker Point; she was broadside tothe shore and aground, bows westward,with only her foresail still hoisted. Herliferaft was lying close by to the southeast, hard into the steep, rockyshoreline and being pounded by roughseas. The low ground swell, hardly no-ticeable in deeper water, was accentu-ated over the shallow rock-strewn areaaround the yacht; there was a ten footrise and fall and constant whitewater.

At just about the same time that theD class inflatable lifeboat arrived on thescene, St Ives 37ft Oakley lifeboatFrank Penfold Marshall was launchedon service. She was under command ofCoxswain Thomas Cocking.

The yacht's hull was only visible be-tween crests. She appeared to be emptybut, from movement of its canopy, itlooked as though there could be some-one inside the liferaft. An attemptedapproach between the shore and thestern of the yacht had to be abandonedbecause it was too dangerous.

Helmsman Ward immediately de-cided that the only safe method ofreaching the liferaft would be to anchorand veer down. The anchor was drop-ped at the edge of the surf line and theanchor line was paid out as the inflat-able lifeboat came astern under heroutboard engine. As each crestapproached, the anchor line was heldsecure so that the lifeboat remained sta-tionary, head to sea. Each time the boattook heavy water aboard, but she quick-ly cleared herself.

Twice the lifeboat was lifted on to arock, but the helmsman put the engineout of gear, waited for the boat to becarried clear and then re-engaged theengine to continue the astern approachto the yacht. On the second occasionHelmsman Ward was knocked from hiscontrols and almost overboard by aheavy sea and the boat heeled rightover. However, he quickly regainedcontrol and then brought the boat sternfirst to the yacht. While the lifeboat layalongside Ladybird''-, deckhouse, whichwas awash, it was established that therewas no one on board.

The liferaft was about 25 feet furtherinshore. As the inflatable lifeboat leftthe yacht, she was again lifted on to arock by a huge crest. The backwash didnot carry her clear and she was left highand dry for about two minutes. The en-gine was out of gear but it could not betilted because its skeg was jammed intoa rock crevice. Crew Member Hockinghung over the bow and heaved on theanchor line as a crest approached. Theboat came clear and once again ap-proached the yacht. Another attemptwas made to reach the liferaft but theboat would not manoeuvre because thepropeller blades were badly damaged.

At this time a Wessex helicopter fromRNAS Culdrose arrived and hovered alittle to the west while the inflatable life-boat was heaved seaward on her anchor

line so that her propeller could bechanged. The anchor had dragged in-side the surf line but was holding.Although the boat was swamped threetimes during the propeller change, thetask was successfully completed. Withher new propeller, the inflatable life-boat could only attain about threeknots, so she was driven seaward, theanchor was recovered and she clearedthe surf line.

The helicopter used her downdraft toblow the liferaft clear of the rocks be-fore a diver was lowered into it; hefound it was empty. The diver was thenlowered into the inflatable lifeboat tomake sure that all was well with thecrew.

Until St Ives 37ft Oakley lifeboatFrank Penfold Marshall arrived, at1010, the inflatable lifeboat searched towest and east of the casualty, outsidethe surf line. With the arrival of FrankPenfold Marshall to take up the search,the D class lifeboat accepted a tow to StIves from FV Josephine. The tow startedat 1035 and St Ives was reached at 1110.A spare engine was fitted to the life-boat, the crew put on dry clothing and

dry suits and re-launched at 1142. From1201 to 1235 the inflatable lifeboat re-newed her search along the coastline incompany with the Oakley lifeboat,fishing vessels and a Sea King helicopterwhich had taken over from the Wessex.Nothing was found, however, and thesearch was called off. Both lifeboats re-turned to St Ives, arriving at 1315.

The body of the yachtsman waswashed up a fortnight later.

For this service a bar to his bronzemedal was awarded to Helmsman EricT. Ward and the thanks of the Institu-tion inscribed on vellum were accordedto Crew Members Thomas Cocking,Jnr, and John Stevens.

Scotland North Division

Dragging in stormA YACHT DRAGGING her anchor in NorthMouth, Out Skerries, 20 miles northeast of Lerwick lifeboat station, inShetland, was reported to the deputylaunching authority by Lerwick Coast-guard at 0051 on Tuesday September

St Ives: The yacht Ladybird aground just west of Whicker Point and swamped by breakingwaves. St Ives 37ft Oakley lifeboat Frank Penfold Marshall and a helicopter from RNASCuldrose continue the search for the missing yachtsman while St Ives D class lifeboat, herpropeller damaged, is towed back to station. For this service a bar to his bronze medal wasawarded to Helmsman Eric Ward. photograph by courtesy of W. Thomas

185

21, 1982. The crew were assembled andat 0110 Lerwick's 52ft Arun lifeboatSoldian slipped her moorings andcleared the harbour with Coxswain/Mechanic Hewitt Clark in command.

It was a very black night with visibil-ity poor in torrential rain. A storm,force 10, was blowing from the southwest and the sea was rough. It wasabout half an hour before high watersprings.

The lifeboat set out at full speed.Reaching Hoo Stack, however, speedwas reduced to 14 knots in the veryrough seas. On clearing the north ofMoul of Eswick a lee was obtained andfull speed was resumed. When south ofSybister Ness Light, speed was reduceduntil clear through Linga Sound, adifficult passage in the prevailing weath-er. Once again speed was increased tofull. A course was steered through thepassage between Muckle Skerry andLittle Skerry where broken confusedseas were met. The passage betweenLittle Skerry and Out Skerry would bethe normal route but sea conditions thatnight dictated the route to be taken.When passing Muckle Skerry Soldianspoke with the yacht, Hermes of Lune,to find out her exact position; she wasinside Northeast Mouth. Her owner/skipper asked that the lifeboat take offhis two crew upon arrival.

By the time Soldian arrived at theentrance to Northeast Mouth the south-westerly storm was gusting up to hurri-cane force 12. Such was the force of thewind that the sea was blown flat but thesurface was completely white. The rainwas still torrential.

Soldian has two searchlights, oneportable and the other fitted on the topof the wheelhouse. Coxswain Clark toldhis crew to illuminate the entrance toNortheast Mouth by training one sear-chlight over the port bow and one overthe starboard bow. Visibility was veryrestricted because of the overcast skyand very heavy rain. There are noshorelights in this area.

Hermes of Lune had anchored wellup the sound on the north side, close tothe island of Bruray, but had beendragging back down the sound towardsopen water. Her anchor was now overrocks and still dragging, with the possi-bility that the yacht would finish up onrocks astern of her. She was lying withher bows south west, so the lifeboat wastaken alongside her port side and hertwo crew taken off; her skipper re-mained on board. The force of the windfunnelling through the sound was suchthat full engine power was needed toturn the lifeboat so that she couldremake the entrance.

Throughout the remainder of thenight, Coxswain Clark used his enginescontinually to hold a position at theentrance to Northeast Sound fromwhich he would be well placed to bringthe lifeboat in to take off the yacht'sskipper, if required.

At 0630, by which time the wind hadeased to strong gale, force 9, and

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to Thames Coastguard that he had re-duced speed because of the deteriorat-ing weather and because wind and spraywere reducing visibility. As by this timethe wind had risen to gale force,Thames Coastguard began radio checkswith the Atlantic every five minutes andadvised the launch of Sheerness lifeboatto help Southend lifeboat if required;Sheerness 44ft Waveney lifeboat HelenTurnbull slipped her moorings at 1803under the command of Coxswain/Mechanic Robin W. Castle and set outacross the Thames Estuary makinggood speed.

Meanwhile. Southend Atlantic con-tinued to make best possible speed tothe casualty and at 1759 Mary was sight-ed at anchor in a narrow gut to the westof Maplin Edge Buoy. She was beingtossed about in the breaking seas andgrounding in the troughs, and she wastaking a lot of water on board. Helms-man Fossett, realising the danger of anydelay, spoke with her crew by radio andasked them to be ready to abandon shipimmediately.

