On the night of the 27th March the care- taker of the Board of Trade's Rocket Apparatus reported that a vessel in the Gold Top Roads was signalling for assistance. The crew of the Life-boat William Roberts were promptly assembled and the boat was smartly launched.

The vessel, which was the ketch Pioneer, of Milford, was riding heavily at anchor in a very rough sea, and was dragging on to a lee shore. The wind had veered suddenly to the northward and was blowing a strong gale dead on shore, making the position of the two men on board very perilous. They were rescued by the Life-boat, which landed them about midnight. It was then too dark, and the sea was too heavy to attempt to re-house the Life-boat; she was therefore placed at moorings and hauled up next day, when the weather had moderated..