Dragging in storm A YACHT DRAGGING her anchor in North Mouth, Out Skerries, 20 miles north east of Lerwick lifeboat station, in Shetland, was reported to the deputy launching authority by Lerwick Coastguard at 0051 on Tuesday September21, 1982. The crew were assembled and at 0110 Lerwick's 52ft Arun lifeboat Soldian slipped her moorings and cleared the harbour with Coxswain/ Mechanic Hewitt Clark in command.

It was a very black night with visibility poor in torrential rain. A storm, force 10, was blowing from the south west and the sea was rough. It was about half an hour before high water springs.

The lifeboat set out at full speed.

Reaching Hoo Stack, however, speed was reduced to 14 knots in the very rough seas. On clearing the north of Moul of Eswick a lee was obtained and full speed was resumed. When south of Sybister Ness Light, speed was reduced until clear through Linga Sound, a difficult passage in the prevailing weather.

Once again speed was increased to full. A course was steered through the passage between Muckle Skerry and Little Skerry where broken confused seas were met. The passage between Little Skerry and Out Skerry would be the normal route but sea conditions that night dictated the route to be taken.

When passing Muckle Skerry Soldian spoke with the yacht, Hermes of Lune, to find out her exact position; she was inside Northeast Mouth. Her owner/ skipper asked that the lifeboat take off his two crew upon arrival.

By the time Soldian arrived at the entrance to Northeast Mouth the southwesterly storm was gusting up to hurricane force 12. Such was the force of the wind that the sea was blown flat but the surface was completely white. The rain was still torrential.

Soldian has two searchlights, one portable and the other fitted on the top of the wheelhouse. Coxswain Clark told his crew to illuminate the entrance to Northeast Mouth by training one searchlight over the port bow and one over the starboard bow. Visibility was very restricted because of the overcast sky and very heavy rain. There are no shorelights in this area.

Hermes of Lune had anchored well up the sound on the north side, close to the island of Bruray, but had been dragging back down the sound towards open water. Her anchor was now over rocks and still dragging, with the possibility that the yacht would finish up on rocks astern of her. She was lying with her bows south west, so the lifeboat was taken alongside her port side and her two crew taken off; her skipper remained on board. The force of the wind funnelling through the sound was such that full engine power was needed to turn the lifeboat so that she could remake the entrance.

Throughout the remainder of the night, Coxswain Clark used his engines continually to hold a position at the entrance to Northeast Sound from which he would be well placed to bring the lifeboat in to take off the yacht's skipper, if required.

At 0630, by which time the wind had eased to strong gale, force 9, anddaylight was returning, the skipper asked the lifeboat to run a line ashore from the yacht. As the weather was very near the limit, in his judgement, for operating the lifeboat's Y class inflatable dinghy, Coxswain Clark decided to enter the sound, head up wind of Hermes of Lune and put the inflatable dinghy in the water where she would only have to travel down wind and sea to reach the yacht. This manoeuvre was carried out and the dinghy was successfully launched; she was manned by Assistant Mechanic Andrew Leask as helmsman and Emergency Mechanic Ian Newlands as crew.

The inflatable dinghy was taken down sea and wind to the yacht, passing under her stern to round up and come alongside her starboard side. Hermes of Lune's skipper passed a line into the dinghy and it was taken ashore. The shore itself was about 200 feet away but rocks extended out from it. Helmsman Leask drove the Y class dinghy on to a flat rock and Crew Member Newlands jumped ashore. Magnus Williamson, the auxiliary coastguard on the island, helped to secure the line to a rock and the inflatable dinghy was then relaunched. As she made her way back to the yacht, the line was paid out and the end was eventually passed inboard to the skipper. During the passage to and from the rock, Crew Member Newlands lay on the bow to counteract, with his weight, any tendency of the boat to flip over; there was the danger that she might be capsized.

Meanwhile, Coxswain Clark had brought the Arun to the entrance of the sound and had prepared for the recovery of the Y class dinghy. Once again, the dinghy had only to run down wind and sea and she was recovered safely and secured inboard.

By 0720 the wind had again eased. It was now down to near gale, force 7, gusting to gale force 8, and the yacht was no longer in danger. One of the yacht's crew was put back on board Hermes of Lune, to join the skipper; theother member of her crew remained with the lifeboat.

The return passage to Lerwick was made at full speed. Soldian arrived at 0935 and was back on her moorings, refuelled and once again ready for service, at 1000.

For this service the bronze medal was awarded to Coxswain/Mechanic P.

Hewitt P. Clark and the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum were accorded to Assistant Mechanic Andrew J. N. Leask and Emergency- Mechanic Ian G. I. Newlands. Medal service certificates were presented to Second Coxswain Peter Leith and Crew Members Ian Fraser and Magnus Grant. A letter of appreciation signed by Rear Admiral W. J. Graham, director of the Institution, was also sent to Auxiliary Coastguard Magnus Williamson..