As Helmsman Robert Fossett madehis approach towards Mary the Atlanticwas broached by the seas and laid overon her starboard sponson several times.However, Crew Members Mark Fossettand Simon Spratt managed to snatchthe two fishermen from Mary at the firstattempt. The lifeboat was then drivenclear of the casualty into deeper waterand at 1808 Thames Coastguard wereinformed that both men were safelyaboard the Atlantic.

The return passage to Southend washead to sea and, in the heavy breakingwaves, the lifeboat was pitching severe-ly. Concerned that there might be thepossibility of capsizing. Helmsman Fos-sett stationed Crew Members Fossettand Spratt in the bows to distribute theweight more evenly. However, thisproved to be extremely punishing forthe lifeboatmen and, as one of thefishermen, suffering from seasicknessand hypothermia, was becoming veryweak, the engines were throttled backuntil there was just enough speed togive steerage way while Crew MembersFossett and Spratt sheltered the twofishermen from the wind and spray.

In view of the worsening weather andthe state of the survivors. HelmsmanFossett decided that the two men shouldbe transferred from Southend Atlanticto Sheerness Waveney lifeboat. At 1825the Atlantic, continuing to make head-way, was informed that Helen Turnbullwould reach her position in about 30 to40 minutes and the two lifeboats ren-dezvoused at South West Swin Buoy at1855. As there was no shelter from windor sea which could be gained, it was de-cided to make the transfer immediately.Sheerness lifeboat ran down sea, theAtlantic 21 was driven alongside andone man was taken aboard Helen Turn-bull: the manoeuvre was repeated forthe transfer of the second survivor.

At 1900 both lifeboats set course forSouthend Pier at reduced speed. The

return passage was made in extremelyrough conditions, taking nearly twohours, with the Sheerness Waveneyescorting the Southend Atlantic 21.Both lifeboats reached Southend Pier at2048 and the two fishermen were landedto a waiting ambulance. SouthendAtlantic 21 was rehoused and onceagain ready for service by 2107 andSheerness Waveney lifeboat returned tostation; she arrived at Sheerness at 2146and was refuelled and back on hermoorings by 2215.

For this service the bronze medal wasawarded to Helmsman Robert T. Fos-sett of Southend-on-Sea lifeboat andframed letters of thanks signed by theDuke of Atholl, chairman of the Institu-tion, were presented to Crew MembersSimon P. Spratt and Mark A. Fossett.A letter signed by Lt-Cdr Brian Miles,deputy director, expressing the Institu-tion's appreciation to Coxswain/Mecha-nic Robin W. Castle and his crew wassent to Captain William I. Patterson,honorary secretary of Sheerness life-boat station.

East Division

Damaged steeringYARMOUTH COASTGUARD informed thehonorary secretary of Great Yarmouthand Gorleston lifeboat station at 0236on Monday May 3, 1982, that the yachtSeamist of Rhu had sustained damage toher steering gear two hours earlier onScroby Sands, breaking her tiller. Ajury rig had been set up and the yacht'screw of two had thought that they couldride it out until the tide turned. How-ever, they were now beginning to beaffected by fatigue and the weather wasdeteriorating.

It was a clear night, although the skywas overcast. A gale, force 8, was blow-ing from north north east and the seawas very rough. It was three hours be-fore high water.

The crew was assembled and at 0249Great Yarmouth and Gorleston's 44ftWaveney lifeboat Barham slipped hermoorings and set out on service underthe command of Coxswain/MechanicRichard Hawkins. The lifeboat clearedthe harbour piers at 0256 and headed atfull speed out through the HewettChannel. Then, changing to a north-easterly course to make for Seamist,which was in the vicinity of Cross SandsBuoy, she met the full strength of thegale force winds head on and had to re-duce speed in the rough, short head seasand swell. The dredger Marine Stonewas watching the yacht on her radar butkept losing radar 'sight' of her becauseof the prevailing conditions.

At 0340 the lifeboat neared thecasualty. Seamist, a yacht of about 24ftoverall, was two miles north north westof Cross Sands Buoy lying under astorm jib with her head about southeast; the wind and sea were on her portquarter.

The lifeboat circled around Seamist,

shining the searchlight on her to assessthe situation. The yacht was seen to berolling violently in the rough seas soCoxswain Hawkins, worried about thedamage he could cause the smaller, live-ly boat, decided to pass a tow withoutgoing alongside. The yachtsmen wereasked to try to pull inboard the sails andany trailing rope ends. The lifeboat thenapproached from the starboard quarterand passed down the starboard side tak-ing care to clear the gyrating mast.Three times this manoeuvre was repe-ated; on each occasion a heaving linewas thrown aboard but the two yachts-men, now very tired, were unable to gethold of it. A fourth attempt was madebut one of the men went overboard asthe yacht rolled and her handrailsparted; he climbed back aboard as thescene was lit by parachute flares.

At 0412 Coxswain Hawkins decidedthat a lifeboatman would have to be putaboard the yacht to help. A fifth, andcloser, approach was made and as thetwo boats came together Crew MemberPaul Carter jumped aboard; the twoboats rolled and he was pinned momen-tarily between the quarter rubber of thelifeboat and the cabin of the yacht,bruising his shoulder, before the life-boat pulled clear. A sixth approach wasmade, the heaving line taken by CrewMember Carter, and then a tow line waspassed and made fast.

The tow began, at dead slow speed,at 0445 and the lifeboat and yacht en-tered Yarmouth Harbour at 0730. Theyacht was moored and her crew landedashore. The lifeboat was back on hermoorings, once again ready for service,at 0915.

For this service the thanks of the In-stitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Coxswain/MechanicRichard J. Hawkins and a framed letterof thanks signed by the Duke of Atholl,chairman of the Institution, was pre-sented to Crew Member Paul H. Car-ter. Vellum service certificates werealso presented to Acting Second Cox-swain John R. Baker, EmergencyMechanic Leander Wells and CrewMembers David V. Mason and PeterM. Collins.

South West Division

Propeller fouledNUMEROUS TELEPHONE CALLS were re-ceived by Brixham Coastguard at about0120 on Wednesday August 18, 1982,reporting the sighting of red flares offTeignmouth Pier. Teignmouth Coast-guard rescue company were immediate-ly alerted and John Hook, auxiliarycoastguard in charge, prepared toundertake the rescue. He telephonedSydney Hook, coxswain of the TrinityHouse pilot cutter, and asked him to goto the cutter and await instructions;then he himself went to the promenadeto assess the situation.

It was quickly established that ayacht. Albatross, was aground very

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close to Teignmouth Pier and that theonly way of effecting a rescue would befrom seaward. So John Hook, togetherwith William Hook and Andrew Bur-ton, hurried to join Coxswain Hookaboard the pilot cutter Storm Siren inTeignmouth Harbour; moorings wereslipped at 0143. Storm Siren, a 41ftWatson ex-lifeboat originally stationedat Moelfre, took out with her her 14ftdinghy.

The night was overcast with rainsqualls. A near gale, force 7, wasblowing from the south west and the seawas rough. It was about four hoursbefore high water. In view of the roughweather, Brixham Coastguard calledthe deputy launching authority of Tor-bay lifeboat station at 0125 and at 0142Torbay's 54ft Arun lifeboat EdwardBridges (Civil Service No 37) slippedher moorings under the command ofCoxswain Arthur Curnow and headedfor Teignmouth Pier, to stand by.

