INFLATABLE STEPS IN TO TAKE OVER TOW Heavy seas and poor conditions as D class saves three A service by Port Talbot's D class inshore lifeboat in difficult conditions has led to the award of the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum to crew member Robert Harris. The other crew members during the service, Lee Worth and Stanley May, have received a framed letter of thanks from the Chairman of the RNLI.It was at 1520 on 4 March 1995 that the station heard from Swansea Coastguard that a vessel was in distress, firing red flares, half a mile west of Port Talbot harbour. Sixteen minutes later the station's D class lifeboat launched in a SSW Force 6 to 7 wind and a 10-15ft swell topped by breaking waves. Although the sky was overcast visibility was good.

The casualty was a 24ft converted ship's lifeboat named Panama, which had suffered engine failure earlier in the day and been towed into Port Talbot harbour by the lifeboat. She had not been allowed to remain in the harbour and, with the wind only Force 2 and the sea calm, the lifeboat had towed her back out to sea, where she had anchored. A motor fishing vessel called Moyana had agreed to tow Panama back to her moorings later but, with the sudden change of weather, the situation had changed dramatically and Panama was now in difficulty.

Concerned Robert Harris took the helm of the lifeboat and headed straight for Panama, coming alongside her starboard side as she lay head to the weather. The three people on the casualty were becoming more and more concerned about their situation and one even wanted to try to swim ashore. Robert Harris boarded the casualty to calm them down, handing the helm over to Lee Worth.

The lifeboat then returned to the shore, entering the Afan river over a bar on which there 4 to 5ft waves on top of a 10 ft swell, to collect a hand-held VHP radio from the station and also to find out atwhen there would be enough water to allow Moyana to get out of the river.

Moyana''s crew said they would be able to clear the river at 1630, so the lifeboat went back out over the bar to pass the radio to crew member Harris and stand by Panama.

Moyana (a 36ft crabber with two crew) arrived on the scene at 1645, and two attempts were needed to pass a tow.

Robert Harris secured the line and weighed anchor as Moyana took up the tow .

The lifeboat stayed close by as the two boats headed slowly towards the RiverAfan. After about ten minutes a bigger than average wave hit both boats, one after the other, and the tow parted. The three men on the casualty became extremely agitated and wanted to be taken off, but Harris told them that they were safer on board.

Made fast The lifeboat, with Lee Worth at the helm, moved in and was able to pick up the parted tow line and keep Panama head to sea. Moyana then made another approach to the bow of Panama and passed her part of the broken tow line to'the lifeboat, where Stanley May made the two pieces fast to each other. The tow was then taken up again and Moyana speeded up to bring the tow safely over the bar and into the river.

Once inside the river the lifeboat took over the tow, secured Panama to a mooring and took her crew ashore. The lifeboat then went back out over the bar once more and returned to station at 1721.

The Chief of Operations has sent a letter of appreciation to the skipper of Moyana for his help in the service.Dogged determination North Berwick's D class inflatable was called out during July this year after a Golden Retriever decided to show off the breed's prowess in the water.

Six year old Homer decided to take a dip during his daily 'walkies', and then just kept on going - half a mile out to sea to Fidra Island! He could be seen through binoculars chasing around the island and there were fears he might be swept away.

His worried owner, Hilary Reid, went to North Berwick Harbour to get help, but it was low water and all of the fishing boats were aground.

So, North Berwick's lifeboatmen came to the rescue, launched the D class and shot out to the island. Meanwhile worried owner Hilary drove back... only to find an impatient Homer waiting for her in the car park after his half-mile swim back to shore! 'I'm very grateful to the lifeboatmen/ she said, 'but I'm a bit embarrassed at the trouble they went to'.CONDITIONS OUTSIDE LIMITS FOR D CLASS Atlantic clear of the water twice in race to man in water A service by New Brighton's Atlantic 21 on 5 March 1995 to a man in the water has led to the a ward of the Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum to Helmsman Michael Jones. The crew members during the service, Howard Jones, Neil Jones and Michael Haxby, all received framed letters of thanks from the Institution's Chairman.Helmsman Michael Jones was in the boathouse on the afternoon of Sunday 5 March 1995 when he was informed by a member of the public that there was a man in the water off Portland slip, just to the north west of the station.

It was 1400 and, as this coincided exactly with the time of the station's weekly pager test, he immediately fired two maroons to assemble the crew.

