Trapped_men rescued from pier supports D class thrown against pier supports and holed during night service Sometimes the need to save a life over-rides all other considerations...

When Eastbourne lifeboat station heard that a person was trapped on a narrow ledge under Eastbourne Pier it was obvious that the station's D class would be needed as well as their all-weather Mersey - even though it was nearly midnight and conditions were very poor.

The Coastguard had contacted the station shortly before midnight and, after consulting with the all-weather lifeboat's coxswain David Corke, the honorary secretary John Hart agreed to launch both boats. The D class Humphrey and Nora Tollemarche II launched from the beach at 0001 on Friday 8 April 1997 with the Mersey Royal Thames leaving her berth in the nearby marina a minute later.

An onshore easterly of Force 4 to 5 was kicking up a 6ft sea at the D class launching site, and helmsman Ian Stringer had to wait some time for a smoother patch between sets of heavy waves to get the inflatable to sea.

Moonless In the dark, moonless conditions it was very difficult to read the seas and toavoid the numerous pot buoys which are laid off the coast around Eastbourne. Fortunately the lifeboat carries two battery operated searchlights which were used to good effect to avoid these hazards and arrive safely off the pier.

The same searchlights enabled the crew to see what was happening on the pier - where they could see two men on a 4in wide, weed-covered beam which was constantly awash in the heavy sea which was over 6ft high.

An angler, Tom Hobdell, had courageously made his way down to help the original casualty. He was wearing a life-ring attached to a line tended from the pier overhead and was supporting the man who was now clinging to a supporting pile.

The narrow beam links a small landing platform to the main pier and was upwind and up-sea of the main structure in the easterly wind that night. Helmsman Stringer's plan was to go into the main pier structure and then manoeuvre the lifeboat between the platform and the pier, resting the lifeboat's bow against the beam and holding it in position with the thrust from the engine.

Beam-sea The approach was complicated by being beam-on to the sea and the lifeboat was thrown against the pier supports before Ian Stringer was able to bring her round head-to-sea and up to the beam where the men were trapped.

The first attempt to recover the casualty was unsuccessful, as he seemed frozen with fear and would not jump into the lifeboat.

The seas were surging around the structure, and although Ian Stringer held the boat head-tosea she was eventually hit by a particularly large wave and dragged under the landing platform as far as the aft end of the canopy. The wave then lifted her and pinned her against the structure.

Crew member Gary Mead jumped on to the beam at great personal risk to free the boat and try to rescue the two men.

By now however the bow of the lifeboat was completely submerged and at one point the propeller was thrown almost 3ft clear of the water by a strong surge.

The lifeboat D class D449 Humphrey and Nora Tollemarche II Silver Medal Helmsman Ian Stringer Thanks on Vellum Crew Member Gary Mead Tom Hobdell Chairman's Letter of Appreciation Crew Members Mark Chessel and Dawn Mead.

Auxiliary Coastguard Stuart McNabb Quick thinking saves boy trapped in deep mud Coxswain Colin Olden and his son, crew member Gary Olden, of Hamble Inshore Rescue, an independent rescue service based on the Solent, are to be awarded the Institution's Thanks on Vellum for saving the life of 12 year-old boy who was stuck in mud and in danger of drowning on 19 July 1997. The third member of the crew, Michael Stanier, will receive a Vellum Service Certificate.

Hamble Rescue were called to help when twelve-year-old Steven Tucker tried to cross the Hamble River at low tide (having spent his ferry fare on an ice-cream) and became stuck fast in deep mud. A friend who was with him was rescued by a yachtsman using a ladder to cross the treacherous mud, but the more Steven struggled the deeper he sank. Unable to extricate himself he was in danger of drowning as the tide began to flood.

Having launched their almost brand-new rigid inflatable very quickly Coxswain Colin Olden drove her at speed onto the mud - sliding her as close as he could get to the boy who by then had only his head and right shoulder showing above the mud.