Clearing Teignmouth river mouth,Coxswain Hook expertly negotiated thenarrow channel between Pole Sand andEast Pole Sand and then turned to portto head for the casualty; in all, the onemile passage from the mooring tookabout 12 minutes. On arrival. Albatrossa 28ft steel hulled yacht, was seen to beaground about 15 feet south of Teign-mouth Pier. She had been on passagefrom Weymouth when, off Teign-mouth, a rope had become fouledaround her propeller. Unable to clearthe rope, the owner, who was sailingsinglehanded, had dropped anchor andfired distress flares.

The south-westerly near gale off th.eland, gusting in the rain squalls, was inconflict with the incoming tide, so thatin the shallow waters the sea was roughand confused. Albatross now had twoanchors out, but could be seen to bedragging slowly in towards the pier.

Taking advantage of the fact that,being an ex-Watson lifeboat, StormSiren's propeller is protected, CoxswainHook brought the pilot cutter round ina sweep towards Albatross, coming uphead to sea to stem the waves and tide.While Storm Siren was making thissweep, John Hook and Andrew Burtonboarded the 14ft dinghy and cast off topass a towline to the yacht. WithAndrew Burton at the oars and JohnHook tending the 2 Vim nylon towline,the dinghy headed for Albatross. Theweight of the line and the rough seasmade it a very hard row, but it wassuccessfully accomplished and the ding-hy came safely alongside the starboardside of the yacht.

John Hook boarded Albatross to helpher singlehanded skipper and to makethe towline fast. Andrew Burton re-turned to Storm Siren, rowing powerful-ly. By now the yacht was within a fewfeet of the pier and in imminent dangerof being dismasted and wrecked as shewas carried under it.

As soon as the yacht's anchors wereclear, Coxswain Hook began the tow.He was able to bring the yacht head to

sea and set course to return by the sameway he had come on the outwardpassage. Because of the darkness of themorning and the rain, visibility waspoor, so members of the Coastguardrescue company ashore fired parachuteflares over the narrow entrance toTeignmouth to help Coxswain Hook tonegotiate the channel safely.

Once Storm Siren and her tow weresafely inside the bar, Torbay lifeboatreturned to station; she was back on hermoorings and again ready for service at0315. Albatross was moored inside theharbour at Teignmouth and Teign-mouth rescue company were stooddown at 0238.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to John F. Hook and framedletters of thanks signed by the Duke ofAtholl, chairman of the Institution,were presented to Andrew M. Burtonand Sydney C. Hook. A letter of thankssigned by Rear Admiral W. J. Graham,director of the Institution, was sent toWilliam E. Hook.

South West Division

Broken rudderTHE YACHT Concerto, in difficulties tenmiles north of Round Island, was re-ported to the honorary secretary of StMary's, Isles of Scilly, lifeboat stationby Falmouth Coastguard at 1618 onTuesday June 22, 1982. Maroons werefired and at 1635 St Mary's 52ft Arunlifeboat Robert Edgar slipped her moor-ings and, under the command of Cox-swain Matthew Lethbridge, set out onservice.

In St Mary's harbour a fresh breeze,force 5, was blowing from south southwest. It was three hours before highwater, some two days after spring tides.The sky was overcast with visibilitythree to four miles between rain squalls.

Tresco Channel, navigable by thelifeboat from 2'/2 hours' flood on aspring tide, was negotiated at full speedand at 1650, with Round Island abeam,a course of 025°M was set. From in-formation received from the Coast-guard, from DF bearings and from ves-sels in the area, it was established thatthe position of the yacht was 50°19'N,06°11.5'w. Once clear of the land, thewind was near gale, force 7, to gale,force 8 and the passage north in highfollowing seas demanded great concen-tration and a high standard of boathandling from Coxswain Matt Leth-bridge to prevent the lifeboatbroaching. The engines were kept at fullahead throughout.

At 1800 the lifeboat arrived at theposition given for Concerto, adjustedfor tidal set and the yacht's drift. HMSPollington was also on the scene and itwas agreed that the lifeboat and warshipshould search downwind in company.At a speed of 10 knots, Coxswain Leth-bridge kept station on the starboard

beam of the warship, maintaining visualcontact at a quarter of a mile to half amile depending on visibility in the veryheavy rain squalls.

At about 1845 the warship obtained aVHP DF bearing of the casualty; she waslying to the south west. Course wasaltered to that heading and the lifeboat,increasing her speed to 12 knots, drewahead of the warship. After 15 minutesthe lifeboat fired a white flare. Concertoreported by radio that she could see theflare on bearing 030°. Coxswain Leth-bridge increased to full speed and foundthe yacht at 1915.

Concerto was heading south southeast, wallowing in the high seas andshipping heavy spray. Her sails werestowed and she appeared in good orderapart from her rudder, which was hang-ing askew. Two men could be seen inher cockpit.

The wind was still from the southsouth west but by now it had risen tostorm force 10. The tide flowing acrossthe wind was creating a sea estimated at20 feet high, 100 feet between crests,reminiscent of that experienced duringthe Fastnet Race storm of 1979. Thelifeboat was shipping green water as theapproach was made.

At 1930, while a large Finnish tanker,ss Tervi, steamed into a position a quar-ter of a mile away to create a lee,Coxswain Lethbridge rigged a towline,heavily fendered the lifeboat's port sideand then manoeuvred alongside theyacht. His intention was to secure a towline and then take off the two crew, buthe was forced to drive clear of thecasualty to avoid damage while the towline was secured. With the two men stillaboard their yacht, therefore, the towwas taken up at 1935 on a course of212°M.

On 100 fathoms of towline, suitablyweighted, a towing speed of 3 to 4 knotswas achieved. However, with the onsetof darkness and the continuing severeweather, Coxswain Lethbridge decidedto take off the yachtsmen. It was a diffi-cult operation. While trying to bring theyacht alongside, her stern was carriedinto the lifeboat's port quarter by alarge sea; narrowly avoiding two crewmembers, it struck the deckhouse abovetheir heads, bent a stanchion andmarked the belting. Despite this inci-dent, by waiting for instructions fromSecond Coxswain Roy Guy, the transferwas made without further damage or in-jury. The tow was resumed at 2110 at aspeed of 4 knots, but about 20 minuteslater the towline parted.

HMS Pollington had already departedto help search for a yacht reported indifficulties off Seven Stones, north eastof the Isles of Scilly. Coxswain Leth-bridge immediately informed the yach-tsmen and Falmouth Coastguard of hisintention to abandon his tow to go tothe aid of this second casualty, theFrench yacht Martez. A course was setat 185°M and full speed was then main-tained with only brief reductions tomeet particularly heavy seas.

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At about 2230 St Mary's Arun life-boat, four miles north on Seven StonesLightvessel, began a downwind searchin company with HMS Pollington, Sen-nen Cove's 37ft 6in Rother Diana Whiteand a Sea King helicopter from RNASCuldrose. Diana White had launched onservice at 1914 under the command ofCoxswain/Mechanic Maurice Hutchens.When, however, a yacht answering thedescription of Martez was found closeashore near Penzance Harbour, thesearch was called off and the 46ft 9inWatson relief lifeboat Guy and ClareHunter, on temporary station duty atPenlee, was launched at 2353 to go tothe French yacht's help. Soon after Guyand Clare Hunter had launched, underthe command of Coxswain KennethThomas, Martez was reported to havecome ashore and her crew of two to besafely on the beach in the care of thePolice.

St Mary's lifeboat arrived back at sta-tion at 0055 on Wednesday June 23; thecrew of Concerto were landed at 0110and the lifeboat was refuelled and backon her moorings ready for service at0230. The abandoned yacht was foundlater that day by the Dutch coasterInga, off the North Cornwall coast, andtowed to St Ives.

