HELICOPTER HELPED At 8.30 a.m. on 3151 August, 1964, the coastguard told the honorary secretary that two men in a rowing boat about three miles offshore from his look-out were waving frantically to attract attention.

There was a fresh to strong northeasterly breeze with a moderate sea and the tide had been ebbing for three hours.

The life-boat Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No. 32} was launched at 8.40. As she approached the two men a R.A.F. helicopter winched up one of them, and he reported another three men from the sunken converted trawler Alessie adrift in a rubber dinghy on the Goodwin sands.

One hour after a distress call had been sent to all shipping the tanker British Queen found it three miles south of the North Goodwin lightvessel, but the water there was too shallow for her to approach.

The helicopter picked up the three men while the life-boat picked up the dinghy. She then returned to her station at 12.35 p.m. with one survivor of the trawler Alessie aboard and the dinghy and rowing boat hi tow..