TIME OF THE ESSENCE AS TOW IS PASSED Eight saved from yacht dismasted and close to rocks in onshore gale The coxswain of Blyth lifeboat, Keith Barnard, has been awarded the RNLI's Thanks of the Institution on Vellum for saving the lives of eight people from a dismasted yacht in gale force winds off Curry Point near Blyth. Divisional Inspector for the RNLI's Northern Division, Tom Nutman, said The teamwork and speed in both thought and action of the lifeboat crew were instrumental in saving eight lives.'The 38ft yacht Eau de Vie had been taking part in a race from the Royal Northumberland YC on Sunday 26 September when her problems began. By chance an auxiliary coastguard was watching through binoculars from an MRSC some three miles to the south and saw Eau de Vie capsize and the crew clinging to the upturned hull. She was off Curry Point, near the disused St Mary's lighthouse, just over three miles SSE of the lifeboat station.

At 1312 Ely th's honorary secretary was contacted by the Coastguard and the 44ft Waveney class The William and Jane launched at 1321 in a NNW Force 8.

Dismasted Setting a course towards St Mary's light the yacht could be seen ahead, very close to offlying rocks and being driven towards them by the wind and sea. She had now righted herself but was dismasted and lying with heavy seas on her port quarter with the remains of her mast and rigging overboard to port. She was shipping water and rolling heavily in the very steep broken seas as she was driven quickly downwind and tide into a maze of rocks near the old lighthouse.

Luckily she passed between two of the outermost outcrops but to leeward was a rocky shelf where a very heavy breaking sea about 12ft high was running.

Time was of the essence and although two liferafts had been brought onto the yacht's deck ready to abandon her the lifeboat crew realised her crew would have little change in an inflatable among the rocks.

There was no time to run in and takeoff the survivors from the seaward side as the rigging lying in the water and the heavy confused seas would have meant a 'touch and go' operation, picking up one or two survivors at a time. There was no longer any sea room to even contemplate an approach from the lee side.

The coxswain decided the only option was to put a towline aboard the yacht quickly, and attempt to pull her clear.

The lifeboat was run in from the north, down wind and sea, and then turned Blyth Wind NNW Force 8 Nautical Miles St Mary's lighthouse Chart of the service to the yacht Eau de Vie. The lifeboat's return track took her close inshore to obtain maximum shelter from the NNW Force 8.head to sea, clear of the casualty's stern. A heaving line was thrown and caught by a survivor on the stern of the yacht, but he dropped it while taking it forward.

The lifeboat was cleared ahead and then made a second run in. Another attempt was made with the heaving line, but the yacht was hit by a large breaking sea. As she slid down the face of it, almost capsizing, the line was let go.

Coxswain Barnard realised time was running out, and decided to go in close enough to pass the tow line direct. He kept the bow of the lifeboat into the wind and seas and watched ahead while Second Coxswain/Mechanic John Scott shouted directions from the aft deck. The survivor on the bow of the casualty took the tow line on a near approach and this time managed to make it fast to the yacht.

Danger Easing out the tow line the lifeboat took up the strain. As the bow of the casualty was held up into the wind, her stern blew down wind, bringing her head to sea and the lifeboat was able to ease her out to sea and out of immediate danger. It was now around 1400.

The tow back to Blyth was slow, into the gale force winds and heavy seas, but by keeping close to the shore around Blyth Bay for maximum shelter the casualty was brought safely alongside at 1440.

In his report the RNLI's divisional inspector, North, Tom Nutman, said that the speed and brevity of the service in no way detracted from the great seamanship and awareness displayed by Coxswain Barnard.

Second coxswain/mechanic John Scott, assistant mechanic Ronald Hatcher and crew members Peter Morton and John Orrick have been awarded Vellum Service Certificates for their part in the service.LIFEBOATS ENGINES TOUCH BOTTOM IN SURF Injured couple rescued from yacht aground in heavy surf The Chairman of the RNLI, Michael Vernon, has written a letter of congratulation to helmsman William Walker-Jones of Criccieth's inshore lifeboat following the rescue of two people from a yacht aground on Porthmadoc Bar. The service was the first he had carried out as a helmsman and was made difficult by surf, shallow water, and the rolling and pitching of the grounded yacht.

Aground At 1238 on Thursday 7 October 1993 the deputy launching authority at Criccieth heard a radio Mayday call from the yacht Lady Amanda, a 36ft ketch. She was hard aground near Porthmadoc Bar with two people on board. The call was also heard, and responded to, by Holyhead MRSC which paged the crew.

