Damaged steering YARMOUTH COASTGUARD informed the honorary secretary of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station at 0236 on Monday May 3, 1982, that the yacht Seamist of Rhu had sustained damage to her steering gear two hours earlier on Scroby Sands, breaking her tiller. A jury rig had been set up and the yacht's crew of two had thought that they could ride it out until the tide turned. However, they were now beginning to be affected by fatigue and the weather was deteriorating.

It was a clear night, although the sky was overcast. A gale, force 8, was blowing from north north east and the sea was very rough. It was three hours before high water.

The crew was assembled and at 0249 Great Yarmouth and Gorleston's 44ft Waveney lifeboat Barham slipped her moorings and set out on service under the command of Coxswain/Mechanic Richard Hawkins. The lifeboat cleared the harbour piers at 0256 and headed at full speed out through the Hewett Channel. Then, changing to a northeasterly course to make for Seamist, which was in the vicinity of Cross Sands Buoy, she met the full strength of the gale force winds head on and had to reduce speed in the rough, short head seas and swell. The dredger Marine Stone was watching the yacht on her radar but kept losing radar 'sight' of her because of the prevailing conditions.

At 0340 the lifeboat neared the casualty. Seamist, a yacht of about 24ft overall, was two miles north north west of Cross Sands Buoy lying under a storm jib with her head about south east; the wind and sea were on her port quarter.

The lifeboat circled around Seamist,shining the searchlight on her to assess the situation. The yacht was seen to be rolling violently in the rough seas so Coxswain Hawkins, worried about the damage he could cause the smaller, lively boat, decided to pass a tow without going alongside. The yachtsmen were asked to try to pull inboard the sails and any trailing rope ends. The lifeboat then approached from the starboard quarter and passed down the starboard side taking care to clear the gyrating mast.

Three times this manoeuvre was repeated; on each occasion a heaving line was thrown aboard but the two yachtsmen, now very tired, were unable to get hold of it. A fourth attempt was made but one of the men went overboard as the yacht rolled and her handrails parted; he climbed back aboard as the scene was lit by parachute flares.

At 0412 Coxswain Hawkins decided that a lifeboatman would have to be put aboard the yacht to help. A fifth, and closer, approach was made and as the two boats came together Crew Member Paul Carter jumped aboard; the two boats rolled and he was pinned momentarily between the quarter rubber of the lifeboat and the cabin of the yacht, bruising his shoulder, before the lifeboat pulled clear. A sixth approach was made, the heaving line taken by Crew Member Carter, and then a tow line was passed and made fast.

The tow began, at dead slow speed, at 0445 and the lifeboat and yacht entered Yarmouth Harbour at 0730. The yacht was moored and her crew landed ashore. The lifeboat was back on her moorings, once again ready for service, at 0915.

For this service the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum were accorded to Coxswain/Mechanic Richard J. Hawkins and a framed letter of thanks signed by the Duke of Atholl, chairman of the Institution, was presented to Crew Member Paul H. Carter.

Vellum service certificates were also presented to Acting Second Coxswain John R. Baker, Emergency Mechanic Leander Wells and Crew Members David V. Mason and Peter M. Collins..