Sheringham, Norfolk.—At 6.55 on the morning of the 6th of November, 1954, the life-boat motor mechanic reported that a ship had run ashore two hundredyards east of Beeston Regis. At 7.15 the life-boat Forester's Centenary was launched. The sea was calm, a light breeze was blowing and the tide was half ebb. The life-boat found the trawler Swinoujscie Czajk, of Gdynia, with a crew of seventeen, one mile south-east of Sheringham. The second coxswain boarded her, but the trawler declined the help of the life-boat.

The life-boat remained with the trawler and about 9.30 warned her skipper that a bad weather report had been received. The life-boatmen offered to lay out two anchors, but the skipper still declined help. The trawler launched her own boat and took a rope to another Polish trawler which had arrived. At 2.25 an attempt was made to tow the Swinoujscie Czajk clear, but the attempt failed.

Another Polish trawler then reached the position and with the help of the life-boat tried to tow her clear, but this attempt failed as well. At about five o'clock it was seen that the Polish trawler had knocked further ashore, and as she was high and dry and there was no hope of refloating her until the next high tide, the life-boat returned to her station, arriving at 5.35.

The weather worsened during the evening and at 10.26 a tug put out in a rough sea with a strong north-easterly breeze blowing. She reached the trawler at three o'clock on the morning of the 7th. It was decided to try and refloat the Swinoujscie Czajk at high water that afternoon. At 12.5 the life-boat was launched again in heavy seas, with a strong east-north-east wind blowing. She passed a tow rope from the tug to the trawler. The tug pulled for three-quarters of an hour, but the trawler remained fast.

It was decided to try again the next afternoon and the life-boat returned to her station, arriving at 5.15. The weather turned calm during the night, and the tug refloated the trawler at four o'clock on the morning of the 8th.—Both services: Property Salvage Cases..