The fourth person to arrive at the boathouse was Paul Filby, a shore helper with a small boat and seagoing experience, so the DLA selected him as the fourth crew member - as he wanted the lifeboat launched as quickly as possible.

The C class inshore lifeboat was launched at 1255 with a SW Force 4 and a slight to moderate sea with helmsman William Walker-Jones in command - the first time that he had commanded the boat on service. She reached Porthmadoc Fairway Buoy in about 10 minutes in an increasing wind and sea. From the Fairway Buoy the yacht could be seen, aground on the North Bank.

Lady Amanda had been trying to sail up the estuary to Porthmadoc, as her engine was not working, and the skipper was below seeking pilotage advice on the radio when the yacht's helmsman missed the channel entrance and she grounded.

The skipper had tried to sail her off, then dropped the anchor, lowered his sails - during which he was hit on the head by the boom, causing bleeding and black eyes - and sent out a Mayday.

Worsening Helmsman Walker-Jones made his approach head to sea in worsening conditions , the wind now SW Force 5 gusting 6, and with a breaking sea of up to 6ft in the shallow water. The time was 1310.

The helmsman could see that the yacht was rolling and pitching in the surf, obviously hard aground in the falling tide and snatching at her anchor as she pitched and rolled. At times the yacht was taking spray overall.

The helmsman attempted a starboard quarter approach, but the yacht's rollseemed heavier in this direction and he decided to try an approach from dead astern. However, the bow of the C class was almost struck by the counter stern as it dropped on a sea and the engines struck the sandy bottom in the trough of a wave.

He withdrew and attempted a port side approach. This was more successful, and for a few vital seconds helmsman Walker-Jones managed to hold the ILB alongside the yacht. The engines again touched the bottom, but she was held in position and the yacht's crew, a mature couple, were manhandled aboard by the ILB crew before she cleared the area.

The lifeboat had taken a substantial amount of water while manoeuvring and with the extra people onboard she seemed sluggish responding to the engines so the helmsman had a difficult time working clear of the yacht and the surf.

Transfer The casualties needed medical attention so it was decided to transfer them to a helicopter - which had arrived from RAF Valley. Once in relatively clear water the transfer began - made difficult by the motion of the ILB. The skipper of the yacht was transferred first, but it was fairly rough due to the motion, so helmsman Walker-Jones asked that the second transfer be made in deeper water with the lifeboat lying to the sea anchor, and a more comfortable transfer of the yacht's crew was made.

The ILB then headed back to Criccieth, made a net recovery and was refuelled and ready for service at 1410.

The two casualties were flown to hospital at Bangor where they were both treated for mild hypothermia, the skipper for a head injury and his wife for a broken finger. The yacht was refloated on the following day's high tide and towed to Porthmadoc.Newhaven's Arun class lifeboat Keith Anderson closes in on the MFV Ocean Spirit after the vessel ran aground while entering Newhaven Harbour on 31 March 1994.

Coxswain/mechanic Michael Beach had been about to leave the lifeboat when he saw the MFV run aground to the east of the entrance channel in an onshore gale and a very heavy ground swell.

The lifeboat was soon on the scene and attempted to tow the MFV off, but found that she was being pulled into the shallows.

While the Arun was returning after picking upalongerlinethe casualty managed to refloat herself on the rising tide and was escorted to the safety of the harbour.

The size of the seas kicked up by the onshore gale can readily be appreciated from this photograph, taken by a lifeboat crew memberTYNE CREW MEMBER THROWN OVERBOARD FROM CASUALTYCrew overboard for 35 minutes in darkness and heavy seas Michael Weeks, a crew member aboard Appledore's Tyne class all-weather lifeboat spent some 35 minutes in the water, in darkness and heavy seas, on 3 May 1994 when he was thrown overboard from a casualty under tow. The coxswain of the lifeboat faced an agonising decision when it was discovered that one of the rescued survivors needed to be put ashore urgently and the Tyne had to abandon her search for her missing crew member to ensure the survivor's safety.

At 1535 that day Swansea Coastguard had paged Appledore lifeboat to say that a powered craft had steering failure nine miles SSW of Hartland Point and the lifeboat, the Tyne class George Gibson, was away 10 minutes later.

Contact The lifeboat was at the scene and had the casualty in tow at 1726, having put crew member Michael Weeks aboard because the casualty's crew were not in a fit state to secure the tow line. When the tow started he stayed aboard to keep radio contact with the lifeboat.

