ump passed to sinking fishing boat in gale and heavy seas Coxswain Albert Sutherland and the crew of the Fraserburgh lifeboat took over three hours to battle through the 10-12m seas and a full south easterly gale to reach the fishing vessel Hope Crest and her crew of six on Sunday 16 February 1997. The fishing vessel had begun taking in water while fishing 50 miles to the north east of the station and, despite the massive seas throwing the two vessels around, Albert managed to bring the vessels together, while avoiding major damage to either boat, so that a pump could be passed across to the fishing vessel.The service won Coxswain Sutherland the Institution's Bronze Medal, and medal service certificates for the rest of the crew.

John Caldwell, Inspector of lifeboats for Scotland, said in his report of the nine-hour service in extremely adverse weather conditions that it was 'exceptionally well executed' and that the transfer of a pump in conditions that had defeated a rescue helicopter was 'testimony to the high standards of seamanship involved. The transfer of the pump, running and ready for use, was described by the skipper and crew of the Hope Crest as 'unbelievable'.' It had been at 18.27 when the station heard from the Coastguard that Hope Crest was in trouble.

They were asked to launch immediately.

Hope Crest had been pair netting with another vessel, Olive Ann, which was standing by and a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth had already tried to lower a pump but had been defeated by the severe weather conditions. The winds were reported to be 40 knots, with the seas steep and closely spaced, reaching 12m at times.

Pumps The station's Tyne City of Edinburgh look both of the station's portable pumps and as she cleared the harbour she met the full force of the south easterly gale - blowing against an increasing flood tide.

As began to lose the shelter of the coast the seas and swell increased, reaching between 10m and 12m high.

Hope Crest had already lost electrical power and could not communicate with the lifeboat or Aberdeen Coastguard, and then, with the lifeboat about 20 miles from the scene, Olive Ann reported that her own MF aerial had been carried by a large sea.

About two miles from the casualty the Coxswain reduced speed to allow the crew to ready theportable pump for transfer. The searchlights were manned and the Tyne moved carefully in towards the casualty, which kept disappearing between the huge swells and breaking seas.

At 2105 the lifeboat was running alongside Hope Crest and Coxswain Sutherland asked her to turn away from the weather, on a northerly heading, to give the best chance of transferring a pump in the appalling conditions.

Hope Crest managed her turn to starboard and City of Edinburgh took up position on her port beam, slowly edging in to attempt the transfer.

Both boats were being picked up by the huge swells and being thrown down their face, so both speed and heading had to be constantly adjusted to avoid a collision Level A bag containing the suction hoses for the pump was thrown across as the boats came together, but the pump couldn't be transferred as the decks of the two boats were constantly at different levels.

One minute the lifeboat crew were looking down on the heads of the crew of the fishing vessel, and the next minute they were looking up at their faces.

Coxswain Sutherland had to swing the lifeboat away sharply to avoid a collision, and as she closed in for a second attempt she had to be put hard astern when the seas and swell threatened to throw the Tyne onto the casualty'as she rolled heavily towards the lifeboat.

As she rolled back to starboard the decks of both vessels came level for a split second, and the pump was passed across - with the engine running! With the pump in use to supplement her own equipment Hope Crest headed south west towards Fraserburgh at about four knots with the lifeboat in close attendance.

Such a slow speed was very uncomfortable for the lifeboat crew, with large seas twice throwing her onto her beam ends.

The fishing boat seemed to disappear at one point, but the skipper reported that he had merely lost all his navigation and deck lights.

At about 0100 the weather began to improve slightly, and Hope Crest was able to increase speed to 7 knots - which brought both vessels into the safety of Fraserburgh at 0230.The Lifeboat Tyne class City of Edinburgh Operational Number 47-007 The Crew Bronze Medal: Coxswain Albert Sutherland Medal Service Certificates: Second Coxn Victor Sutherland Mechanic Tommy Summers Dpty Second Coxn Alan Smith Asst Mech Graeme Campbell crew members Rafael Alcaraz, Davy Sutherland.