Coxswain Matthew Lethbridge laterreceived letters of thanks from Concer-to's skipper, who wrote:

' . . . / am writing to express my appre-ciation for the skill and dedication of theSt Mary's lifeboat crew. . . Words, parti-cularly on paper, are always inadequatevehicles to express these feelings. . . '

and his crew:" . . . Having felt guilty in the first place

that we had got into the difficulties we didand that we had to ask for help, I found allthat followed a most exciting experienceand I feel privileged to have been able tosee at first hand both the caring and theprofessionalism of you and your lifeboatcrew and I thank you all very much indeedfor it all. . . '

For this service the thanks of the In-stitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Coxswain Matthew Leth-bridge, BEM, of St Mary's lifeboat andvellum service certificates were pre-sented to Second Coxswain Ernest RoyGuy, Motor Mechanic William R. Bur-row, Emergency Mechanic RitchieChristopher and Crew Members Rod-ney J. Terry, Roy Duncan, Brian Jenk-ins and Stuart J. Thomas. A letter,signed by Rear Admiral W. J. Graham,director, expressing the appreciation ofthe Institution to the master of the Fin-nish tanker Tervi, was sent to the ship'sowners, Neste O/Y.

Scotland North Division

Making waterWICK COASTGUARD informed the honor-ary secretary of Thurso lifeboat stationat 1355 on Tuesday September 7,1982,that the fishing vessel Coronella wasmaking water off Duncansby Head and

the lifeboat was asked to launch withpumps. At 1410 Thurso's 48ft 6in Solentlifeboat The Three Sisters launched onservice under the command of SecondCoxswain John Manson and headedinto harbour to embark pumps held inthe harbour oil depot. Kenneth Mac-Kenzie of the oil depot, who is also theengineer of the RNAF tender LoyalProctor which is based in Scrabster,joined the crew to supervise the pumps.HMS Stubbington, a minesweeperseconded to fishery protection dutieswhich was in Scrabster Harbour, sailedat 1429 to help the casualty.

Coronella was 12 miles east north eastof the lifeboat station and The ThreeSisters maintained full speed to herposition. During the passage HMS Stub-bington established that there were 11men on board the fishing vessel.

It was an overcast day with frequentrain squalls passing through, reducingvisibility. There was a strong breeze,force 6, blowing from the west and thesea was rough. High water springs hadbeen at 1153.

HMS Stubbington arrived on scene atabout 1512; she lowered a boat to take apump across to Coronella, but unfortu-nately the pump's handle was lost over-board so that it could not be used. Thefishing vessel was anchored slightly tothe west of the rocks known as the Menof Mey and the minesweeper could notapproach close enough to pass a towline. The strong westerly breeze wasblowing across the overfalls in the areagiving a very confused sea and thebroken water disguised the exact posi-tion of the rocks.

By this time Coronella was well downby the stern and had only three footclearance left in her engine room abovethe waterline. There was concern thatthe bulkhead might give and she hadlost all power. Her own lifeboat wasturned out ready for her crew to aban-don ship.

Thurso lifeboat arrived at 1550 andwent alongside the casualty to transferthe pumps. Two lifeboatmen togetherwith Kenneth MacKenzie were also puton board to help. Acting CoxswainJohn Manson is a Stroma man and,having fished the area since a youngboy, knew exactly where the rocks werein relation to the casualty.

There was some difficulty in gettingthe pumps started and The Three Sisterslay off ready to take off all the men onboard Coronella if necessary; unless thepumps had contained the inflow ofwater the fishing vessel would withoutdoubt have sunk. However, the twopumps were eventually started and thewater level held.

At about 1700 Coronella cut heranchor line and she was immediatelyswept into the overfalls and carried westnorth west. As she drifted along theoverfalls Acting Coxswain Manson tookthe lifeboat alongside and re-embarkedhis two crew members and KennethMacKenzie. HMS Stubbington fired twolines across and a tow was connected; it

parted but another tow was successfullypassed.

HMS Stubbington took Coronella intow to Thurso Bay where the lifeboattook over and, at 2145, berthed thedisabled fishing vessel alongside, withthe help of the pilot cutter and LoyalProctor. Thurso lifeboat was rehousedand ready for service at 2200.

Coronella had grounded on rocks tothe west of Duncansby Head anddrifted to St John's Point, a notoriousarea of the Pentland Firth. In groundingher transducer was torn out, leaving ahole in her bottom. She remained inScrabster Harbour for two days wherethe Fire Brigade kept her afloat until adiver could make temporary repairs.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Second Coxswain John D.Manson, acting coxswain. Vellum ser-vice certificates were presented toMotor Mechanic Angus M. Reid,Emergency Mechanic Brian Williams,acting assistant mechanic, and CrewMembers Ian McMillan and Jay ScottMacKay and also to Kenneth RossMacKenzie.

West Division

DisabledA FISHING VESSEL, Gardelwen, sufferingengine and steering failure was reportedto the honorary secretary of Barmouthlifeboat station at 0330 on SundayOctober 31, 1982. She was 17'/2 milesbearing 265°M from Barmouth andneeded urgent help. Maroons werefired and at 0345 the 42ft Watson relieflifeboat Dorothy and Philip Constant,on temporary duty at Barmouth, slip-ped her moorings under the commandof Second Coxswain Leonard Vaughan.The coxswain and several crew mem-bers were away on passage with thestation boat.

The sky was overcast, a near gale,force 7, was blowing from the south andthe seas were rough. It was one hourafter low water. In that state of tide andweather it was necessary to use thesearchlight to ensure a safe passageacross the bar. Once clear of the bar,however, at about 0405, the lifeboat setcourse for the disabled fishing vessel atfull speed.

The true force of the near gale wasnow experienced. The sea was veryrough and there was a 10 to 14 footswell. The lifeboat was rolling heavily inthe beam seas and shipping water.While on her way, she received a radiomessage from the Coastguard to saythat Gardelwen was making water andin danger of foundering.

The seas were getting worse. Atabout 0515, estimating that he was somefour miles from the fishing vessel,Acting Coxswain Vaughan instructedthe lifeboat's searchlight to be switchedon and Gardelwen was asked to fire ared flare when she sighted the light.

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Within ten minutes a red flare wasobserved right ahead at three to fourmiles distance. Course and speed weremaintained and at about 0545 the life-boat arrived at the casualty.

Gardelwen was lying north-south andhad been trying to lie to an anchor. Onthe approach of the lifeboat sheweighed her anchor and, as her crew ofthree did not want to leave their boat,Acting Coxswain Vaughan decided totry to tow her to Barmouth. He took thelifeboat up along the starboard side ofthe fishing vessel and the lifeboatmensucceeded in passing a heaving linewhich was used as a messenger by thefishermen to send back a tow line to thelifeboat. This line, however, was far tooshort for a tow in the gales and veryrough seas, so the lifeboat was taken upalong the fishing boat again to passacross her own line, which the fisher-men made fast on board Gardelwen.

Acting Coxswain Vaughan had de-cided to run before the sea while thetowlines were being passed in order togive some protection to his crew work-ing forward, and seas were breakingover the stern of both lifeboat andfishing boat the whole time.

The weather had deteriorated stillfurther and a force 8 gale was nowblowing from south to south west. Thesea was very rough with a 15 foot swell.

Gardelwen, with no steering, wasyawing and rolling violently and it waswith great skill and difficulty that thetow was rounded up and course set forthe return to Barmouth. As well asyawing, the fishing boat frequentlytended to over run the lifeboat and, totry to avoid excessive snatch on the towthe lifeboatmen were continually takingin and paying out the slack on thetowlines; it was an arduous task but itwas accomplished despite the heavyrolling seas which frequently brokeaboard.

In spite of these efforts, however, thetowline parted. Acting CoxswainVaughan came about to reconnect thetow. This time he asked Gardelwen tomake the fishing boat's own line fast toone side of one of her tyre fenders andto make the lifeboat's line fast to theother side of the fender so that therewould be some weight part way alongthe towline to give it some spring toease the snatching. This was done andthe tow resumed.

