Saturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14, 1975: 47 launches on service FOUR AWARDS FOR GALLANTRYTWO SILVER MEDALS, a bronze medal, a vellum, 47 launches on service, 34 lives rescued, nine vessels saved, 172 hours at sea. Not a record by RNLI standards, but nevertheless quite a weekend. Many of the services ended in no positive achievement; lifeboat or ILB had stood by sometimes for as long as ten hours in gale force winds, willing to provide at least background confidence to crews working out their own problems, ready to move in when needed. 'Gave help' appears 10 times in the table of launches opposite. A total of ten hours was spent at sea by three lifeboats looking for the originators of flares and distress signals which could not be identified.

Several boats launched more[than once during the weekend. Bembridge, Torbay and Clacton-on-Sea offshore lifeboats and Largs, Southend-on-Sea, Westonsuper- Mare, Minehead and Hayling Islands ILBs each went out twice; Eastney ILB three times.

The award-winning services roughly followed the pattern of the weather system as it moved from west to east: Weston-super-Mare and Minehead late Saturday evening; Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, very early Sunday morning; Walton and Frinton Sunday afternoon.

The reports of the services by Westonsuper- Mare, for which Helmsman Julian Morris was awarded the bronze medal, and by Yarmouth, for which Coxswain/ Mechanic David Kennett was awarded the silver medal, appeared in the last issue of THE LIFEBOAT. The report of the service by Minehead for which Helmsman Christopher Rundle was accorded the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum appears on page 151 in this issue, and the report of the service by the Walton and Frinton lifeboat for which Coxswain Frank Bloom was awarded the silver medal appears on page 149.

Once again we are indebted to the Meteorological Office for allowing us to publish the weather charts below, and to Jack Armstrong of the Southampton Weather Centre for the following assessment of the weekend's weather: The weather situation on September 13 and 14, 1975, can be described as 'typical' for the mid-September period, though it does sometimes seem rather remarkable how often the peak activity of a depression such as this occurs at a weekend.

The low pressure area came across the Atlantic very quickly as a fairlyweak feature but it reached the Southwest Approaches around mid-day on Saturday, found conditions which suited it and began to deepen rapidly pushing winds up to gale force in all quadrants.

As it deepened it slowed down but finally cleared the southern North Sea on Sunday afternoon leaving a gale force northerly behind it.

It was in fact this northerly gale which caused most of the incidents, spreading as it did from the West Country on Saturday evening to the Thames Estuary by Sunday mid-day.

Frequent gusts of gale force 8 were recorded at land stations and severe gale force 9 was measured at Brighton and at Portland; one can deduce that force 9 was frequently experienced in open waters.

The great danger of these storms must lie in the brief but violent nature of their lives. Mid-day Saturday, quiet and peaceful, Sunday night clearing skies and a fresh clear wind, but between the two an 18-hour period of rain and gales and perhaps even tragedy.Date and time of launch STATION CASUALTY hours at Sea lives rescued persons landed vessels saved vessels helped Services Rendered Offshore Lifeboats 13.9.75 0549 1246 1425 1718 1920 1925 2200 2235 2345 14.9.75 0001 0035 0122 0140 0222 0608 0850 0909 0958 1017 1315 1453 1642 1650 1957 Bembridge St Helier Baltimore Torbay Fishguard Clovelly Workington Dun Laoghaire Eastbourne Fleetwood New Quay (Dyfed) Yarmouth Isle of Wight Torbay Clacton-on-Sea Calshot Selsey Harwich Barry Dock Bembridge Humber Newhaven Walton and Frinton Clacton-on-Sea Lowestoft FV Jumbo of Portsmouth Yacht Bannatyne MFV Joslyne Dinghies Dinghy Yacht Arundel Baron Dinghy Yacht Unidentified distress signal Flares Yacht Yacht Chayka of Ardgour Yacht Amorel Flares Yachts 1) Yachts Valkyrie and Bonaventure 2) Motor yacht Honfleur of Gosport Yacht Tiamo Yacht Amanda K Yacht Tessa Yacht Lady Nancy of Grimsby Motor cruiser Beryl in tow of motor cruiser Carisbrooke Yacht Tsunami Yacht Cyma of Deben in tow of cabin cruiser Tug Robin IV of America 3 2 4 1 2 9 5 3 2 4 4 6 4 4 3 i l 3 I 4 10 12 4 1 14 5 4 123 3 5 7 5 20 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 4 2 1 1 2 2 13 None Gave help Saved boat & rescued 3 None Saved boat None None None None None None Rescued 5 Saved boat & rescued 7 None Gave help Gave help Gave help Gave help None Landed a body Saved boat Escorted boats Saved boat & rescued 5 Escorted boats None Inshore Lifeboats 13.9.75 1040 1409 1446 1557 1655 1730 1749 1838 1954 2231 2335 14.9.75 0030 0949 1205 1325 1349 1415 1530 1650 1650 1900 2010 Largs Port Isaac Holyhead Lyme Regis Southwold Southend-on-Sea Eastney West Kirby Whitstable Weston-super-Mare Minehead Largs Minehead The Mumbles Harwich Eastney Weston-super-Mare Hayling Island Southend-on-Sea West Mersea Hayling Island Eastney Yacht Mystique Bather Person fallen from cliff Dinghies Dinghy Flap Jack Bather Yacht Loren Persons cut off by tide Fishing boat Motorboat 4D Yacht Svea Persons overboard from dinghy Tesang FV Amanda Kay Dinghy Yacht Sara Dinghy Motorboat Yachts Catamaran Uyo Yacht Sea Badger Yachts Persons stranded on island 2 5 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 2 10 1 2 1 3 3 2 2 2 1 49 1 2 5 3 2 1 14 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 4 3 1 2 1 2 9 None None Rescued 1 Gave help Saved boat & rescued 2 None Saved boat & landed 1 None None Rescued 5 Rescued 3 None None Gave help Landed 2 Saved boat & rescued 2 None Gave help Saved boat & rescued 1 Gave help Gave help None.