Stromness, Orkneys; Wick, Caithness-shire.

ON the night of June 13th the Motor | Life-boat at Stromness was called out to the help of a large steamer, the Hastings County, of Bergen, on her way from Hamburg to Montreal with a general cargo, which the Coast Guard had re- ported to have gone ashore at Auskerry.

When the Life-boat was launched at 11.30 there was a thick fog, with a moderate wind from S.E., changing afterwards to N.E., and a moderate sea. The fog cleared later on, but the wind got up and the sea became fairly heavy. The wreck was reached at five in the morning, and the Life-boat took • off 31 of her crew of 40, the Captain, i Second Mate and seven men remaining i on board. They were taken off later by , a tug. The 31 rescued men were taken to Kirkwall, and were landed there at about nine in the morning. The Life- boat also towed two of the ship's boats which had the men's clothing on board.

Two hours later she left Kirkwall again, and reached Stromness at 4.30 in the afternoon. She had been out for seven- teen hours and had travelled about eighty-five miles. This is another to be added to a number of very fine long- distance services which the Stromness Motor Life-boat has carried out.

Wick.

ON the afternoon of 29th August news was received at Wick of a vessel, found later to be the steamer Munin, of Bergen, Norway, which had gone ashore on the east side of North Ronaldshay, the northernmost island of the Orkneys, seventy-one miles away. The Strom- ness Motor Life-boat not being available as she was undergoing her annual survey, the Wick Motor Life-boat was launched at 4.30 P.M. A strong S.S.E.

breeze was blowing, the sea was rough and there was fog. At midnight the Life-boat arrived off Start Point in San- day Island, and, owing to the extreme darkness, the Coxswain decided that he must have someone on board with local knowledge. He, therefore, put back to Stronsay, and there learnt that the vessel had refloated and had reached Kirkwall safely. The Life-boat, after refuelling, returned to Wick, arriving at four in the afternoon of the following day. She had been out for just under twenty-four hours and had covered 113 miles. This almost equals the service of the Stromness Life-boat, which, on 22nd September, 1922, rescued nine men from the trawler The Cornel, of Aberdeen.

On that occasion she was out for four- teen hours and travelled 114 miles. In recognition of the long and arduous nature of the service the Institution gave the Wick Coxswain and Crew addi- tional monetary awards..