THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 153 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to March 31st, 1951 - 77,296 Two Irish Rescues by Night Wicklow and Dunmore East AT half-past ten on the 10th of Septem- ber, 1950—this being a Sunday—the news reached the Wicklow life-boat station that a ship was aground on Arklow Sandbank. This was about fourteen miles from Wicklow. A quar- ter of an hour later the Wicklow life- boat, Lady Kylsant, launched. It was a fine day, the sea was calm, and a light breeze was blowing from the south.

The life-boat reached the grounded ship by 12.30. She was the Cameo, a motor vessel of Glasgow, bound for Dublin laden with coal, with a crew of eleven on board. When the life-boat found her she was seven miles north of the South Arklow Lightvessel. Her master refused help from the life-boat.

It was fine weather (he said) and he expected to refloat his ship on the next high tide. So-the life-boat put back to Wicklow, reaching her station at ten minutes past three that afternoon.

Attempts to Refloat Next morning, however (the llth of September), the situation had changed.

The breeze of the day before had devel- oped into a southerly gale, causing heavy broken water on the bank. It was also raining. About eight o'clock, the Dublin Port and Docks Board asked the Wicklow life-boat to go out and stand by the Cameo, while salvage operations by a tug were in progress.

At 8.10, therefore, the Lady Kylsant launched once more. About a mile from the Cameo, she found a tug anchored. With great difficulty in the heavy seas and rain she passed tow lines between the two ships, in an effort to help the tug pull the Cameo clear of the sandbank. But the ropes parted; and the attempt failed. The master of the Cameo would still not abandon ship, so there was nothing for the life-boat to do but return to Wicklow to await any further call. She got back at 7.20 that evening.

Next evening, the 12th, at 8.57, the Cameo sent a message through the Seaforth Radio, asking at last for the life-boat. She launched for the third time at 9.17. The honorary secretary of the station, Mr. Joseph T. O'Byrne, was aboard. The night was very dark, and the tide was half flood; a strong south-west wind was whipping up a rough sea.

The Rescue in a Gale By the time the life-boat-got to the Cameo, the wind had increased to a gale. The motor vessel was lyingwith her head to the north-east in heavy broken water, with the tide setting on to the bank. The coxswain anchored to windward, and veering down on his cable until he was abreast the Cameo's port side, threw lines aboard and hauled the life-boat along- side her. This was just after midnight.

For sixteen minutes he held her there, rising and falling heavily, while the whole crew of eleven jumped singly on to her deck. Then at last he cast off, and brought her, undamaged, back to land by four o'clock next morning.

The Institution made the following awards: To COXSWAIN EDWARD KAVAXAGII, for his splendid judgment and seaman- ship, the bronze medal for gallantry, with a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To the motor-mechanic, J. BONUS, who handled his engines with great skill and promptness, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum; To MR. J. T. O'BYRNE, B.E., M.I.C.E.I., the honorary secretary, a letter of appreciation; To the coxswain, and each member of the crew, £5 175. Qd. for the three services. Total rewards, £50 7s.

DUNMORE EAST On the night of the 14th of December, 1950, fishermen returning to Dunmore East, on the coast of County Water- ford, reported that they had seen flares about two miles away; and one of the local fishing boats, the St. Declan, with five men on board, had not returned.

The news reached the life-boat station just before eight o'clock and at 8.20 the life-boat Annie Blanche Smith slipped her moorings. Since noon the barometer had been falling rapidly.

The wind had steadily increased. It was now blowing a gale from the south- east, with squalls of snow. The tide was flowing against the wind, and the sea was rough.

Searchings Along the Shore The life-boat went to the position given, nearly a mile and a half from the shore, but she saw no lights. The gale was blowing dead on shore, so the cox- swain turned again towards the shore, reaching it just west of Red Head. He put the second-coxswain at the wheel and himself went forward on the look- out, searching the shore with his search- light. He searched for nearly a mile, until he recognised Portally Head, Then he ceased to follow the shore and made towards the dreaded Falskirt Rocks off Swines Head. There he found the St. Dedan. She was not more than two cables from the rocks.

The second coxswain brought the life- boat close alongside, and the coxswain then saw that the fishing boat had thrown out her fishing nets to act as an anchor, but that she was still drifting rapidly stern first towards the rocks.

She would strike them in two or three minutes; the nets would close round her; a rescue would be impossible.

A Dangerous Manoeuvre As the life-boat lay, the tide was carrying the fishing boat and the nets towards her. The coxswain told the second-coxswain to go round the fishing boat—so that the life-boat would have the tide behind her—and to bring her bow-on to the fishing boat amid- ships. He himself stood ready in the bows with a line. He knew that were there any delay in throwing the line on board, or were the tow-rope to part, it would mean the certain loss of the fishing boat and her five men.

To get the life-boat near enough for the line to be thrown was a difficult and dangerous manoeuvre. It had to be done in the teeth of the gale, in extreme darkness, in heavy seas which were surging and boiling round the rocks. The second-coxswain brought the life-boat's bow close to the fishing boat; the coxswain threw the line; the line was seized; the life-boat went slowly astern. To the heaving line the cox- swain bent a rope, to the rope the anchor chain, to the chain the cable.

The fishermen made the chain fast to their stern and cut away the nets; the coxswain veered out nearly eighty fathoms of cable; and the life-boat drew the fishing boat clear of the rocks. In this way, stern-first, life-boat and fishing boat moved slowly out to sea for nearly a mile. Then the tow was changed to the life-boat's stern and the fishing boat's bow, and they madefor Dunmore East, where they arrived at midnight.

The Institution has made the fol- lowing awards: To COXSWAIN PATRICK POWER, for the perfect judgment with which he conducted the search and directed the rescue, knowing that he had not a moment to spare, a bar to the bronze medal which he won in 1941, with a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To SECOXD COXSWAIN RICHARD POWER, for the superb seamanship with which he handled the life-boat, the bronze medal for gallantry, with a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To the coxswain, second-coxswain and each of the four members of the crew, a reward of £2 in addition to the reward on the ordinary scale of £l 10*. Scale rewards, £7 105.; additional rewards, £12; total rewards, £19 10s..