At 2045, when the lifeboat was about 50 yards outside the Bar Buoy, the seas started to build and the Coxswain decided to abort the entry to wait for calmer conditions nearer the top of the tide.

As the lifeboat went back out to sea she met three particularly heavy seas and the casualty rode one wave, then dived into the trough and, with no steering, rolled over on her beam ends. The time was then 2102.

Crew member Weeks, realising the seriousness of the situation, had already told the three people on board to come out into the cockpit and secure themselves.

However as the casualty rolled crew member Weeks slipped on spilled diesel fuel and was thrown overboard when the after rail he was holding gave way.

One of the lifeboat crew members told the coxswain that he thought someone had gone overboard from the casualty.

The tow was immediately shortened and the three survivors taken off and put in the aft cabin, with seats belted and the door shut.

It was then that they realised the man overboard was Michael Weeks and so, as the lifeboat was near the surf and the casualty already swamped, the coxswain decided to cut the tow and start searching for the missing crew member straight away.

The coxswain immediately asked Swansea Coastguard to launch Appledore's Atlantic class inshore lifeboat to search for the crew member. This radio message was heard in the boathouse and a maroon was fired immediately.

The inshore lifeboat was launched at 2109 to help with the search, but when neither boat was able to locate MichaelWeeks, even after firing paraflares for illumination, Swansea Coastguard was asked for helicopter assistance.

At this point one of the crew checked the survivors and found one of them to be in the first stage of hypothermia. Advising the Coastguard of the position an ambulance was asked to meet them at the lifeboat slip and, because of the state of the tide, it was decided to launch the boarding boat to meet the lifeboat and transfer the casualties ashore to the ambulance which they reached at 2128.

Search Meanwhile a Wessex SAR helicopter from RAF Chivenor was carrying out a search pattern from the Bar Buoy northwards off Saunton Beach and, at 2133, just as they were turning at the end of their run some 200 yards from the shoreline the crew member was spotted - with the aid of night vision equipment - in the water waving.

Much to everybody's relief he was recovered by the helicopter and taken to hospital in Barnstaple, where he was placed in the intensive care unit overnight and released the next afternoon.

Crew member Michael Weeks was wearing one of the RNLI's new pattern oflifejackets, which are less bulky and designed to inflate automatically on contact with the water. As soon as he entered the water it inflated immediately.

There is a second, manually operated, chamber to provide additional buoyancy but at no time did he find it necessary to inflate it.

(Left) Sketch chart of the approaches to Appledore.

The Tyne had encountered large seas on the bar and was returning to sea to wait for slack water when crew member Michael Weeks was thrown from the casualty.Heavy tow for Channel Islands Tyne saves fishing boat and four crewSt Heller's relief Tyne class lifeboat Owen and Ann Aisher is pictured towing the 105ft commercial fishing vessel Ross Alcedo into St Helier harbour after taking her in tow just yards away from grounding on rocks in a heavy swell.

Ross Alcedo had left St Helier on the morning of 30 January 1994 with four people aboard and had developed engine problems just 15 minutes after leaving in rough seas and a Force 5 from the WSW.

The lifeboat was launched at 0816 and by the time she reached the casualty at 0835 the fishing vessel was just minutes away from being swept onto rocks in a swell more than 6ft high.

The Tyne was able to take her in tow, but because of the size of the casualty and the sea and wind conditions it took more than two hours to tow her to the safety of St Helier harbour. The 105ft casualty dwarfed the 47ft lifeboat and was the largest vessel the station's crew had taken in tow, one of the crew members telling the local paper '...we had to do a job that a tug would normally do... our hearts were in our mouth as we towed the vessel through the harbour mouth.' Repairs were made to the vessel - which was believed not to have been to sea for some two years - and she left again on the evening tide. The following day she was reported to have lost power again off the French coast.CASUALTY ANCHORED OVER DRYING REEF D class inflatable tows large yacht to safety A service to a yacht by Lough Swilly's D class inshore lifeboat last July has earned the station a letter of congratulation from the RNLI's chief of operations, Commodore George Cooper. During the service the 16ft inflatable managed to tow the heavy 31ft yacht in winds up to Force 6 until assistance arrived.

Reef The first indication of the service came at 2130 on 22 July in a phone call from the Garda, who had heard from a man at Rockstown that a yacht was at anchor in a dangerous position - over a reef which would dry out at low water.

The man was unable to shout to the yacht's crew and Malin Head Radio could not raise them on VHP, so at 2151 the ILB was launched.

While the lifeboat was on the half-hour passage to the yacht Malin Head Radio broadcast a Pan Pan message seeking a vessel capable of towing the yacht clear.

