The First Service of the Lerwick Life-boat.

LAST year the Institution established a Life-boat Station at Lerwick in the Shetlands. This is the first Life-boat Station to be established on those islands, and was made possible by the system of coast communication which had recently been organised in the Shetlands by the Board of Trade. Only a boat of the most powerful type would be suitable to safeguard an area covering a widely-scattered group of many islands, and the Life-boat sent to Lerwick was of the Barnett (Stromness) type, 51 feet by 13 feet 6 inches, with twin screws, two 60 h.p. engines, a speed of over 8f knots, able to travel 120 miles at full speed, without refuelling, and able to take 100 people on board. She reached her station in July, 1930, and her first service was carried out seven months later.

This service is very interesting, not only because it is the first by a new station, but because it shows very graphically the peculiar problems of Life-boat work in the very dangerous waters round the Shetlands, and the organization needed to deal with them.

On the morning of Friday, 20th February last, the Life-boat Station was informed by the Coastguard that a wireless message had been received reporting that the Latvian steamer Everline, of Riga, was drifting about 100 miles west of the Shetlands, having lost her propeller. She was a steamer of over 3,000 tons, and was on a voyage from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Hull, in ballast, with one woman and twentyfive men on board.

She was in no immediate danger, but there was a probability that she would drift on to the west coast of the Shetlands.

The Life-boat Coxswain was ordered to stand by, and an additional 50 gallons of petrol was put ready on the quay. At the same time, two trawlers left Lerwick to go to the Everline's help, and two other trawlers, which were at sea, 90 miles W.S.W. of the steamer, also went to her help.

Conflicting reports about the Everline's position came through both on the Friday and the Saturday, but it appeared that she was nearing land in tow.

Then, on the Saturday afternoon, the Coastguard received news from Bressay Island, on the east of the Shetlands, that a ketch under close reefed canvas was standing in towards a part thick with reefs, between Bressay and Whalsey.

The Life-boat Station was informed and the Life-boat at once called out. A south-westerly gale was blowing with gusts of hurricane force and blinding snow-showers. The Life-boat found the vessel four miles north-east by north of Score Point, Bressay. She was the ketch Nolsoy, of Thorshavn, in the Faroe Islands, with a crew of six, boundfrom Lysekil, in Sweden, with a cargo of bricks. She was standing in towards the reefs, and it was found later that her compass was defective, that she had no chart of the Shetlands and that her skipper was unaware of his position.

Under the direction of the Life-boat Coxswain, he put her about and reached down the east side of Bressay Island, with the Life-boat in attendance.

When the Nolsoy was off the Noup of Noss, the Life-boat took her in tow and brought her safely into Lerwick, just after six in the evening.

While the Life-boat was out on this service news reached Lerwick that the Everline had broken her tow-rope, twelve miles west of Eshaness on the west coast of the Mainland and was drifting shoreward in a westerly gale. The Fishery Cruiser Vaila at once put out to send the Life-boat back to Lerwick and to look after the Nolsoy. She found the Life-boat at the entrance to Bressay Sound, but as the Life-boat was making full speed in spite of the tow, she continued to tow the Nolsoy into harbour.

A Night Journey in a Snow Storm.

The Life-boat then refuelled at once.

Besides filling her tanks she took on board an additional 114 gallons of petrol in tins. As her next service was likely to be long, she also took on board provisions for the Crew. At 7.15, just an hour after she had returned, she set out again. The reports as to the position of the Everline were conflicting, and the Life-boat was instructed to call at North Eoe for orders.

The weather was Arctic in its severity— a pitch-dark night with blinding snow, and a wind of almost hurricane force from the south-west.

The Life-boat went through the north entrance of Bressay Sound, and then through the worst reef-infested waters in the Shetlands. There was a slight lull in the gale once, when the loom of the land was seen. Except for that the visibility was only a few feet, and nothing more was seen until Symbister Light, on Whalsey, appeared close at hand. With the weather what it was, and the fact that the Life-boat would have a six-knot tide against her in Yell Sound, the Coxswain felt that it would be folly to attempt to go further that night.

