D class inflatable braves Force 10 and total darknessPaul Gilson, the helmsman of Southend-on-Sea's D class inflatable lifeboat has been awarded the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum following a service on the night of 20/21 October 1989.

The lifeboat launched in conditions beyond her normal operating limits when the station's larger Atlantic 21 lifeboat suffered engine failure and was being blown into dangerous shallow water during a service to the sand barge Margaret G .Helmsman Paul Gilson' exhibited extraordinary skill in very rough conditions and total darkness' according to Colin Williams, deputy division inspector of lifeboats for the East division, in his official report.

The two crew members aboard the D class lifeboat, John Foster and Clifton Warry, and the helmsman of the Atlantic 21, Robert Fossett, and her crew, Roy Kidwell and Mark Fossett, will receive a framed letter of thanks from the RNLI's chairman.

Late on the night of Friday 20 October a sand barge Margaret G with two people on board got into difficulties near the South Shoebury Buoy in the Thames Estuary in a SSW gale Force 8, a heavy sea and steep swell.

Aground Southend's Atlantic 21 rigid inflatable lifeboat and the Sheerness 44ft Waveney class lifeboat had gone to her aid by 0030 on Saturday morning.

The barge had been driven aground and was taking water. Helmsman Robert Fossett in command of Southend's Atlantic 21 had twice come alongside to put a crew member on board to help, but in the difficult conditions the bow and rigid hull of the lifeboat had been slightly damaged.

By 0149 the barge was refloated and moving towards the shelter of the River Medway,but the Southend lifeboat was experiencing difficulties with her starboard engine.

The lifeboat headed back upwind to the station, but before they were able to restart the starboard engine a breaking sea hit the lifeboat. The helmsman eased the throttle - and the port engine stalled. Neither engine would restart and the Atlantic 21 was dragging her anchor into the very shallow water over Shoebury Sands.

Sheerness lifeboat had returned to thescene but was grounding heavily in the troughs and unable to get close.

By now the honorary secretary of Southend lifeboat station was agonizing whether to allow the station's 16ft inflatable D class lifeboat to launch.

The weather was beyond her normal limitations and it was dark, but at 0452 the inflatable lifeboat was launched. At the first attempt the boat was knocked back ashore but on the second Helmsman Gilson cleared the beach and set course towards the Inner Shoebury Beacon. The lifeboat made good speed with the sea and swell on the starboard quarter but later encountered very heavy seas with a long swell. However as the water became shallower the height of the seas reduced. The wind was from the SSW at 45 knots, gusting sometimes to 59 knots - Force 9 to 10.

Flare The Atlantic 21 was asked to fire a white parachute flare to show her position in the total darkness. This enabled the D class lifeboat to home in on her and, at 0528, she was alongside the disabled Atlantic 21, about half a mile from the shore.

By now an RAF helicopter had also returned to the scene and while the D class lifeboat stood off, two of the three crew members aboard the Atlantic 21, both of them exhausted, were lifted into the helicopter.

Helmsman Robert Fossett chose to stay on board his lifeboat to help with her recovery.

Helmsman Gilson then was able to rig a line between the two lifeboats and tow the Atlantic 21 into shallower water. With the help of the two crew members from the D class Robert Fossett was then able to walk the Atlantic 21 into the shallows and secure her for later recovery from the shore before being airlifted by the helicopter. The two D class crew members waded back to their lifeboat to rejoin Paul Gilson.

After a very rough passage back to a slightly more sheltered beach to the east of Southend the D class was safely brought ashore and returned to her station. The Atlantic 21 was later recovered..