THE LIFEBOAT Mersey Class lifeboat ON 1183 Lil Cunningham Built: 1W2 Cost: C650.000 Funding: A generous gift Irom Miit Salty Cunningham of Derby in memory of her sister D class lifeboat D-485 Stafford with Rugtlty Built: 1995 Cost. ni.OOO Funding: An appeal by Stafford and Rugeley branch THE CREW Chair ma n't Latter of Thank i Mechanic Martin Jonei for his 'boat-handling skill, leadership and decision making in vefy rough conditions' Joined craw: 1987 Assistant Mechanic: 1991 Mechanic- 1994 Deputy Second Coxswain/Mechanic: 1997 Occupation: Full-time RNLI Deputy Second Co i iwa i n / Mech i nic Joint Operations Director's Letter of Thanks The Station honorary secretary, coxswain, crow and shoretalpers of fthyt lifeboat station Coxswain Peter Robinson Second Coxswawi Paul Archer-Jones Second Mechanic Paul Frost Third Mechanic Jimmy Quinn ALB Clew Members Dana Jones Dart ell Graham Helmsman Derek Demon ILB Cr«w Member Jason Stoplorih HHYL LJFE1OAT STATION Established: 18M Previous Medals Silver 1962 Bronif 1973 Thanks on Vellum: 197*1x3) THE CASUALTY 15m fishing vessel Dragonfly Crew: Four THECONOmONS Wind: NNE Force 6 Sea State: 1 Sm sw«ll and heavy, breaking surf'I was very concerned about the safety of the four people on board the Dragonfly. I didn't think the boat would take much more pounding.' Mamn Jones, Deputy Second Coxswain/MechanicFour saved .as their boat is destroyedOn the evening of Saturday, 24 February, four sailors were completing their journey from Liverpool to Rhyl, They were approaching Rhyl when they started to " have trouble with their engine. They cut the engine to wait for the tide to come in but then found that they couldn't restart it. The boat drifted into the surf, blown by an onshore wind. As the weather worsened, waves were crashing against the side of the fishing vessel and as water started to come over the side, the men decided they needed help.

The all-weather lifeboat was launched and headed towardsthe last known position of the casualty. As she neared the vessel, the crew could see a torch signalling to them. The Dragonfly was lying close inshore on the far side of a large sandbank. A heavy surf was breaking on the bank and the Dragonfly was being battered by heavy seas as her bow and stern were bottoming out in the shallow water, Coxswain Peter Robinson realised that the lifeboat would not be able to approach over the bank, so requested the launch of the D class. Just a few minutes later the ILB was launched from the nearby beach and approached the Mersey to receive instructions, Martin Jones had been on board the all-weather lifeboat when she launched but he now transferred to the D class and took over the helm from Derek Denton. Jason Stopforth, who was on his first night service, took the towline from the Mersey and the D class set off for the casualty.

As the D class passed over the bank, the shallow water caused even rougher seas and three large, breaking waves completely swamped the ILB as Martin struggled with the controls. 'The very strong onshore wind, combined with the shallow water on top of the bank, causing breaking surf, made conditions difficult,' Martin recalled. He needed both hands to control the tiller arm and all his skill and experience to cope in the surging seas.

As the lifeboat approached the casualty, the crew realised that the towline was not long enough to reach. To make matters worse, the violent movement of the ILB in the rough seas had meant that large bights of towline were lying in the water, in danger of fouling the propeller. Derek climbed outof the safety of the lifeboat into the waist-deep water on the bank. As the ILB stood by, illuminating him in the light of a torch, Derek struggled to untangle the heavy lines, finally freeing them safely.

However, the crew of the Dragonfly was now in serious trouble. Two enormous waves had broken over the boat, virtually filling the wheelhouse where the four crew members were sheltering. The pounding of the waves on the fishing vessel had also taken their toll and she appeared to be foundering.

Martin decided that he had to take the crew off as fast as possible.

