Five saved in 12-hour service to sinking trawler Number's Arun class Kenneth Thelwall was away from her station for 12 hours in winds up to Force 10 when a Belgian trawler started taking water to the NNE of the station on 12 November 1996.

The Arun class lifeboat had slipped her mooring at 0925, after being alerted by the Coastguard to the plight of the 100ft Noordpool, and headed out into a NE gale - conditions being so bad that the boarding boat had to be lifted back ashore rather than left on the mooring for fear of damage.

Clearing Spurn Point the lifeboat felt the full force of the weather, having to reduce speed to avoid leaping off the tops of the 25ft seas and slamming heavily.

It took just over an hour to reach Noordpool which was drifting with no engine or pumps and being swung through up to 180° by the 25 to 30ft breaking seas.

Two ships were standing by, with an officer aboard one acting as an interpreter for the Belgian trawler skipper. A helicopter had already landed one pump aboard, but that was no longer working and the trawler's position was becoming perilous.

Plotting her position it became obvious that with the tide about to change she would soon be swept on to a lee shore.

Coxswain Brian Bevan decided to put the lifeboat's emergency pump aboard, but with the wind at Force 10, the breaking seas up to 30ft high and the trawler's beams in the way it was not possible to come alongside.Instead he decided to float it across. With the lifeboat positioned just upwind of the trawler's stern a heaving line was passed across - followed by a breeches buoy veering line with the pump, in its container attached.

Noordpool's crew were able to pull the pump across and aboard - and fifteen minutes later her bilges were dry and she was able to restart her engines.

However, the lifeboat's job was not finished yet, as she was to escort the trawler to Grimsby in case of further problems.

Although trawler and lifeboat arrived at the port at 1430 they had to wait until 1600 for the tide into the dock - and because of the terrible conditions at Spurn Kenneth Thelwall could not head for home until 2024, arriving back there about 30 minutes later.The Lifeboat Arun class Kenneth Thelwall Operational Number 52-37 The Crew Coxswain Brian Sevan Christopher Barnes Leslie Roberts David Steenvoorden Peter Thorpe Robert White.