Hartlepool, Co. Durham - At 12.50 a.m. on 8th September, 1966, a small dinghy, with one man aboard, was reported overdue from a fishing trip. At I o'clock the life-boat The Princess Royal (Civil Service No. 7) left her moorings in a light westerly breeze and a calm sea.

It was two hours after high water. The dinghy was found three and a half miles out to sea with engine trouble. The occupant was taken aboard the life-boat and the boat towed to Hartlepool. The life-boat returned to her moorings at 2.40..