With Derek back on board. Martin headed for the Dragonfly, which was now listing heavily to port. He took the lifeboat in under her lee and the first two casualties leapt from the Dragonfly into the safety of the D class. Before the other two could follow, a huge wave pushed the inflatable away from the stricken boat. Martin fought to regain control and went back in. The final two men jumped into the lifeboat and Martin immediately turned her around and headed away.'The casualties were very grateful.' remembered Martin. 'They had been at see for over six hours and were very cold.' Because of the poor state of the casualties, Martin turned the lifeboat straight back towards the beach, 400m away, while Derek and Jason treated the casualties for hypothermia. When the boat landed at the beach, the Coastguard and the lifeboat trailer were waiting. The lifeboat was loaded onto the trailer with the casualties still on board and hurried back to the boathouse. Although the trip only took around 15 minutes, one of the casualties lapsed into unconsciousness and the other three were also in a bad way.'It was good to see all the hard work and training done week in, week out put to good use. It was nice to receive the Chairman's Letter of Thanks. I feel honoured on behalf of Rhyl lifeboat station because it was a superb team effort from the coxswain, lifeboat crew and shorehelpers throughout the whole rescue.'Back at the boathouse the four men were kept warm until the ambulance arrived five minutes later.

The two casualties in the worst condition were taken to hospital while the other two waited for a second ambulance, which arrived five minutes later.

Fortunately all four men made a full recovery and were released from hospital the next day.Service to the Dragonfly 24 February 2001 1841 Holyhead Coastguard requests launch of the Rhyl lifeboat 1902 Rhyl Mersey class lifeboat Lit Cunningham launches 1909 Rhyl D class lifeboat Stafford with Rugeley launches 1915 Martin Jones transferred to ILB 1930 Derek Denton enters the water to untangle the lines 1945 Casualties taken off their vessel 1950 D class recovered to the beach 2005 Casualties transferred to boathouse 2010 First ambulance takes two casualties to hospital 2015 Second ambulance takes remaining two casualtiesTHE LIFEBOAT D class lifeboat D-429 Ml Built: 1992 Cost El 0.000 Funding Slockport SE branch THE CREW Chairman'* Latter at Think* Helmsman Duncan ChHille lot his 'boat hand l ng still and display of seamanship and sound IVdaernent' Joined crew 1998 Third Mechanic 2000 Occupation Marina Enginvar Chief Executive'! Letter of Thanks Crew Members Kevin Bentley Stephen Kingdon CALSHOT LIFEBOAT STATION Established 1971 Previous Medals Bronze 19761x3) THE CASUALTIES 1 One unknown yacht 1 Yecht April Legtnd Crew Two 3. Yacht On Y V* Crew Four THE CONDITIONS Wind SSW Force t. fi Sea Stale Moderate to rough with 1.5m swell Visibility GoodTriple rescue V"h • V ble BankThe last day of June 2001 marked the end of the BT Global Challenge and Calshot's D class lifeboat RJM was at sea to welcome the yachts back to Southampton. RNLI lifeboats are always on call, however, and at just after 3pm, they were alerted to an incident on the nearby Bramble Bank.

'My first thoughts were "Oh no, not today"', remembered Duncan Christie, helmsman of RJM. 'It was one of the busiest weekends of the year on the Solent, as everyone was out to welcome home the BT Global Challenge fleet of yachts. At the time we launched the tide was still ebbing and the wind freshening by the minute. The south-westerly wind was blowing straight up the western part of the solent against the tide, causing a lot of disturbed water over and around the Bramble Bank.' When the D class arrived on scene it found three yachts aground on the bank, spaced about 100m apart, all listing and rolling heavily in the swell. Independent rescue craft from Cowes Rescue and Hamble Rescue were standing off, unable to approach the yachts due to their deeper draft. 'The D class was the ideal boat to perform the rescue as it has an hydraulic tilt ram fitted which allows it to perform well in shallow water,' explained Duncan.

The crew approached the southernmost yacht and while Duncan took the lifeboat alongside, Kevin and Stephen managed to pass a towline from the yacht to the Hamble Rescue craft, which pulled the yacht safely into deeper water.

Duncan then approached the second yacht, April Legend, which was heeled over at 45° with one man and his wife aboard. Duncan took the lifeboat alongside the yacht and. with careful timing, Kevin was able to get aboard to assist the man in lowering the sails. Kevin then managed to coax the distraught woman out of the cabin and helped her aboard the lifeboat. Leaving Kevin aboard the April Legend, Duncan transferred the woman to the Hamble Rescue craft, which took her back to shore.

As the lifeboat returned to the April Legend, the crew of the third yacht. On Y Va, could be seen waving to attract attention as their yacht was heeled at about 45° with the four crew members clinging to the guard rail stanchions on the upper side. Just then, after continuous pounding, the yacht's keel snapped off and the On Y Va started rolling so violently that her mast was slapping into the water.