Just five minutes later the station's Atlantic 21 launched into heavy surf and a westerly Force 7 to 8 with a heavy swell and sea. Visibility was poor and the ebb stream had already started to run.

Severe The lifeboat passed through the Rock channel on the way to the casualty where the waves were 15-20ft high. Watchers on the shore saw the boat clear of the water twice, and the motion was so severe that it was impossible to use the radio as the crew needed both hands to stay in contact with the boat. Although rough, the passage was quite short and the lifeboat arrived on scene at 1410.

County Rescue - a rescue service largely funded by local councils - had been diverted from the recovery of a dead horse nearby, and the 6.5m rigid inflatable with two crew members aboard arrived two minutes before the lifeboat.

They were unable to recover the man as with only two crew members aboard the helmsman had to leave the controls to help, and onlookers say that she almost capsized twice.

The seas were being reflected off the sea wall and were very confused, but the lifeboat closed with the casualty at the second attempt and after contact had been made with County Rescue control of the casualty passed to the lifeboat.

Crew member Howard Jones grabbed the man in the water and passed him to crew member Neil Jones. At that moment the boat peaked on a wave, but Neil refused to let go and, even though he was dragged overboard by his weight, hemanaged to pass the casualty's arm to crew member Mike Haxby.

Neil Jones was able quickly to pull himself back aboard and it took the combined efforts of the three crew to bring the 6ft 4in, 18 stone man aboard.

The man's clothing had gathered around his throat and had to be cut away to allow resuscitation efforts by all three crew members.

An ambulance had been called and helmsman Michael Jones began heading back through the Rock channel where conditions were so bad that even though the speed was kept down to 6 or 7 knots to help resuscitation attempts the casualty and crew were constantly swamped.

Conditions at the launch site were still bad and a net recovery had to be abandoned after two unsuccessful attempts.

Michael Jones then decided to try a beach landing at Egremont, two miles further up the river, and all shore unitswere diverted to this site.

County Rescue was already at Egremont, attempting to recover the body of the horse, but was waved clear to allow the lifeboat to beach.

With great skill helmsman Jones beached the Atlantic in a space only oneand- a-half-times her own length, even though she was hit by a sea which swung her round through 90°. It then took all four crew to carry the casualty ashore.

Despite continuous resuscitation attempts the man had not shown any response and was later pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Drenched The boat was relaunched by the beach crew, who were all drenched when several waves broke over them.

Once back at her station the tide had ebbed sufficiently to allow a net recovery, at the second attempt.

The two crew members of County Rescue received framed letters of appreciation signed by the Chairman and the Director sent letters of appreciation to the five shore helpers.TWENTY NINE PEOPLE RESCUED FROM INFLATABLE TOYS AND DINGHIESmadness for Rye Harbour Rye Harbour's C Class inflatable lifeboat was called out by Dover Coastguard at 1115 on Sunday 9 July to what would prove to be probably its busiest day since the station opened.

Hot weather had drawn huge crowds to Camber Sands in Kent (one Coastguard later said 'I think most of London was there!') and an offshore breeze had freshened to the point where it was busy blowing small inflatable toys out to sea.

Hastings lifeboat was already at the scene helping one inflatable ashore but because of her draft the all-weather Mersey class lifeboat could not get close enough to return the casualties to the beach. After Rye Harbour's C class was launched at 1120 and had arrived at the scene the Mersey returned to station to leave the inflatable lifeboat to continue the service.

After fifteen minutes the C class had already taken two empty dinghies back to shore and returned to her station to change a crew member.

Leaving the river mouth again, the lifeboat crew spotted a rubber dinghy with two people on board, some half a mile offshore. The occupants were transferred to the lifeboat and taken back to the shore with their dinghy.

The lifeboat assisted a further five dinghies, and the crew soon realised that by the time one casualty had been returned to the shore some of those remaining afloat had drifted out into trouble.

The exhausted lifeboatmen requested a crew change and were replaced at 1315.

The lifeboat set out to the east, a quarter of a mile from shore, to set up a boundary in which to keep the bathers and inflatables.

The crew then headed back to the west and, after receiving a report of a missing child, requested Coastguard backup. The child was found safe and well shortly afterwards.

The C class lifeboat continued to patrol the quarter-mile boundary despite extremely hot weather conditions. Even though the Coastguard was by now making loud-hailer appeals on the beach asking people not to take inflatables into the water and despite broadcast appeals on local radio the mayhem continued! Dur-ing the day the lifeboat dealt with numerous further incidents, including the rescue of a drifting dinghy without paddles, a dinghy dangerously close to being swept out to sea on the ebbing tide and returning numerous inflatables to the shore.