After about half an hour at three-quarter throttle the tyre tore apart withsuch violence that the half attached tothe lifeboat's line whipped back aboard,travelling the full length of the lifeboatand hitting the two foremost stanchionswith such force that they were bent.Fortunately the crew had all ducked intime and no one was hurt.

With great difficulty the tow wasreconnected, this time with two fendersbetween the two parts of the line. Thetow was resumed without further mis-hap, though both boats continued toroll heavily and the casualty to yawviolentlv.

It was four hours after high waterwhen the lifeboat and tow arrived offBarmouth Bar. The south-westerlywind had eased to force 6 but it could beseen that there was a heavy run ofbreaking sea. Gardelwen was by thistime 'half full of water' and ActingCoxswain Leonard Vaughan realisedthat if he was to have a chance ofnegotiating the bar with the casualty, hemust make the crossing right away,before, on the ebbing tide, there wasany further fall in the depth of thewater. He therefore headed in towardsBarmouth over the bar.

The long run in, successfullyachieved, was made over one vast areaof white breaking running seas. Towinga disabled vessel in such conditionsrequired both courage and ability andall who witnessed the approach oflifeboat and tow expressed greatadmiration.

Gardelwen was safely moored atabout 1150 and the lifeboat was refuel-led and back on her moorings ready forservice at 1230.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Second Coxswain EdwardLeonard Vaughan, acting coxswain,and vellum service certificates werepresented to Boat Mechanic KennethIngram, Crew Member Harry Allday,acting second coxswain, and CrewMembers Robert A. Buckley, John H.Stockford and Llewelyn W. Griffin.

Scotland North Division

Broken adriftTHE STATION HONORARY SECRETARY of

Thurso was informed by Wick Coast-guard at 2105 on Tuesday November 161982, that the trawler Arctic Crusaderhad broken adrift in Scrabster Harbour,close by the lifeboat station, and he wasasked to place the lifeboat on standby.The crew were assembled and at 2120the lifeboat was asked to launch.

Within five minutes Thurso's 48ft 6inSolent lifeboat The Three Sisters hadlaunched under the command of Cox-swain William Farquhar and was on herway to the casualty. The night was verydark with an overcast sky and it wasraining. A strong gale, force 9, gustingto storm force 10 was blowing from thenorth west and the sea was very rough.It was half an hour after high water.

Arctic Crusader had been blown clearof the harbour and was in broken waterdrifting down on to the beach. Anotherfishing trawler, Donwood, had heranchor down and a line across to ArcticCrusader, but this anchor was dragging.Since launching. Coxswain Farquharhad been assessing the situation andconcluded that if Arctic Crusader con-tinued her rapid drifting she would be inshallow water beyond the reach of thelifeboat and he asked that a helicoptershould standy by.

Arctic Crusader asked the lifeboat to

pass a second tow rope to Donwood.The lifeboat, however, could not carryout this manoeuvre between the twofishing vessels without the strong possi-bility of being severely damaged her-self, so Donwood floated a second linedown to Arctic Crusader. Once thesecond towline was made fast, ArcticCrusader asked that the helicopter becancelled; her skipper also asked that,should the tow part, the lifeboat shouldcome alongside and take off his crew.

With the two towlines secured, Don-wood tried to take up the tow, but assoon as the weight was taken on theropes they both parted. Coxswain Far-quhar had positioned the lifeboat readyto go in alongside Arctic Crusader ifnecessary. The weather had not moder-ated and the casualty was now wellinside the surf line among high breakingseas. Waves were continually breakingright over the lifeboat and the coxswainhad time for only one attempt to getalongside before Arctic Crusader wouldbe in water so shallow she would bebeyond the lifeboat's reach.

Coxswain Farquhar took the lifeboatin alongside Arctic Crusader's port sideand, finding no one on deck, held herthere. Within a minute or two thetrawler's engines started and sheheaded back for Scrabster Harbour.Apparently there were only three menon the disabled trawler, not five asreported. Two were engineers whowere down in the engine room workingon the engines. As the lifeboatapproached, the skipper had gone be-low to tell them to abandon ship, butjust at that moment they had succeededin getting the engines started.

The lifeboat escorted Arctic Crusaderback into harbour but the trawler'sengines, already damaged, seized aheadand her bow struck the jetty. Thelifeboat was rehoused and once againready for service at 2300.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Coxswain William RossFarquhar and vellum service certificateswere presented to Second CoxswainJohn D. Manson, Motor MechanicAngus M. Reid. Assistant MechanicEdward Fraser and Crew Members NeilMacDonald Farquhar, William Munroand Brian Williams.

South West Division

Fishing boat sinksWEYMOUTH LIFEBOAT was asked tolaunch by Portland Coastguard at 0945on Monday November 15. 1982, to goto the help of the fishing boat Amirantereported to be taking water four milessouth of Portland Bill.

It was a fine morning with a freshbreeze, force 5, blowing from the northwest and a moderate sea. It was threehours after high water.

Weymouth's 54ft Arun lifeboat TonyVandervell slipped her moorings at 1003

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Weymouth: as Amirante sinks, Weymouth's 54ft Arun lifeboat Tony Vandervell moves in topick up her crew. On the lifeboat foredeck are (!) Crew Member Robert Runyeard and fr)Assistant Coxswain Michael Reynolds. photograph by courtesy of Focus Press

with Second Coxswain/Mechanic DerekSargent in command. When she arrivedon scene she found that another fishingvessel had taken Amirante in tow. Bothvessels said that they were happy tocontinue the tow and that the lifeboatcrew's offer of help in pumping out wasnot needed. A little while later, howev-er, Amirante slipped the tow and thelifeboat was again offering help whenthe casualty suddenly began to founder.Acting Coxswain Sargent moved inswiftly and picked up her crew safely.The three men were landed atWeymouth and one of them was takento hospital for examination. The life-boat was back on her moorings andonce again ready for service at 1140.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Rear Admiral W. J.

Graham, director of the Institution, wassent to Second Coxswain/MechanicDerek J. Sargent, acting coxswain.

East Division

Powered bathtubTHREE MEN who had set out to cross theInner Wash from the River Nene toHunstanton in a bathtub on MondaySeptember 13, 1982, were reportedoverdue at 2115; the tub was lashed toinner tubes and an inflatable dinghy andpowered by an outboard engine. Yar-mouth Coastguard informed the honor-ary secretary of Hunstanton lifeboat sta-tion and at 2128 the relief Atlantic 21rigid inflatable lifeboat on temporary

duty at Hunstanton launched on servicemanned by Helmsman Alan Clarke andCrew Members Gerald Wase. VictorDade and Michael Wallace.

It was a fine night with a light breezeblowing from the south and the sea wascalm. The Coastguard had been toldthat the three men had intended to keepinshore on their passage, so the Atlanticset out to search up to King's Lynn.First she searched across Stubborn Sandto Cork Hole. By now it was low waterneaps. At No 3 Buoy a parachute flarewas fired, but nothing was seen. Theboat's searchlight then failed so she con-tinued all the way to King's Lynn Docksusing hand lamps and parachute flares.Meanwhile, an SAR helicopter wassearching the marshes and banks andHunstanton Coastguard CRC weresearching on foot across the mud flats.Nothing was seen, so at 2355 the Atlan-tic 21 returned slowly from King's Lynnto Hunstanton; the lifeboat was reco-vered at 0130 on Tuesday September 14with the intention of resuming thesearch at daybreak.

Four hours later, at 0530, the crewreassembled, but as very thick fog hadnow formed the Atlantic 21 did notlaunch until 0710. With HelmsmanAlan Clarke were now Crew MembersCharles Groundsell, Arthur Osborneand John Hawkes.