'Everything happened so fast that we had little time to think,' said Duncan, The On Y Va had lost its keel and our immediate concern was for the safety of the four people on board. They were hanging on to the upper port side stanchion and cockpit winch and it looked very much as if they were going to slide off into the water.' Duncan quickly checked that everyone was safe on the April Legend and hurried through the rough, shallow water to the third yacht. He carefully edged the lifeboat towards the cockpit of the yacht, constantly aware of the danger from the wildly swinging mast. His plan was to get each member of the crew to drop onto the lifeboat's canopy from the yacht's cockpit. He needed four runs to get all four crew members off, with Stephen hanging over the canopy to pull each crew member into the lifeboat. Each run required a great deal of skill and timing to avoid the slapping mast and the rolling of the yacht.

Having safely evacuated the crew, Duncan transferred them to the Hamble Rescue craft, which landed them at Calshot. He then returned to the April Legend'to remove Kevin and the yacht's owner. Theowner was transferred to the Hamble Rescue craft and was then reunited with his wife.

During the rescue of the On Y Va 's crew, Kevin had successfully deployed the April Legend's anchor.

However, the Coastguard were keen to deploy the anchor on the On Y Va to prevent her from drifting and becoming a hazard to navigation. The D class made several attempts to put a crewman on board but eventually had to abort as Duncan considered the risk of injury or damage to the lifeboat too dangerous. 'We tried to anchor her to the bank but it proved too dangerous to enter underneath the heaving mast,' remembered Duncan. "On our fourth attempt we managed to put Kevin on board. He tried to put the anchor out but it was impossible due to the loss of electrics. I then decided to move Kevin from the yacht and take the lifeboat back into safer waters away from the mast, as by then we were happy that the tide was now flooding back over the bank and there was no longer any danger that the yacht was going to drift.' Cowes Rescue brought out a large orange buffer, which Kevin secured to the yacht to mark her position at high water.

'This combined shout was the most demanding I have ever experienced,' Duncan said. The lifeboat performed brilliantly in the conditions and the only time I felt in any danger was while working around the grounded vessels. After the service I felt totally exhausted, as the day seemed more like six months than one hour.'THE LIFEBOAT Trent class lifeboat ON-1227 Mart Edith MicDonatd Bi-ili 1996 COS! £1.175m Funding Btquest from Mi» Mof« Edith Mac Donald, together with the bequests of Mrs Janet Boyd Finlay- Mnclean. Mrs Harriett Elizabeth Willis Gaunt and Mrs Annia Thomson Hart THE CREW Chairman's Lattar of Thanhs Craw member Bonnie MicKillop for h:s 'date i mm a Iron to succeed despite the conditions' Joined crew 1997 Occupation Painter and Dec or at ot Second Coxswain David Graham Mechanic Jam** Watson Deputy Second Co«s«ain William Forteith Second Mechanic Keith Burnett OBAN LIFEBOAT STATION Established 1972 Previous Medals Thanks on Vellum 1985 THE CASUALTY Unconscious man m wale' THE CONDITIONS Weather Overcast Visibility Good Wind NNW Force 7 Sea Stale 1m swell confined by the backwash from the harbour walls and moored fishing vesselsHarbour rescue saves unconscious manMost of Oban was safely tucked up in bed when the lifeboat crew's pagers sounded at 12.50am on Monday, 16 April. Clyde Coastguard had received a report of a man in the water just off South Pier, in Oban Harbour. Second coxswain David Graham and crew member Ronnie MacKillop were at the station within two minutes and, as the lifeboat station is next to the pier, they took a few moments to assess the situation from the shore.

The local Coastguard team told them that there was a man in the water between two fishing vessels. He had been in for about 15 minutes and was starting to suffer from cold and exposure. A second man was also in the water, holding on to a harbour ladder. Realising that someone would have to go in to help the men out, Ronnie volunteered to put on his drysuit so he could enter the water.

The lifeboat launched just 4 minutes after the pagers had gone off and arrived on scene just 1 minute later. To reach the area where the two men were, David had to manoeuvre around a raft of fishing boats five deep before putting the lifeboat alongside the starboard side of a second raft of two fishing boats. It was between these two boats that the casualties were trapped.

As soon as the lifeboat was alongside, Ronnie carefully dropped into the water, glad of the protection of his drysuit and lifejacket. Despite the confused seas, he managed to swim round the bow of the first boat into the gap between them. Once in the gap, he found one man in a life ring being held onto by a fisherman stood on a tyre fender. He reached the man and conducted a rapid assessment of his condition. The man appeared unconscious and was certainly past helping himself.

