Aground in gully THE DUTY ASSISTANT HARBOUR MASTER at St Peter Port, who is a deputy launching authority (DLA) of the lifeboat station, was informed by the Signal Station at 0428 on Tuesday October 11, 1983, that the French yacht Wild Rocket was aground on rocks off St Martin's Point; she had sent out a MAYDAY distress call which had been heard by Jersey Radio.

The crew were assembled immediately and, on arrival, Coxswain Michael Scales and the DLA discussed the likely position of the yacht. Police Officers who had gone to St Martin's Point had not found the yacht; her radio messages could be heard by Jersey Radio but not by listeners at St Peter Port. It was concluded, therefore, that the casualty was further to the west of St Martin's.

At 0454 St Peter Port's 52ft Arun lifeboat Sir William Arnold slipped her moorings and set out on service at full speed. It was an overcast morning witha strong breeze, force 6, blowing from west north west. St Peter Port lies on the eastern side of Guernsey and so, with the wind in that direction, on the lee side of the island, and at the entrance to the harbour the swell was low and the sea moderate. The tide had reached low water at 0428.

Once the lifeboat had cleared the harbour she headed south until, at about 0502 when six cables south east of St Martin's Point, she turned on to a more south-westerly course; here the full force of the wind, now gale force, was experienced. Having passed three cables south of Gran Grune, Coxswain Scales piloted the lifeboat into Petit Port Bay, the latest assumed position of the casualty. Sir William Arnold was stopped and a parachute flare fired, but nothing was found. At a speed of 8 knots the Arun first steamed south west and then west north west to pass north of Baleine Rock and, at 0518, the stranded yacht's mast was seen, illuminated by a Police searchlight from the shore.

Wild Rocket, her bows heading south east into a gully, was alongside the cliff on the west side of Icart Point. Rocks could be seen near her starboard quarter and near her stern in the breaking seas. Her port side was almost against the cliff. She was upright on each crest of the swell but falling 3& degrees from the cliff in each trough, and she was pounding heavily. Her skipper had been able to stow his sails despite the gale, force 8, which was blowing from west north west over the cliffs and downdraughting on to the yacht. The tide, one hour of flood, was setting parallel to the cliff at an estimated speed of 2 to 3 knots.

Coxswain Scales ordered the Arun's Y class inflatable dinghy to be launched; she was manned by Second Coxswain Peter Bougourd with Assistant Mechanic Alan Martel as helmsman.

The second coxswain, chosen for his great strength and his ability to speak French, scrambled aboard the casualty with considerable difficulty, taking with him the end of a veering line. Assistant Mechanic Martel, who had handled theY boat with great skill during the 100 yards passage from the lifeboat, was carried under the quarter of the yacht but managed to get clear and then stand off; the relative rise and fall of the two boats was exaggerated because the yacht only rose about one foot off the bottom on each swell crest before crashing down again, whereas the Y boat was subjected to the full rise and fall of the seven to nine foot swell.

While Coxswain Scales held the lifeboat in position on her helm and engines to avoid being swept on to the rocks, which were awash, Second Coxswain Bougourd, using the veering line as a messenger, hauled a towline across and made it fast to the starboard quarter of the yacht. Going astern, Coxswain Scales tried to tow the yacht off in a west-north-westerly direction but, after moving a little way, Wild Rocket came up against a rock and was stopped, the towline parting.

Coxswain Scales instructed Assistant Mechanic Martel, aboard the Y boat, to take everyone off the yacht but, being told of this decision by VHP radio, Second Coxswain Bougourd said that there would be considerable risk in such a manoeuvre; few of the seven people on board the yacht were seamen, most of them were old and one was totally blind. So another towline was passed by the assistant mechanic in the inflatable boat and, with the second coxswain advising on the direction of the tow, the yacht was brought off parallel to the cliff. She grounded on the rock astern of her but on the rising swell and tide was pulled clear into deep water.

On the lifeboat the towline was transferred from bows to stern, and on Wild Rocket from stern to bows; Assistant Mechanic Martel boarded the yacht and secured the Y boat astern of her as thetow was taken up. Wild Rocket's rudder had jammed hard to port so that she persistently lay on the port beam of the lifeboat, making it difficult to manoeuvre her. At a speed of 7 knots, Coxswain Scales gave Baleine Rock and St Martin's Point a wide berth.

The yacht was towed into St Peter Port Harbour at 0657. She was safely berthed alongside and her crew were taken into the care of St John Ambulance officers. The lifeboat was refuelled and back on her moorings, once again ready for service, at 0800.

For this service the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum were accorded to Coxswain Michael J.

Scales, Second Coxswain Peter N.

Bougourd and Assistant Mechanic Alan F. Martel. Vellum service certificates were presented to Motor Mechanic Robert L. Vowles and Crew Members John Webster, Peter J. Bisson, Michael Guille, Nicholas Bougourd and Martin Seabrook..