Searching started inshore at a quarterebb from Hunstanton to south west ofHeacham. At 0914 the Atlantic crossedthe sands to Cork Hole. Visibility wasstill down to 30 yards and, overrunningthe channel, the lifeboat grounded onStyeman's Middle Sand; she worked offagain and then returned to Hunstantonas it was thought unwise to continue un-til visibility had opened out. At 1014,with visibility up to half a mile, theAtlantic set out again, re-crossing the

continued on page 212

LONG SERVICEAWARDS

THE LONG SERVICE BADGE, introducedfrom January 1, 1982, for crew mem-bers and shore helpers who have givenactive service for 20 years or more, hasbeen awarded to:

AberdeenAssistant Mechanic G. WalkerCrew Member W. CowpcrCrew Member F. Cruikshank

AngleCoxswain/Mechanic W. J. R. HolmesShore Helper R. Roeh

BarrowCoxswain R. O. CharnleyCrew Member A. BeckettCrew Member P. CharnleyCrew Member E. A. Diamond

BeaumarisCoxswain D. W. GallichanCrew Member R. W. Jones

DonaghadeeCoxswain/Assistant Mechanic J. Bunting

Crew Member W. T. Lennon

DungenessShore Helper W. J. OilierShore Helper F. E. PaineShore Helper T. R. TartShore Helper J. H. Thomas

EastbourneShore Helper J. A. Hall

EyemouthCoxswain A. DougalShore Second Coxswain/Mechanic J . TarvitCrew Member J . Blackie

GirvanCoxswain W. CoullSecond Coxswain/Mechanic A. IngramAssistant Mechanic A. Prestley

LerwickSecond Coxswain P. Leith

MoelfreCrew Member W. O. RowlandsShore Helper R. LewisShore Helper J. NicholsonShore Helper R. Owen

PeelCrew Member J . Savle

RhylCoxswain B. A. HerbertSecond Coxswain G. HughesCrew Member I. ArmstrongShore Helper D. Price

SkegnessCoxswain/Mechanic K. J. HollandSecond Coxswain J. M. Grunni l lBowman R. P. ChapmanAssistant Mechanic J. B. StrzeleckiCrew Member M. R. Hatton

StromnessCrew Member W. Sinclair

TenbyCoxswain J. RichardsCrew Member M. CrockfordCrew Member M. Wilson

ValentiaCoxswain D. WalshSecond Coxswain/Mechanic J. J. Houlihan

WalmerMotor Mechanic B. G. Brown

WellsCrew Member A. L. F. Warner

WickCrew Member J. MacKav

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The naming of the 37ft Gin Rother lifeboat

RNLB Princess of Walesby HRH The Princess of Wales

BARMOUTH: NOVEMBER 25, 1982

THE FRESHLY PAINTED and polished 37ft6in Rother lifeboat to be named Prin-cess of Wales sparkled against a back-drop of gentle mountains, their topsdusted with a light covering of snow.The low winter sun's reflection in theestuary showed a quay packed with peo-ple, a platform party ready to receivehonoured guests, and a neatly dressedcrew aboard the lifeboat. Everythingseemed perfect and indeed everythingwas, now that the cold, sharp showersof the morning, which had threatenedone of the RNLI's most outstandingceremonies of 1982 - the naming of thenew Barmouth lifeboat by Her RoyalHighness The Princess of Wales - hadpassed.

The Prince and Princess of Walespaid a two-day visit to areas aroundBarmouth on November 25 and 26, oneof the main engagements being thenaming of the lifeboat on the first day.The Royal couple started with a visit to

Aberdovey and during the now tradi-tional walkabout inspected the lifeboatstation and met members of the crewwho gave a short display with theirAtlantic 21 lifeboat. While this wasgoing on, people a few miles up thecoast in Barmouth had already startedto take up positions to see the Princeand Princess even though they were notdue until after lunch. Weeks of planningby the station committee, divisional in-spector, regional organiser and townpolice authorities had covered everyeventuality, including rain, and eventhe wiping dry of some 400 seats didnothing to dampen spirits. Then, withless than an hour to go, a shaft of sun-light pierced the clouds and spread tobrighten the whole town. The proces-sion of cars arrived and the moment hadcome: the Prince and Princess were inBarmouth.

After formal introductions, the Prin-cess, looking radiant even on a cold

A bouquet for the Princess,presented by Debbie Jones,daughter of Crew MemberVictor Jones. Just behindDebbie is Rachel Probert,daughter of Crew MemberKenneth Probert, who pre-sented a souvenir programmeto Her Royal Highness. Vic-toria Haworth, daughter ofDr Robert Haworth, stationHMA and a crew member,who presented a souvenirprogramme to HRH ThePrince of Wales, is just out ofsight.

After the naming ceremonvHRH The Princess of Walesinspected Barmouth's new37ft 6in Rother lifeboat whichbears her name. With HerRoyal Highness is Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Compston,a deputy chairman of the In-stitution, and behind them (Ito r) are Lt-Cdr H. F. Teare,divisional inspector of life-boats (West), Brian Moss,district engineer (NorthWest), and Motor MechanicDewi Davies.photographs by courtesy ofLiverpool Dailv Post and

Echo

November day, was presented with abouquet by Debbie Jones, daughter ofCrew Member Victor Jones, and with asouvenir programme by Rachel Pro-bert, daughter of Crew Member Ken-neth Probert. Victoria Haworth, daugh-ter of Dr Robert Haworth, honorarymedical adviser and also a crew mem-ber, presented a souvenir programme tothe Prince. The Princess delighted thegirls by pausing for a few words witheach of them before the ceremony be-gan.

Lt-Cdr R. M. Richards, president ofBarmouth station branch, opened theproceedings, welcoming everyone andtelling the Princess:

'Your presence here today, to bestowyour name on our lifeboat, proves thatBarmouth is the place where all our hap-piest dreams have come true.'

Raymond Cory, chairman of theWelsh lifeboat appeal which raised over£60,000 towards the cost of the lifeboat,handed the boat to the RNLI and Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Compston, a deputychairman of the Institution, deliveredher into the care of Barmouth station.In accepting the lifeboat the stationhonorary secretary, loan Jones, in hisbilingual speech, said:

'We are immensely proud of our newlifeboat and I can assure you that she willreceive from the crew all the love, care andattention due to a Princess of Wales. Shewill be maintained by the Institution inpristine condition to serve this area formanv years to come. This does not mean,however, thai the RM.B Princess of Walesit'/// be pampered. She will not be sparedin any way when she is called out on aservice, however onerous the conditionsmay be. You can be assured that Princessof Wales will not shirk to perform herallotted function at an v time.'

After the service of dedication, dur-ing which the Princess showed a graspof Welsh by joining in the hymns inboth languages, Mr L. G. Williams, sta-tion branch chairman, invited her toname the lifeboat. Stepping forward,the Princess said:

'I name this lifeboat Princess of Wales.May God bless her and all who sail inher.'

She pressed the button to send the bot-tle of champagne crashing over thebows and was clearly thrilled with theeffect. To the loud cheers of the crowd,the Prince and Princess then movedacross the quay to inspect the lifeboatand her equipment. Once in the cabinwith Coxswain George Jeffs they wereable to relax for a few minutes and herewas the chance for an informal chat anda joke from the Prince.

Stepping off the lifeboat, the Royalcouple met members of the crew andsigned the visitors book before beingwhisked away to complete their busyprogramme elsewhere. Within minutes,the sun, too, was gone, as though it hadshone on the crowded town as somekind of blessing. Such was the excite-ment of the day that many people wentaway believing just that .—R.K.

