Eastbourne, Sussex. At ten o'clock on the morning of the 23rd September, 1961, the coastguard informed the honorary secretary that the tanker British Aviator and the motor vesselCrystalJewel, both of London, had been in collision eight miles south-east of the Royal Sovereign lightvessel in dense fog, and that the Crystal Jewel needed tugs and medical help. The tug Meeching put out from Newhaven with a doctor, and the life-boat Beryl Tollemache put out at 10.15 also with a doctor on board.

There was a light north-north-easterly breeze with a slight sea, and it was two hours before high water. A helicopter took off but had to return before long because of bad visibility. The life-boat had considerable difficulty in finding the Crystal Jewel, and the tanker Pass of Kildrummy, which was equipped with radar, was of considerable assistance to the coxswain in locating the British Aviator. The tug Meeching reached the casualty first and took the CrystalJewel, which was badly damaged and sinking, in tow. Thirty of her crew and her in- jured master had been taken on board the British Aviator, and they were later transferred to the life-boat. The surviv- ors were landed at Eastbourne, and the injured master, whose daughter had been killed in the collision, was taken to hospital. The dense fog had persisted throughout the day, and to guide the life-boat ashore maroons were fired at five-minute intervals. The life-boat reached her station at 7.20. The owners of the Crystal Jewel made a donation to the funds of the Institution..