He therefore put into Symbister, seeing nothing until he actually touched the pier.

The Honorary Secretary of Lerwick was informed by telephone, and the Crew stood by all night fending the Life-boat off the pier.

In the early morning of the following day, Sunday, 22nd February, the weather began to improve and the wind to veer. Just before six o'clock the Life-boat set out again on her journey northward. Shortly before she left, the Honorary Secretary at Lerwick received the correct position of the Everline.

The land lines had been broken by the storm and he could get into communication neither with Symbister, where the Life-boat was, nor with North Roe, where she had instructions to call, but with great difficulty he got the message through to Ulsta and asked the signalman to signal the Life-boat as she passed to close for instructions.

She passed Ulsta about eight o'clock on the Sunday morning, saw the signal, closed and received the Honorary Secretary's instructions to proceed to leeward of a position three miles to the north of the Ramna Stacks. With these instructions she continued up Yell Sound. The weather was rapidly moderating, and the wind had fallen to a strong breeze.

The "Everline" Sighted.

At 9.30 the Life-boat sighted the Everline. She was just about the position where the Honorary Secretary had estimated she would be when he sent the message to Ulsta for the Lifeboat, two miles west of the cliffs of Gloup Holm. She was riding to one anchor, and it was dragging, but the weather was now fairly good, except for a heavy westerly swell. The Master of the Everline was expecting a tug, and he asked the Life-boat to stand by, which she did. At 12-30 P.M. a very heavy snow squall struck the steamer ; the wind increased to gale force; a rough sea got up on the already heavy swell, and the Master, fearing that he would drift on to the high cliffs, which were by now little morethan a mile astern, signalled to the Life-boat that he wished to abandon ship. The Everline was lying to her anchor, head on to the heavy sea. She was sheering at times, and, being in ballast, was rolling heavily. This made the Life-boat's work of taking off the Everline's crew very difficult. At times she was higher than the steamer's gunwale, and at times far below her. She succeeded, however, in getting alongside, and the crew jumped singly or in pairs off a rope ladder into the Life-boat.

It took an hour for the whole crew of twenty-six to get into the Life-boat.

She then made for Lerwick. She had a fine weather passage home and arrived at 5.15 P.M. the same evening. She had travelled about 80 miles and had been out on service twenty-two hours.

Shortly after the crew had been rescued the weather improved, and the Everline was salvaged and brought into the Tyne by the trawler Monimia, which put a crew on board, and the tug Seaman.

Great credit is due to the Coxswain for his sound judgment in both these services, and in particular for the very great skill which he showed in navigating the Life-boat, to Symbister. Besides the usual monetary awards, a Letter of Appreciation was sent to the Coxswain and Crew.

Scarcely less credit is due to Mr.

G. T. Kay, the Honorary Secretary, for the way in which he organized the service, keeping in touch with the Life-boat in spite of very great difficulties, and finally directing it to the position where the Everline was ultimately found. He remained at the telephone for 27 hours. A Letter of Appreciation was sent to him.

Mr. Kay was greatly helped by Mr.

John Masterson, the District Officer of H.M. Coastguard, and his staff; Mr.

John Williamson, of Ulsta, Yell, who signalled the Life-boat, and gave her the final message about the position of the Everline; and Mr. Alexander R.

Mann, the Postmaster at Lerwick, and his staff, who gave Mr. Kay every help in receiving and sending messages, and kept open whatever Post Office was required. Altogether eight Post Offices were kept open at Mr. Kay's request during the night of the Saturday and until the Sunday afternoon. The rescue of the Everline's crew was only made possible by the way in which Mr. Kay, the Coastguard and the Post Office worked in close co-operation during 27 hours, and Letters of Appreciation were sent to Mr. Masterson, Mr.

Williamson and Mr. Mann.

It is a curious and happy coincidence that the very first service of the Lerwick Station should have been to a Danish vessel from the Faroe Islands. By rescuing six lives from the Nolsoy, the Life-boatmen of Lerwick, most of whom must be of Norse descent, found themselves rescuing men not only of the same stock, but belonging to the ancient kingdom of which Shetland and Orkney formed part till 1468..