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Eleven years on . . .A LOOK AT THE ATLANTIC 21 RIGID INFLATABLE

LIFEBOAT BY SOME OF THOSE WHO KNOW HER WELL

THE ATLANTIC 21 rigid inflatable hasproved one of the most successful of theInstitution's modern lifeboats and 30are now on station. With an overalllength of 22ft 9in, a rigid GRP hull andinflatable neoprene tube 'bulwarks', orsponsons, she is seaworthy, fast andvery manoeuvrable. Since their intro-duction into the RNLI's fleet in 1972Atlantics have launched on service ab-out 5,000 times and rescued 1,709 peo-ple; 1,403 of those services were per-formed at night and 204 in winds of neargale, force 7, or over. Atlantics havelanded a further 851 people and saved1,428 craft of one kind and another.Quite an impressive record in itself.During these 11 years of service, threesilver and ten bronze medals have beenawarded to helmsman or crew membersof Atlantics for outstanding gallantry.

The development of the Atlantic 21has been the special care of the RNLIbase at Cowes under the guidance, untilhis recent retirement, of Lt DavidStogdon. In the years in which thepresent Atlantic has evolved, manycrew members have helped the Cowesbase team with evaluation of new ideasand sea trials at Cowes as well as onstation. It was to Cowes, therefore, thatlast October three helmsmen, all ofwhom have been awarded medals forgallantry for services performed inAtlantic 21s, came to discuss her design,characteristics and handling with mem-bers of staff responsible for the boat'sbuilding, maintenance and operation,and also with the training of crewmembers. The helmsmen were FrankDunster from Hayling Island, JohnHodder from Lyme Regis and RogerTrigg from Southwold; talking withthem were Lt-Cdr Michael Woodroffe,staff officer operations (1) with particu-lar responsibility for lifeboats under 10metres, Michael Brinton, deputy super-intendent (Cowes) who has been con-cerned with the development of theAtlantic 21 from the very beginning,and Michael Butler who has taken partin most of the sea trials and helped runthe crew training programme.

Unfortunately, Lt Stogdon himselfwas abroad and unable to take part inthe discussion, but as an introduction,here is his description of the boat andsome of his comments:

The Atlantic 21, with her rigid hulland inflatable sponson, is really a surfboard with a shaped bow, but withgreater stability because of her buoyanttubes. There are important differencesbetween the Atlantic 21 and all otherlifeboats, whether thev are the larger.

conventional lifeboats with twin dieselengines or the smaller purely inflatableboats.

Unlike the larger boats, the Atlantichas dual characteristics, combining asshe does the advantages of a swift,responsive surf board and a very stableliferaft. Under way, she drives over theseas on her surf board-like rigid hull, sothat she can obtain speeds of up to 30knots; but when stopped, with the broadbeam and buoyancy of her sponsons,she forms a very stable working platformmore like a liferaft. As weight is added,so her stability increases. When survi-vors are taken on board, the boat sitsdown further in the water, her beamincreases and her sponsons providebuoyancy over a much wider area. Thebuoyancy tubes, or sponsons, also en-sure that, when the boat is in an inverted,or in the capsized position, a pocket ofair in which anyone under the boat cansurvive is formed between the water andthe inverted deck—and, indeed, in thisair pocket the crew can recover theirbreath in comparative calm for a minuteor two before swimming out from underthe hull, righting the boat and reboard-ing her.

The rigid inflatable Atlantic is, ofcourse, a larger boat than the RNLI Dclass purely inflatable lifeboat, and onceagain of a very different character. Thereare for instance, seats for each of thethree-man crew on the central consoleand the helmsman can have wheel steer-ing. As the Atlantic is powered bv twinoutboard engines, wheel steering isessential so that, in bad weather, thehelmsman can steer with one hand andkeep the other hand on the throttlecontrols; in this way speed can beadjusted immediately to the seas.

The Atlantic 21, under twin 60 hpoutboard engines, has the power, andtherefore the speed, to get herself out oftrouble. She may not always need todrive at her 30 knots but the power isthere to give her a quick burst of speedwhen necessary. Running in shallowwater in bad weather she has enoughpower to be steered round breakingcrests which might threaten her. Beamon, she can turn her quarter to the seaand run clear.

Because of her console seats, lifeboat-men in an Atlantic have a better height ofeye when searching for people amongwaves than they would have in aninflatable. The Atlantic, of course, has arighting capability, with an air baghoused in a gantry aft. This gantry canalso carry steaming lights, so that theAtlantic can operate at night.

1 am sure the boat is safer driven fairly-

hard, making the most of the sea staterather than going very slowly and beingcaught by the sea. In rough weather atnight, however, when he cannot see theseas, the helmsman has to be extremelycareful. It is so difficult, particularlywhen heading into wind and sea. Whenyou are moving at your chosen speed,you just cannot read in the darknesswhat is happening to the seas ahead ofyou. You do not even know when youare going to drop through the air. It alllooks level. You only see the white tops;you do not see the big holes. You have togo very carefully and alwavs be readv toget out of trouble with a burst of power.

Two other points I should like tomake. The first is that if one engineshould fail, it is probably better to leaveit down than to tilt it up. With twoengines down you will go more slowly,but I think it is better to have morerudder control rather than a slight in-crease in speed. You have not, of course,got the same margin of safetv with onlvone engine as vou have with the two. Togain that, more powerful outboardswould be needed. The trouble is thatmore powerful engines will add weightaft and they would need to be balancedby moving weight forward. It is aproblem to which a solution is beingsought but to which a satisfactory answerhas not yet been found.

The other point I should like toemphasise is that it is most importantwhen anchoring an Atlantic to lead theanchor cable through the fairlead in thebow. A cable led off over the shoulder ofthe boat can induce a capsize.

These are just a few thoughts, but thecrew members who are coming to Cowesand mv colleagues there know moreabout handling the Atlantic than I dobecause they have spent so much time atsea in them . . .

A disclaimer such as would only beexpected from David Stogdon despitehis unique knowledge of the Atlantic,but let us go on to those to whom he haspassed the baton . . .

Lt-Cdr Michael Woodrofle, staff officeroperations (1): Undoubtedly there aredifferences between! the Atlantic 21rigid inflatable lifeboat and her littlesister the D class inflatable on the onehand and her big sister the conventionallifeboat on the other. Where do youthink the Atlantic wins?

Helmsman Roger Trigg, Southwold:The greatest advantages the Atlantichas over the D class inflatable stemfrom the fact that the Atlantic has twoengines: more reliability, better sea-keeping and of course more power.Then, with navigation lights and search-lights, she has the capability of nightwork and she has a righting capability,too. When it comes to conventionallifeboats, there are things to be said forand against on both sides, but forworking inshore, say up to ten miles off.the Atlantic has the great advantage of

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being a very fast lifeboat; she can get toa casualty and take the people off. orpick them up out of the water, veryquickly.

Helmsman Frank Dunster, Hayling Is-land: I did at least six years, messingaround in inflatable boats—nothing todo with the RNLI—and then I did fiveor six years in Atlantics. Recently Iwent back to a D class inflatable life-boat and it was like the differencebetween driving a Mini and a RollsRoyce. All in all, with her speed andmanoeuvrability and her ability to takemost seas, the Atlantic is definitelysuperior to the D class inflatable.

Helmsman John Hodder, Lyme Regis:After our D class we had a Dell QuayDory with a stand-up steering positionfor the helmsman, but I would say thatvision is still much better in the Atlanticthan in the Dory. Her seakeeping quali-ties are superior, too, and the crew,with a seated position, are more com-fortable. And, of course, in most seasthe Atlantic is a heck of a lot drier thanthe D class.

Michael Butler, Cowes: This question ofvision—all three of the Atlantic crewcan see the state of the sea as thehelmsman is driving into it. They canpick the sea and they can brace them-selves to meet it. That is important.

