Lone yachtsman saved by men from Morecambe lifeboat station The Thanks of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution inscribed on Vellum have been awarded to three men from Morecambe lifeboat station following the rescue of a yachtsman who was stranded aboard hisLone yachtsman saved by men from Morecambe lifeboat station The Thanks of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution inscribed on Vellum have been awarded to three men from Morecambe lifeboat station following the rescue of a yachtsman who was stranded aboard hisanchored yacht in darkness and storm force winds.

Keith Willacy, the honorary secretary, and lifeboat crew members Steven Waite and Michael Mayfield carried out the rescue in the local Fisheries' inflatable Zodiac because of the need to transport a boat by road to the scene in the short time available.Keith Willacy, as Senior Helmsman of Morecambe lifeboat has previously won the RNLI's Silvermedal for bravery in 1982 and Bronze medal in 1973.

The deputy divisional inspector of lifeboats for the West Division, Captain Hugh Fogarty, said in his official report: 'The successful outcome of the service was due to the high degree of seamanship displayed by all three crew members, the instinctive boathandling ability of Keith Willacy, and the absolute discipline of the crew. The courage displayed by all three men is emphasised by the fact that they were fully aware of the conditions that they would encounter prior to launching.' Flashed The first indication that the yachtsman was in trouble came in the early hours of Monday 12 February 1990 when an 'SOS' message, flashed with a torch, was seen from a yacht anchored off Glasson Dock on the river Lune, near Lancaster. A Force 9 gale was blowing from the north west, gusting to Force 10 or 11 in hail and rain squalls.

Keith Willacy, the honorary secretary of Morecambe lifeboat station and also local Fisheries Officer decided that the quickest way to reach the yacht was to take the Sea Fisheries Committee's inflatable Zodiac by road to the scene, as it was ready for transporting by road, unlike the station's RNLI inflatable lifeboat, and time was of the essence.

At 0209 the Zodiac was launched from Glasson Dock with Keith Willacy at the helm and accompanied by RNLI crew members Steven Waite and Michael Mayfield.

The two crew members were positioned right forward to steady the small inflatable with Mayfield operating the radio and Waite handling the portable searchlight. Both men also guided the helmsman so that he couldavoid objects in the water, which included small craft moorings, branches and other flotsam.

Seas 5ft to 6ft high were encountered for some quarter-of-a-mile from the slipway, and progress was slow because of the weight of water being shipped and the very poor visibility in the blown spray.

Searchlight The white hull of the yacht Phoenix showed in the searchlight when she was approximately 100 yards away, lying head to wind about 100 yards from the shore. Keith Willacy manoeuvred the Zodiac alongside intending that Michael Mayfield should jump aboard to attend to whoever was on board.

However, before he could climb aboard a man from the yacht threw himself into the Zodiac and Willacy was able to ascertain that he had been the only person aboard.

While they were alongside a hail squall struck and the yacht pitched heavily in the 4ftto 5ft waves, forcing water up between the two boats and filling the Zodiac. The yacht provided a little shelter so the crew held on until the squall passed.

The slipway from which they had launched was the only possible place to land, so once the squall had passed the Zodiac headed into " wind and sea towards the slipway. Visibility was down to two or three yards in the spray and spume and the seas constantly filled the boat.

Unlit Once abeam of some harbour docking signals there were no further lights to indicate the position of the unlit slipway at Glasson Dock and the conditions became worse with seas of 8ft to 1 Oft at thedock wall.

On three occasions one of the inflatable sponsons was lifted clear of the water and all three crew members felt that a capsize was a distinct possibility. The two crew members forward found breathing difficult due to the quantity of spray in the air.

It was only when the crew caught sight of some reflective strips on the lifejacket of a man ashore that they knew how close they were to the slipway. Willacy turned the lifeboat 120 degrees to port, but was unable to judge the best moment to land as he could not see the approaching waves.

His near approach to the slipway was virtually blind and on the first attempt the boat's bow rebounded off the slip. With great skill Willacy manoeuvred rapidly in a very confined space and drove the bow ashore a second time. This time the boat was held with the help of the man ashore and the survivor was landed over the forward canopy.

A party of coastguards and other helpers arrived shortly afterwards to take care of the survivor and to help recover the inflatable - which was back ashore at 0226..