Fourteen Launches in One Day.

Two Services by the Ramsey, Isle of Man, Life-boat.

ON January 26fch last there were severe gales all round the coast, and fourteen Life-boat launches took place at Montrose, Gourdon and Aibroath on the east coast of Scotland, at Newbiggin, Bridlington and Scarborough on the north-east coast of England, at Ramsey, Peel and Port Erin on the Isle of Man, at Angle in the south-west of Wales, at Portrush in the north of Ireland, and at Wexford and Helvick Head in the south.

The service of the Newbiggin Lifeboat to the local fishing fleet has already been described. Of the other thirteen launches that day, two were by the Ramsey Life-boat.

The weather was fine with a light southerly breeze when the Life-boat was launched shortly before five in the morning in answer to flares which had been seen about three miles to the E.N.E. of Ramsey Harbour. No vessel could be found. While the Life-boat was at sea a south-easterly gale sprang up, with rain and sleet, and when, nearly six hours after being launched, the Life-boat returned to harbour, just on low water, a tremendous sea was running at the harbour mouth. She was caught by two heavy seas in succession, failed to answer her helm, and was dashed against the North Pier.

Her stem and starboard bow were damaged, but she made the harbour safely, and the damaged part ,was roughly repaired by being covered with a sheet of lead.

Five hours later a message was received that a large sailing vessel had been driven ashore on the beach near Rue Point on the north-west coast of the Island, ten miles from Ramsey. After a hurried survey of the Life-boat the Crew decided that she was seaworthy and put out. A whole gale from the S.S.W. was blowing with a very heavy sea.

Meanwhile the Life-saving Apparatus had been called out, and had gone by road to Rue Point, where it had found the barquentine Austrums, of Riga, stranded close inshore, and had rescued the nine men on board. As soon as this was known, the Life-boat was recalled, but it was not until nine in the evening that she reached harbour.

In the course of these two services her Crew had been out for over 12 hours, during the greater part of that time in very heavy weather, and for more than half of it in a Life-boat which they knew had been badly damaged.

The Life-boat was examined by one of the Institution surveyors and it was decided that the cost of repairing her thoroughly would be too great to be justified and that she should be withdrawn.

A sister Life-boat from the Institution's Reserve Fleet at Poplar, London, was sent overland to Fleetwood, where the Ramsey Crew took her over.

The old Ramsey Life-boat, Anna Maria Lee, was built in 1897, so that she had done thirty years of service. She was a Pulling and Sailing Life-boat of the self-righting type, was stationed first at Fraserburgh, where she remained until 1915, and then was sent to Ramsey. She was out on service 41 times and rescued 49 lives..