Michael Brinton, deputy superintendent(Cowes): You know, it is really unfair tocompare the D class inflatable, which isonly 15ft 6in overall, with the Atlantic..It's horses for courses. For instance, atmost stations you need rather morecomplicated launching arrangementsfor an Atlantic 21 than you do for a Dclass boat. Four men can launch aninflatable boat quite easily from thebeach, which is more than you can dowith an Atlantic.

Woodroffe: We have already touchedon the power and speed you have atyour fingertips in an Atlantic, but con-

siderable skill is needed in driving theboat not only fast but safely as well. Doyou agree, Roger?

Trigg: Yes, I agree with that entirely.With the Atlantic 21 a lot of it ispractice; getting the feel of the boat andher engines, the feel of the wheel and ofthe actual seas. It all has to cometogether into one as you are driving. Ofcourse you do not have to drive at 30knots all the time. Unless full speed isnecessary, it is better for the crew ifspeed is reduced a bit: they do not getso bounced about. But it is nice to havethat extra 10 knots up your sleeve sothat when you see a wave coming thatyou know you must avoid, you have thepower to run away from it, or changedirection and steer round it.

Woodroffe: We are all very happy withthe twin engine performance of theAtlantic 21 at 30 knots, but we allrecognise the shortfall on one engine.Mike, you have had a great deal to dowith Atlantics, right from their incep-tion. What are your thoughts?

Brinton: If you are down to one 60 hpengine, I doubt whether you haveenough power to get home across a barin really bad weather. But perhaps thehelmsmen have more experience ofthese conditions than I have.

Hodder: We have no bar in our bay, butI should not like to be in very roughweather with just one engine. It wouldnot be so bad going into the sea, but if itwere a stern quarter sea, it would bereally hairy. I think you have got tolook for something far in excess of 60 hpfor safety with only one engine.

Woodroffe: We are trying a boat withtwin 70 hp outboard engines, to try toimprove single engine performance.

Brinton: I do not think twin engineperformance will be greatly increasedwith 70 hp; we will probably get about33 knots. But what we are hoping is

At/antic 21 rigid inflatable lifeboat B539 is stationed at Brighton. Note that her helmsman issteering with his left hand, keeping his right on the throttles.

that, when down to a single engine, wecan get something like 14 or 15 knots toenable the boat to get back or even,perhaps, complete the service.

While we are talking about drivingwith a single engine, the practice usedto be that if one engine failed, thatengine should be tilted while we came inon the other. But experience has shownthat it is better to leave the damagedengine down, because you gain morefrom the rudder effect of that enginethan you do from the loss of perform-ance due to drag.

Hodder: We have always done this.

Dunster: We had an experience whenone engine was working properly butthe other was running on only onecylinder. We were running before roughfollowing seas and the reduced poweron one engine meant that we were onlydoing about 20 knots or so. When wecaught up the wave in front we wenteven slower, so that we had no power topull clear of the wave behind. The seaswere so close together that with twoengines but one on only one cylinder,we were tending to corkscrew into thewave in front with the wave behindcarrying us forward. I feel sure that, inthat situation, if one engine had failedcompletely and we had raised it, wecould well have broached and possiblyhave capsized.

Woodroffe: The Atlantic 21 has beendeveloped to be stationed all round thecoast and has got to be all things to allpeople. Even in the small section ofcoast you three helmsman represent,from Southwold round to Lyme Regis,local conditions, and so the ways youoperate the boat, vary tremendously.Thought is being given to whether weneed the flat run aft on the bottom ofthe boat, or whether a deep vee sectionthroughout the hull 's length would givea softer ride. The flat is necessary forbeaching but. in fact, the Atlantic is notvery often beached on service. As asecondary function, the flat helps to getthe boat up on the plane earlier than adeep vee hul l . Roger, you have hadexperience of both kinds of boat. Howdo you feel the Atlantic compares witha deep vee rigid inflatable hull?

Trigg: I do not think you can get awaywith abandoning the Atlantic's flat runaft, although you could probably reduceit a little; that would probably give youa softer ride. But, with a deep vee hull Ifound it very difficult to get up on theplane when an extra burst was neededto drive over a sea or away from a sea toget out of trouble. With the Atlantic, assoon as power is put on, it is positive.She's off. The flat brings the whole boatup and she's away. And, because a deepvee hull is slower to get up on the plane,it tends to put the boat at the wrongattitude to the sea; while she is waitingfor the power to lift her up and bringher level, her nose is sticking up. If you

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are going into sea and wind, perhapswith another sea about three feet be-hind the one you are approaching, it isnot a very good attitude in which to be.I would rather put up with a bit ofslamming and have the instant powerwhich makes it possible to get aroundthat sea. or up and over it. And anotherthing: a deep vee rigid inflatable doesnot like to run on a following sea likethe Atlantic does with her flat. For thewaters round Southwold. where we getshort seas and bars, I should like to seethe planing flat retained on the Atlan-tic, even though we never beach ourboat.

Brinton: The flat certainly gives youdirectional stability and is also aidsacceleration. The other important thingis that it will allow the sea to slideunderneath you, or the boat to slidedown a sea, whereas a deep vee boatwould not necessarily do that. I ampersonally a flat man.

Hodder: In our area the seas are long,and, using the throttle, slamming can becontrolled to quite a degree. We do notget the slamming you are talking about.

Woodroffe: Mike, you have taken theAtlantic 21 on the Shingle Bank inrough weather many times. What areyour thoughts on her handling and herseakeeping?

Butler: I find that as long as the enginesare running all right there are noproblems at all with handling the boatas she is at the moment. The more youdrive her, the more you get used to her,and this is very important. The moreactual sea experience crews get on thecoast the better.

Woodroffe: What about anchoring anAtlantic?

Dunster: We never anchor except ondivisional inspector's exercises. Yousee, we find that as the Atlantic has somuch manoeuvrability, you can go intoshallow water, get close to a casualtyand away in seconds. It would be awaste of valuable time to use theanchor: it takes a long time to put it outsatisfactorily.

Woodroffe: You have used the anchorin anger at Lyme. haven't you, John?

Hodder: Yes, on about four occasions. Isuppose, in the eight or nine years wehave had an Atlantic .

Woodroffe: To anchor and veer down?

Hodder: Yes, when we were workingclose in on a very rocky stretch of thecoast. On one occasion we had to put adoctor down to someone at the base ofthe cliffs . We found that dropping theanchor and veering down was fine, butwhen we were t ry ing to come outthrough broken water and recover the

Thev met at Cowes: (I to r) Michael Butler (Cowes base). Helmsman Frank Ditnsler (HavlingIsland). Lt-Cdr Michael Woodroffe, staff officer operations (1), Helmsman John Hodder (LyineRegis), Michael Brinton. depute superintendent of depot (Cowes), Cdr Peter Gladwin.superintendent of depot (Cowes) who was host for the day, and Helmsman Roger Trigg(Southwold).

anchor it was a bit tricky. We did notstow our anchor warp until we got backinto harbour, we just stowed the anchoritself. Whether it is used much or not,however, I am sure it is necessary tocarry an anchor.

Woodroffe: We are trying out a newstowage system at the moment with theanchor stowed vertically on the cornerof the console and its warp on a reel.We have got two station and two reliefboats fitted out this way and reportsback from the coast are encouraging.

Hodder: I should think that would be afar better system.

Trigg: We have never used the anchorin anger in the 11 years we have had anAtlantic. We did once lend the anchorto a ketch blown ashore in a nastybreeze, to prevent her being blownfurther up the shore. So, although wedid not use the anchor ourselves, it washandy to have it. But, as Frank has said,we only use the anchor on divisionalinspector's exercises; it is very goodholding ground off Southwold. so weend up having to get a fishing boat tocom