Even then the boat was still some 45 ft away and the situation was becoming critical. Crew member Gary Olden quickly put on a safety harness with a line attached and slid overboard onto the mud, sinking to the middle of his thighs.

He managed to 'swim' over the mud and reach Steven, who was exhausted and unable to help himself. With a supreme effort Gary Olden dug out the boy's legs and pulled him clear. Gary flipped on to his back so that he could hold the boy on his chest while Colin Olden and Michael Stanier pulled them back over the mud and hauled them into the boat.

Les Vipond, the RNLI's divisional inspector of lifeboats for the South remarked 'Coxswain Colin Olden demonstrated superb judgement, fine seamanship, and a thorough knowledge of the capabilities of his boat, in mounting the mud to get closer to the boy. Crewman Gary Olden showed considerable courage in adapting his swimming skills to the unusual set of circumstances confronting him and his physical strength was sorely tried.

'Although the service was of short duration and carried out in calm weather it was executed in the very best traditions of lifeboatmen. It required determination and considerable flair to save the life of the boy.' Silver Medal at Eastbourne continued The lifeboat had obviously sustained some damage and as Ian Stringer tried to extricate her she was again thrown back against the main pier, this time transom-first.

Auxiliary Coastguard Stuart McNabb, who had been helping from ashore, now made his way down on to the beam - and with four people now in danger helmsman Ian Stringer decided that a quick response was needed before others put themselves at risk.

Once again the lifeboat went in through the pier and up to the beam - experiencing the same buffeting and again jamming momentarily under the platform.

This time Tom Hobdell took the opportunity to jump into the lifeboat, but as he did so his safety line fell into the water close to the lifeboat's engine. Ian Stringer cut the power, and in the few moments while the line was cleared the lifeboat was flung about even more violently than before.

Crew members Mark Chessel and Dawn Mead were able to fend her off and prevent her being driven under the beam until, with power restored, she could be driven hard against the beam again.

Stuart McNabb then jumped aboard while crew member Gary Mead virtually threw the original casualty into the lifeboat before jumping aboard himself.

The lifeboat now had seven people aboard, was full of water and badly damaged, with the starboard bow section deflated. Despite this Ian Stringer was able to nurse her clear of the pier and begin to make progress up-wind towards the lifeboat station, with Gary Mead between the deflated bow section and the casualty to give him some shelter.

With the boat overloaded and in bad shape landing in the 6ft seas would have been fraught with danger, so, a few hundred yards from the landing site, the casualties were transferred to the Mersey which then took them to her berth in the marina.

The D class was successfully beached, but she was damaged to the extent that a relief boat was needed - which arrived from the Inshore Lifeboat Centre at Cowes and was put on station less than 12 hours later.

All of the casualties were checked by the station's doctor who found no serious injuries, although the initial casualty was suffering from minor hyperthermia and shock.

Passengeryessel on Tee shore in tiny cove During a six-hour service in gale force winds Angle's Tyne class lifeboat The Lady Rank was able to snatch a disabled passenger boat from the foot of 80ft cliffs, saving the lives of the four crew aboard the vessel.

The service, which involved manoeuvring in a tiny cove battered by an onshore gale, won her coxswain Jeremy Rees, the RNLI's Bronze Medal.

On 5 May 1997 the 36ft passenger boat Dale Princess anchored in North Haven on Skomer island - some 9 miles north-west of Angle lifeboat station - to attend to engine damage caused by a fouled propeller.

A northerly gale began to make conditions difficult, and by 1730 she was dragging her anchors towards the shore and in need of immediate help.

Milford Haven Coastguard contacted Angle lifeboat station and, at 1 740, the Tyne was on her way under Coxswain Jeremy Rees.

As soon as she cleared the entrance to Milford Haven she could feel the full force of the wind, although the land was still providing some shelter, and made best speed for Skomer Island.

Notorious As she drew near both an auxiliary coastguard ashore and another vessel nearby confirmed that the situation was now desperate, so Coxswain Rees decided to take the shortest route to the casualty.

