THE night of the 27th of September, 1951, was very dark and overcast at St. Helier, in Jersey. A fresh wind was blowing from the south-south- west; there was a swell rising from six to eight feet; and heavy storms of rain made visibility very poor. At ten minutes to nine a light was seen to the eastward of the harbour flashing SOS, and at 9.17 the life-boat Elizabeth Rippon put out. The lightappeared to be among the rocks east- ward of the Demie de Pas beacon, a little over a mile from the harbour, where just two years before Coxswain Thomas King won the Institution's gold medal for outstanding gallantry, and all his crew bronze medals, for rescuing the St. Helier yacht Maurice Georges and the four men on board.

Coxswain Edward Larbalestier first searched to the south-west of the island called La Ronde. He found nothing and realised that the ship in distress must be on the other side of the high ridge of rocks east of Tas de Pois. Meanwhile the harbour-master, Mr. W. G. Furzer, had gone round in his car, and from the shore—threequarters of a mile from where the ship lay—shone his headlights.

The coxswain cast round the rocks in the darkness looking for the ship's lights, and at midnight found the French yacht Santa Maria, of Cartaret, with three men on board. She was in a small sheltered gutter between two high ridges of rock, at anchor and with two ropes round a pinnacle of rock. She was close to where the Maurice Georges had been found two years before.

The Search Described by Radio Some idea of the problems and dan- gers of that search on a dark night, in squalls of rain, with a six-feet swell, and a strong tide running across the swell, is given by the chart of that archipelago of rocks. Some idea of them also is given by the wireless messages passing between the life-boat and the radio station on shore. Here is an hour and three-quarters of the search as the radio telephone recorded it, from 9.20 until 11.6.

21.20. Radio Station to Life-boat.— Point searchlight into air so that we can plot your position.

21.21. Life-boat to Radio Station.— Can you see our searchlight? Answer. No. Alter to vertical position.

21.25. Radio Station to Life-boat.— Yes. See searchlight now.

Judge you are one mile to west of gutter.

21.26. Life-boat to Radio Station.— Coxswain requests light to be shown from Green Island for better bearing.

21.28. Radio Station to Life-boat.— Harbour master at Green Island to give you a bearing light.

21,46. Radio Station to Life-boat.— You appear to be still one mile west of gutter.

21.58. Radio Station to Life-boat.— You are now east of casualty and harbour master at Le Mare Slip using headlights.

22.08.—Radio Station to Life-boat.— Casualty lights north of your position inside Humets.

22.26. Radio Station to Life-boat.— Car switching lights on and off ten second intervals.

22.29. Life-boat to Radio Station.— Can see lights now bearing north-east by north.

22.42. Life-boat to Radio Station.— Are we nearing the light? 22.42. Radio Station to Life-boat.— You appear to be getting much nearer.

22.48. Radio Station to Life-boat.— You are approaching casualty.

22.48. Life-boat to Radio Station.— Can see casualty, but other side of rocks. Will try to get through.

23.00. Life-boat to Radio Station.— We are now fifty yards off casualty. Closing in.

23.06. Life-boat to Radio Station.— Going alongside. Appears three men on deck.

The dangers, however, are most clearly described by the district inspec- tor who was taken at low water on a fine day, to the place where the yacht was found: "There was first the great rise and fall of the swell. There were rocks fifteen feet high, reefs of rocks awash, pinnacles sticking out of the water, and submerged rocks everywhere. While making every allowance for the local knowledge of the coxswain, and all his crew, who, as he searched, warned him of the breaking water which showed the rocks, I do not know how he dared to take the life-boat where he did on such a night and in such weather, with that swell, and the lateral tide. It required great resolu- tion to go into that narrow gutter where the yacht lay between the two high ridges of rock." The Life-boat Strikes a Rock As it was, at one place, the life-boat came down in the trough of the swell right on a rock, striking it hard with her keel, but fortunately without damage. It was low water when the coxswain found the yacht, and he decided to wait an hour for the water to flow before he went into the gutter.

There he took the yacht in tow. Had the life-boat not come, or had she come later when the tide had risen, there is no doubt that the yacht would have been destroyed. As the tide rose she would have lost the shelter of the rocks and been broken on them.

With the yacht in tow the life-boat moved out of the other end of the gutter, and at once she had again to contend with the full force of the wind and the heavy swell. Again the coxswain felt his perilous way in the darkness among the rocks, and brought the yacht into St. Helier Harbour at ten minutes to two in the morning.

The life-boat had then been out for four and a half hours.

The rescue was carried out with great skill, determination and courage, and the Institution made the following awards: To COXSWAIN EDWAED C. LARBAL- ESTIER, the silver medal for gallantry, with a copy of the vote on vellum; To each of the eight members of the crew, the thanks of the Institution on vellum; To the coxswain and each member of the crew a special reward of £4 in addition to the reward on the ordinary scale of 27«. Ordinary rewards to the crew and shore attendant, £11 5s. Qd.; additional rewards, £36; total rewards, £47 5s. Qd..