Between 1120 to 1636 when the lifeboat finally returned to station, an incredible 29 people had been rescued from inflatable toys and dinghies!No survivors from capsized motor boatThe capsize of a Coastguard rigid inflatable boat added a further twist to a service by Salcombe lifeboat when she was searching in heavy seas and an onshore Force 7 wind on 28 May 1995.

Brixham Coastguard had asked for the immediate launch of Salcombe lifeboat at 0713 after a small motorboat capsized at Bigbury, by the mouth of the river Avon, throwing the two people aboard - a father and son - into the water.

Salcombe's 47ft Tyne class lifeboat, The Baltic Exchange II launched and began the 30 minute passage to the scene, but as Coxswain/Mechanic Frank Smith took the lifeboat around Bolt Tail the Coastguards at Hope Cove launched their own rigid inflatable and headed for the search area. The boat arrived at the scene but soon capsizedin the heavy surf which was running.

The lifeboat arrived on the scene at the same time as an RAF helicopter from Chivenor and the two Coastguards from the boat were winched up out of the water and taken safely ashore. TheSalcombe lifeboat was by this time in very heavy surf.

The Tyne began the search for the motorboat and its crew, and one casualty was soon located nearby and airlifted ashore, sadly he had not survived.

The search continued for the second person known to have been aboard, but after nearly four hours in Force 6 to 7 winds nothing had been found and, at 1203, the lifeboat left the scene to return to station.OLDEST SAILING SHIP LOST ON CORNISH COAST Three lifeboats search for survivors from wrecked sailing ship Lifeboats from three stations were involved in the search for survivors when the 137-year-old sailing ship Maria Asumpta foundered after running ashore on the rocky North Cornwall coast on 30 May 1995.The ship, believed to be the oldest sailing vessel afloat, was entering the Camel estuary in a fresh north-westerly breeze when she hit rocks on the eastern side of the entrance, near Rumps Point.

She began to break up almost immediately, as many will have seen in news reports at the time.

Padstow's Tyne class lifeboat was launched at 1637 from just across the estuary and nearby Port Isaac's D class was afloat a couple of minutes earlier for her three-mile passage to the scene.

Both boats were on scene within 30 minutes, but there was little to be done.

Of the 14 people aboard all but three had already been picked up by fishing vessels or climbed the cliffs of the point. A helicopter soon recovered the body of one person from the casualty and both lifeboats searched fruitlessly for the other two people who were unnaccounted for.found' Despite searching till nightfall - both lifeboats leaving the area after 2100 - only wreckage was recovered.

The search was resumed the following day in slightly calmer conditions when the Padstow and Port Isaac life- boats were joined by the D class lifeboat from the recently established station at Rock, a few miles further up the estuary.

However, once again only wreckage and personal effects were recovered.

The final death toll following the loss of this historic vessel stood at three.Bravery award for RNLI fundraiser Arthur Gushing, chairman of the RNLI's Staines and Ashford Branch has received an award for bravery from the Royal Humane Society as a result of his actions when a motor launch blew up on the Thames.

Arthur is the resident lock keeper at Penton Hook Lock and was working there one morning in February 1995 when he heard an explosion and found that a motor launch had blown up and was sinking fast.

Jumping onto the roof of the launch he tore off the hatch to rescue a man who was trapped below by a beam across his chest. Pulling him into a safe position where he could not drown Arthur rushed off for help and then, with the aid of others, took the man to safety and administered first aid.Lifeboatman leaps aboard runaway speedboat An incident on 29 July 1995 in which a speedboat owner fell overboard while retrieving his brother from the water left one of them injured by the boat's propeller and with their boat careering around at high speed off a crowded beach, with no-one at the helm.

Mablethorpe's D class inflatable was called out and helmsman Tom Freeman managed to intercept the runaway so that crew member Mick Simpson could make a hazardous leap aboard and cut the engine. Tom Freeman said 'it was a matter of split-second timing. If we hadn't stopped that boat it would have hit the crowded beach.' Mick Simpsom admitted: 'my knees were a bit wobbly when I realised what I had done!' The third member of the crew, Andy Hollingsworth, had been ready to dive in to drag Mick clear had anything gone wrong..