Trapped_men rescued from pier supports 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 courageouslymade 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 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.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.