RESCUES FROM THREE YACHTS IN TURN Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and Margate, Kent. At 1.5 on the afternoon of the 26th August, 1962, the coastguard ininformed the honorary secretary at Southend-on-Sea that a small sailing dinghy had capsized near the West Middle buoy and that her crew of two were clinging to the dinghy. The lifeboat Greater London II (Civil Service No. 30) was launched at 1.38 in a southwesterly gale and a very rough sea. The tide was half ebb. The coastguard also reported that a helicopter was in the area. Information was then received that the dinghy was near the Redsands forts, and the life-boat made for this position.

A yacht was sighted one mile west of the forts, and her crew told the coxswain that the capsized boat was to the east of them and that her crew could be seen sitting in the waterlogged boat. The coxswain was asked to tow the'yacht to sheltered waters as the gale had increased to force 9, but thought the dinghy probably needed help more urgently, and he told the yacht's crew that he would come back for them. As the life-boat came up on the lee side of the dinghy, one of the men grabbed hold of the lifeboat, once again capsizing the dinghy and throwing the second man into the sea. He was quickly recovered by the life-boat's crew, and with the first man safely on board too the coxswain made for the yacht, which was then a quarter of a mile to the west. Her crew of three, two men and a woman, were by then ready to leave their yacht, and the lifeboat took them on board.

A message was then received by radio telephone that some small boats were in difficulties off Warden point and that the Southend pilot boat Thames Server had offered to help the life-boat. On her way the life-boat met a fishing boat from Whitstable, whose crew told the coxswain that four men had been rescued from two of the small boats. The next message to be received by the life-boat was that another yacht was in difficulties at the West Barrow buoy. The five rescued people on board the life-boat were having a very uncomfortable time because of the heavy seas and were all exhausted, and the coxswain decided that as the services of the life-boat might be needed for some hours he would transfer them to the pilot boat. The lifeboat therefore made for the lee of a large tanker, where with difficulty the five people were transferred to the pilot boat.

The life-boat then made for the West Barrow buoy and found a yacht with her sails blown away and her engine broken down. The yacht was rolling and pitching very badly, and the coxswain took the life-boat in on the yacht's port side and rescued the crew of four. In the meantime the Customs vessel Venturer had arrived, and the four men were transferred to her. The life-boat continued searching until a message was received that no one else was in difficulties, and she returned to her station, arriving at 11.59. The Margate life-boat North Foreland (Civil Service No. 11) was also asked to help in the search, and she launched at 4.5 and finally reached her station at 10.25. The father of a member of the crew of one of the yachts made a contribution to the Institution's funds..