This meant going through the notorious Jack Sound- with some 5 knots of tide running against a full gale funnelling through the narrow opening.

The sea looked like a boiling cauldron, and as The Lady Rank went into it at around 1 0 knots she started to ship green water overall. Visibility was near-zero in the driving spray and the 'clutter' from the sea made the radar impossible to use. The cliffs lining the sound could just be glimpsed through the wheeelhouse windows - the outer steering position was completely untenable in these conditions - and with the help of the compass and occasional sight of the cliff faces Jeremy Rees brought the lifeboat safely through the raging sound and out into clear water.

Here the sea was more regular - although still around 10ft high -and the Tyne could gain a I ittle searoom.

Stern-first At about 1820 the lifeboat approached North Haven, where the casualty could be seen lying in the surf line less than 30ft from the sheer cliffs and being battered by seas up to 10ft high which were rebounding off the face in a confused pattern.

The Haven is so small that Coxwain Rees had to take the lifeboat in stern-first, easing down to Dale Princess through fishing markers and mooring buoys which complcated the approach.

It took three attempts to get a tow line aboard the casualty, but with it made fast there was still the problem of getting the passenger boat clear of the cliffs. She was so close-in that she could not afford to lose any ground as she recovered her anchor, so Jeremy Rees paid out some 60m of line and then took the strain, getting Dale Princess to cut her anchor cable at the same time.

Drogue The rnanouvre worked and the lifeboat eased the casualty out of North Haven and into more open water.

Returning via Jack Sound was out of the question, so a long and painstaking tow around the seaward side of Skomer Island began. To the west of the island the seas were up to 15ft high, and tyres were streamed from Dale Princessas a drogue to keep her under control.

The coxswain nursed both vessels along, making less than two knots over the ground against the strong north-going stream and with the casualty out of sight in the troughs of the larger waves.

Eventually some shelter was gained from the land and the tow could proceed at around 5 knots - with the lifeboat eventually putting the casualty alongside in Neyland Marina at 2246.

The Lifeboat Tyne class 47-011 The Lady Rank Bronze Medal Coxswain Jerernv Rees Medal Services Badges and jomt Chairman's Letter of Appreciation 2nd Coxn Daniel Richards Asst Mech Adam Stringer Crew members David Lawrence Bernard Jonker, Roger O'Callaghan Derek Richards Trent saves five in gale force winds and very heavy seas When a northerly gale is blowing against a spring tide conditions in the English Channel near the island of Alderney can be very unpleasant indeed. It was in just these conditions that the 33ft racing yacht Parthia suffered a knock-down in the early hours of 27 June 1 997 injuring members of her five-man crew and damaged some of her gear and equipment. The resulting service by Alderney's Trent Roy Barker I led to her coxswain, Steve Shaw, and second coxswain Martin Harwood being awarded the RNLI's Thanks on Vellum.

The lifeboat launched at 0227, heading out into a northerly Force 8 to9 which was blowing against a strong spring tide and creating a nasty sea 10ft to 12ft high at the harbour entrance. In anticipation of a rough trip all of her crew were strapped into their seats.

The yacht had given her position as two miles west of the Casquets - a rocky, lowlying reef - so Coxswain Shaw headed down the Swinge, the channel to the west of Alderney, until he could swing round to starboard, clear the tiny island of Ortac and head for the Casquets. Here the wind-over-tide seas were steep, breaking and more than 20ft high and Roy Barker I had to be slowed to around 12 knots so that she would not fly off the tops of the waves and slam excessively.

At 0244 the lifeboat made radio contact with Parthia. which gave her position as six miles to the north-west of the Casquets, acknowledging that earlier damage to her satellite navigation system may have made have affected its accuracy.

Fault Between 0300 and 0315 two sightings of navigation lights were investigated, but each turned out to be other yachts competing in the same race.

Knowing that he was in the right area but unable to identify the casualty with the VHP radio direction finder Steve Shaw asked Parthia to fire a flare - which was spotted dead ahead at 0322. It was later discovered that a fault had developed in the lifeboat's VHP DF unit.