The ILB arrived at the casualty to discover that both her engine and VHP had broken down and, as the tide was now falling fast the helmsman of the inflatable decided to try to tow her clear himself.

There was still no response to the Pan Pan broadcast and the lifeboat was making slow progress with the 31ft yacht in tow. All of the fishing boats from the nearby harbour were at sea but as they were expected to return shortly the honorary secretary suggested to Malin Head Radio that they try a Pan Pan on the shipto- ship channel which the fleet used.

Freshened Within a few minutes of the broadcast at 2250 the fishing vessel Dunaff Girl responded and gave an ETA of 0030.

A white paraflare was fired at 2305 so that they could see their way out of the bay, but the wind had freshened to around Force 4 with a rough swell running and the lifeboat crew were concerned about their tow.

However at 2340 another fishing vessel, North Star, called on the VHF saying that she was inside Lough Swilly and thather ETA at the scene was only 15 minutes away, and 14 minutes later she was alongside the casualty enabling the inflatable to let go her tow line. By 0006 both vessels were underway.

The larger fishing vessel was able to make much better progress with the disabled yacht and by 0150 she had been put on a spare mooring in the safety of nearby Portsalon, having been escorted by the ILB.

North Star and the lifeboat then returned to their base, the lifeboat arriving at 0225 after nearly 4 hours at sea - much of it in darkness.MASSIVE SEARCH FOR MISSING PAIR ADRIFT IN 14FT BOATFour lifeboats in search for missing anglers Lifeboats from Whitstable, Margate, Sheerness and Walton and Frinton were involved in a massive search for a man and his 12-year-old son after they failed to return in their 14ft boat following a fishing trip.

The alarm was raised at 2050 on Saturday 21 May when the boat was reported overdue, having left Herne Bay at 0930.

An area of more than 1,000 square miles was searched by the lifeboats, coastguards a helicopter and even a Nimrod from Kinloss in Scotland.

After several hours search in the dark the operation was stood-down, resuming at 0500. After two hours of searching hope was fading but, at 0720, Margate lifeboat spotted the small boat drifting some five miles to the north west of Margate.

The casualty had broken down the previous afternoon, and although the man had been able to restart the engine they ran out of fuel off Margate just before dusk and had been drifting since then.

Margate lifeboat landed the two occupants, the son suffering from cold and seasickness, and they were taken to hospital.

Coastguards quoted in the local press were critical of the vessel, describing it as a river craft, and the lack of lights, flares, radio or back-up propulsion.You can't park that 'ere...

The Tyne class lifeboat Ethel Anne Measures stationed at The Mumbles was at sea for five hours on 28 January 1994 when she stood by the 560ft Indian-registered freighter Vishva Parag whose cargo had shifted causing her to list heavily. She was also taking water.

The casualty had reported the list to Swansea Coastguard, and when it had increased to 10°andherpumpscouldnot cope with the leak The Mumbles lifeboat was launched at 0313 to stand by her.

33 of her crew of 56 were taken off by helicopter and a local pilot was put aboard to nurse her to a place where she could safely be beached.

A section of Mumbles Bay was chosen, and shortly after high water Vishva Parag was put ashore without damage. As the tide fell and she was no longer in danger the lifeboat was stood down and back at her station by 0830.

It was found that the casualty was not holed, the cargo having shifted and a ballast tank leaking. She was later refloated and docked in Swansea.Horrific conditions for two lifeboats Clogher Head and Newcastle 's Mersey class lifeboats were launched in winds of Storm Force 10 to Hurricane Force 12 on 3 February 1994 when an 80ft trawler reported that she was taking water and required a pump.

Both lifeboats were launched from a lee shore in horrific conditions within five minutes of each other around 1420, both with about 20 miles to go to the casualty.

In such severe conditions both lifeboats had to reduce speed and both reported several items of equipment carried away or damaged during the service. They reached the scene at around 1550 and a helicopter lowered a pump to the casualty.

Once the pump was running - and a small fire on the trawler dealt with - the trawler made her way to shelter in Carlingford Lough escorted by the Clogher head lifeboat, Doris Bleasdale.

By 1550 the lifeboat was stood down but could not return to station because the appalling sea conditions there made it impossible to recover her. She remained in the Lough overnight.

The Newcastle lifeboat, Eleanor and Bryant Girling, was diverted to a second casualty, where a crew member had broken his arm, and did not retun home until 1930. She too could not be recovered and was left overnight on a buoy in the harbour..