LAST February was one of the stormiest Februaries on record. During the month there were over fifty launches on service, and nearly forty lives were saved. The two services, however, which most deserve to be recorded are two, both by Motor Life-boats, which did not result in any rescues. Both showed the splendid courage and endurance of the Life-boatmen, and one drew a notable tribute from the Captain of a German vessel.

Just after 5 o'clock on the evening of 9th February, the Lizard Motor Life-boat was called out by rocket from Lloyd's Signal Station to the help of the German five-masted sailing ship Adolf Vinnen, which had run ashore under the Signal Station. A whole gale from the south was blowing at the time with heavy rain and a very heavy sea. From Stag Rocks to Lizard Head the waves were breaking in one continuous, line half a mile from the shore. It took the Life-boat half an hour to reach the wreck, which was enveloped in breaking seas. She anchored, veered down, and got a grapnel on board, but her own position was very perilous with the strong tide which was running, and twice she was nearly flung on to the deck of the vessel. In spite of this the Life-boat persevered for more than an hour, and then, as the Life-Saving Apparatus had been got to work from the shore, the German Captain called to the Life-boat to give up her attempt. She then made for Falmouth, which she reached just before midnight, after what the Coxswain reported to be the worst experience he had ever been through. Twice in the pitch darkness the Boat was filled with heavy seas, and the roll of the men was called. Next morning the Boat was again called out as there were still men in the rigging of the Adolf Vinnen, but before the Life-boat reached her, these men also were taken off by the Rocket Apparatus, the whole crew of twenty-four being rescued in this way.

When he came ashore the German Captain paid a warm tribute to the skill and gallantry of the crew of the Life-boat. " Your Life-boat," he said, " was handled in a masterly manner, and I was afraid she would be dropped on our deck or smashed against our side, so I ordered her off. I did not wish the brave fellows to further imperil their lives." In recognition of the courage shown by the Coxswain and Crew in repeatedly placing themselves in a perilous position, and of their long exposure, the Committee of Management granted them extra monetary rewards.

The Adolf Vinnen, a vessel of 1,525 tons, later on broke in two. She was launched at Kiel on 15th November, and was on her maiden voyage from Kiel to Barry. A former vessel of the same name, a steel four-masted bark of 3,410 tons, built on the Clyde in 1892, was interned by America during the war, and has since been placed under the American flag. It is not a name which has brought good fortune to German vessels.

On 10th February, at 2.45 in the afternoon, when a whole gale from the S.E. was blowing with a heavy sea, it was reported at Stromness that the s.s.

Cormorant, of Kirkwall, was in distress in Eynhallow Sound. The Motor Life-boat was launched, and reached the Sound, which is approximately twenty miles from Stromness, at seven in the evening. Nothing was seen of the vessel, which had, in fact, been able to continue her voyage undamaged, and the Coxswain signalled that he was returning ashore. These signals were received, and the Boat was expected back at Stromness about midnight she did not arrive, and at four the following morning the Honorary Secretary arranged for a drifter to go in search of her, he himself, with a party of signalmen, searching the coast by motor car. At daybreak the Life-boat was seen from Marwick Head, and at nine in the morning the drifter picked her up and towed her back to Stromness, which was reached at 11.30 in the morning, 20 1/2 hours after the Life-boat had left the station.

The Life-boat had rounded the Brough of Birsay, some six miles on the way home, and as no lights or land were then visible, and as the gale was so strong and the sea so heavy, as to make progress very difficult, the Coxswain decided to stand on and off until daylight. At four in the morning the petrol tanks ran dry, and the boat then proceeded under sail alone. The District Assistant Surveyor of Machinery was sent to enquire into the failure of the petrol supply, and it was found that, while the amount which the Boat can carry is sufficient to last for 16 1/2 hours, with the engine running at full speed, the petrol was, in fact, exhausted in thirteen hours.

The reason for this was that on the way to Eynhallow Sound the Boat was under sail and motor-power before a south-east gale of exceptional severity, and as the sails relieved the pressure the engine was running a third as fast as its normal speed. These facts are of considerable importance, since it was widely and incorrectly announced in the press that there had been a " failure of the engine." It should also be noted that some time ago, in view of the long distances which the Stromness Boat often has to travel, the Committee of Management decided to build for this Station one of the new 60-foot Twin-Screw Barnett Motor Life-boats. This Boat will have two 90-h.p. engines and a radius of action of 100 to 150 miles. In the opinion of the Honorary Secretary, the night was one of the worst ever experienced by the Crew, and they suffered severely from the strain and exposure. In these circumstances the Committee of Management granted extra monetary rewards to Coxswain and Crew, and Letters of Thanks were sent to the Honorary Secretary, to Captain Swanson of the Mail Steamer St. Ola, who acted as Pilot to the drifter, to several Postal Officials, and to others who gave valuable help..