Five minutes later the lifeboat sighted the yacht, making a north to north-westerly course under sail on starboard tack with her guardrails bent and steering damaged. Her skipper asked if the injured men could be taken off, but in view of the very poor conditions Coxswain Shaw decided it would be far safer to tow the yacht to Alderney with them aboard.

With only two able members aboard the yacht her skipper doubted their ability to manage her during the difficult tow so the Trent prepared to go alongside to transfer second coxswain Martin Harwood.

Throttles With more than 15ft of rise and fall between the vessels the transfer would be difficult. The problems were compounded by the fact that the yacht's sail was out to port, meaning that the lifeboat would have to put her port side to the yacht's starboard side. The Trent's throttles are on the starboard side of the upper steering position so Sieve Shaw's view of the delicate operation would be less than ideal.

Nevertheless he succeeded in putting the two vessels close together in a trough - minimising the relative motion-and Martin Harwood threw himself across the gap, landing in the rigging and crashing, bruised to the deck.

Transfer Martin Harwood checked the crew of the casualty while the lifeboat stood off to prepare for the tow, asking for thermal and survival suits to be passed over for them.

Steve Shaw brought the lifeboat in again to transfer the suits, and then once more to pass the tow line.

By 0411 Roy Barker /was on her way back in very uncomfortable conditions, although the seas had moderated slightly with the change of a tide.

There was more drama in store however, for as lifeboat and tow passed through some heavy seas to the north of some shallows known as the Pommier Bank the cleat ripped out of the yacht's deck and the tow was lost at 0605.

The heavy seas and gale force wind quickly blew Parthia downwind towards the jagged shore of Burhou, but Steve Shaw was able to put the lifeboat back alongside within 15 minutes and re-establish the tow before any harm befell her.

Decision The coxswain now faced a difficult decision.

Should he take the safer, but rougher and slower route through the Swinge, or stay north of Burhou and take the quicker and shorter route back to Alderney ? The risk here was that should the tow part again Parthia would be swept down onto Burhou and quickly break up.

With Partia's crew injured and suffering from hyperthermia Steve Shaw opted for the quicker route, bringing both boats into Alderney at 0716.

With an onshore wind the entrance to Braye Harbour, Alderney is very rough indeed and it was not possible to shorten up the tow in the usual way.

As a result the casualty swept round the end of the breakwater into more sheltered water and over-ran the tow line, beginning to blow down on to the rocky shoreline.

Martin Harwood and Steve Shaw reacted quickly - Martin cut the tow and Steve swung the lifeboat around for an alongside tow up to a safe berth.

Three saved from dismasted catamaran in storm conditions P) lymouth's Arun class City of Plymouth made headline news locally when she went to the aid of the 35ft catamaran Myros. which had been dismasted in storm force winds on Thursday 28 August 1997. During the five hours she was at sea the winds barely dropped below 45 knots.

Visibilty was severely restricted by heavy rainsqualls swept along by the Force 10 westerly and the lifeboat could not locate the catamaran in her reported position just a mile off the Mewstone outside Plymouth Harbour.

The lifeboat could not use her VHP direction finder as the casualty had lost her radio aerial when the mast came down and she had contacted the coastguard by mobile phone. With no radio contact possible the crew resorted to calling the casualty back on her mobile... and after a moment of worry when the call appeared to be diverted they were at last able to speak to Myros.

Although she fired flares at the lifeboat's request Myros could still not be seen, so the phone was used again to ask her for the last position she had received from her satellite navigation system before losing the aerial.

This put the casualty about five miles to the west in Bigbury Bay, where she was soon located when the search was diverted.

In very heavy seas the lifeboat came alongside twice, once to put crew members aboard and again to take off a female member of the yacht's crew, before Myros was towed slowly back to the safety of Plymouth's Mayflower Marina. So severe were the weather conditions in the area that the tow took some three-and-a-half hours..