ON the 17th September, 1962, a service of a unique kind was carried out when for the first time a rescue was effected by life-boat from a hovercraft. The hovercraft was the first to be used on public service in this country and operated between Rhyl and Hoylake during the summer of 1962. Having completed her programme in the middle of September, she was put to moorings at Rhyl to await a tug which would tow her to Liverpool.

Seas Break into Boathouse At 1.4 in the early hours of the morning of the 17th September the honorary secretary of the Rhyl life- boat station, Mr. J. M. Owen, learned from the coastguard that the hovercraft VA3-001 had broken adrift. Her crew were trying to take her out to sea on her engines. Mr. Owen alerted the boat's officers of the life-boat, who assembled in the boathouse. At 1.14 the coast- guard asked for the life-boat's help and the maroons were fired.

A west-north-westerly gale was blow- ing. Rough seas were breaking heavily in the shallow water and rolling over the promenade into the boathouse.

The night was dark, and visibility was further reduced by heavy spray. It was half an hour before high water on a spring tide.

Coxswain Harold Campini, having confirmed that there definitely were three men on board the hovercraft, agreed to launch, although he fully recognised the dangers in the prevailing conditions. The life-boat carriage was worked down the narrow slip by the tractor, and Coxswain Campini waited for his opportunity and then gave the order to launch into seas which were breaking over tractor, life-boat and carriage.

Launch in Three Minutes In fact the Rhyl life-boat, Anthony Robert Marshall, which is one of the 35-foot 6-inch Liverpool type, was launched only three minutes after the maroons had been fired. As she came clear of the carriage she rose almost vertically and then dropped sideways into a trough. Fortunately the cox- swain had enough way on to bring her round and make for the hovercraft.

Meanwhile Mr. Owen had ordered the shore helpers to disperse round the launching position in order to help in case there was an accident.

Coxswain Campini headed for the hovercraft, which was drifting rapidly towards the promenade. There were three men aboard, who already knew that the hovercraft would almost certainly break up, and they had re- luctantly decided to abandon her.

They inflated their life-jackets and opened the starboard door, but they found it extremely difficult to push the door open against the wind, and it could not be held open by the strut normally used for that purpose. One of the hovercraft's crew tried to talk to the life-boat coxswain by loud- hailer, but the noise of the engines, combined with the noise of the sea and wind, made this almost impossible. As the life-boat approached, the hover- craft's crew decided to cut out the engines and shout instructions for coming alongside.

Drifting Fast to Leeward Finding that there was nothing on the hovercraft to which he could make a line fast, the coxswain circled her and passed his own instructions to the hovercraft's crew by loud-hailer. So fast was the hovercraft drifting to lee- ward that it was unsafe to approach her on the lee side, and the coxswain therefore took the life-boat along her weather side, in the words of the chief test pilot aboard the hovercraft, " dis- playing superb seamanship".

The three men succeeded in jump- ing aboard. Seven minutes later the hovercraft hit the promenade. The coxswain hove to for an hour until a lull allowed him to enter the harbour and land the survivors.

When the hovercraft crashed into the promenade she had 250 gallons of kerosene on board, and it was thought that there might be a danger of fire or even an explosion. For this reason, at Mr. Owen's request, the fire brigade was standing by.

Although they were aware of the danger, the head launcher, Mr. Dennis Jones, accompanied by the tractor driver, Mr. James Hughes and the assistant tractor driver, Mr. Thomas Bowman, jumped aboard the hover- craft and made a thorough search for any survivors who might be left aboard.

Once they had confirmed that everyone had been rescued, Mr. Owen and Mr.

Jones tried to secure the hovercraft.

A number of other volunteers jumped into the water and at some danger to themselves managed to secure lines around the fins. They tried to make these lines fast to the promenade guard rails, but in the words of Mr.

Owen's report, the lines "snapped like carrots". Finally the hovercraft ground- ed on some steps leading down to the beach where she was secured.

For this service the silver medal for gallantry has been awarded to Cox- swain Harold Campini. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum have been accorded to head launcher Dennis Jones and to the six other members of the crew: I. Armstrong, B. Herbert, W. Hunt, G. Povah, D. C. A. Williams, and I. Thomas. Framed letters of appreciation have been issued to the shore helpers and volunteers : tractor driver James Hughes, assistant tractor driver Thomas Bowman, G. Hughes, W. Roberts, B. Price, D. Hughes, Trevor Bowman, Joseph Hughes, and D. Mottram, together with a collective thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum. A special letter of appreciation was sent to the honorary secretary, Mr. J. M. Owen, and additional monetary rewards were made to the coxswain, the crew, and the shore helpers..