Ronnie realised that it would be difficult to pull the unconscious man from the water in the confined space, so decided to tow him back to the lifeboat.

He tried to start towards the lifeboat but realised that the life ring was tied to the fishing boat. He shouted up at the fishing crew to release it but because of the noise of the wind and the general hubbub at the scene it was a few minutes before he could make those in the boat understand. Once they realisedwhat he wanted, he was able to swim around the bow of the fishing boat towing the unconscious man, taking care he didn't slip out of the life ring.

By the time Ronnie reached the lifeboat he was getting very tired and realised he would need help to finish the rescue. He shouted for assistance and Keith Burnett, who was also wearing a dry suit, came into the water to help. The two men were then able to tow the casualty round to the starboard side of the lifeboat where the crew on board were able to reach down and haul him aboard. Unfortunately the A frame lifting device, ideal for this task, couldn't be used because of the confined area. Ronnie and Keith decided to swim to shore, as this would allow the lifeboat to return more quickly to the boathouse with the casualty.

As soon as the two crew members were safely away from the lifeboat, David returned to shore while the other crew members treated the casualty. An ambulance was waiting on shore and the still-unconscious man was taken straight to hospital. David then returned to the sight of the incident to check that everyone was out of the water and safe. He found one of the fishermen being treated for the effects of hypothermia and decided the safest method of landing him to the ambulance was on the lifeboat. Once this man was safely in the hands of the paramedics, David took the lifeboat back toils berth.The only way to recover the casualty was to put a man in the water. Ronnie recognised the problem as soon as he srrivedand immediately volunteered to take on the task.

His clarity of thought and rapid preparation meant that he was ready to act as soon as the lifeboat was on scene.Open day drama Hoylake's open day was interrupted when the lifeboat was called out.

Visitors on a guided lour of the Lady of Hilbre were asked to evacuate quickly so she could rush to the aid of a troubled yacht. The vessel was towed to safety as thousands of visitors looked on.

Baby on board Kerrie Hazel MacGillivray had an unusual start in life on 13 August, when she was born on board the Oban lifeboat. The Ralph and Bonella Farrant was called to the Isle of Mull to take mother Fiona to Oban hospital but Kerrie couldn't wait that long and arrived during the crossing, with the help of a midwife brought over from the mainland.Sea trials interrupted to rescue seriously ill fishermanThe RNL) knows how to get the maximum benefit from its contractors. DML Ltd, the Plymouth-based dockyard, are responsible for building and repairing some of the all-weather lifeboats. But in July several DML staff were involved in a dramatic rescue when they helped pick up three fishermen whose boat was drifting onto rocks in Plymouth Sound.

The St Peter Port lifeboat from Guernsey had just undergone engine repairs with DML and five members of staff were aboard on routine trials with the coxswain of the RNLI's Falmouth lifeboat, Alan Barnes, in charge. The trials had hardly started when the lifeboat was asked to respond to a Mayday call from a fishing boat which was out of control and heading for the Mewstone.

On reaching the boat, the Flying Fish, DML boathouse slinger Terry Furze was transferred aboard with a stretcher to help pick up one of the crew, who had suffered a suspected heart attack.

DML production manager Richard Brown, who was on board at the time, takes up the story. 'We were on the Millbay side of the river when we received the SOS from three men out on a fishing trip. Apparently, their boat had lost power and was drifting towards rocks at the Mewstone with one of the men on board seriously ill.

'We set off straight away across the Sound. A yacht had also answered their Mayday call and when we got there, she was keeping the boat off the rocks with a tow rope. It was quite rough and the sea was very choppy. Alan quickly took over and wentalongside. A first aider, Geoff Maughn from Finnings UK, was on board and was sent across to help the man who was ill. Terry then went across with a stretcher and Alan called for back-up from the Plymouth lifeboat and a helicopter.

The casualty was brought back to our lifeboat and by that time, the Plymouth lifeboat and a helicopter had arrived on the scene and the man was airlifted to Derriford Hospital.' Alan had high praise for his temporary crew, which included other personnel from Finnings and Marine Instruments. They were smashing', he said.

'I'd have them as my crew anytime. They all responded very quickly to my instructions and I was very impressed the way they handled themselves in an emergency.'Pier rescue The Redcar relief Atlantic 21 lifeboat Himley Hall was returning from a false alarm when the Coastguard asked the crew to investigate a report of children in difficulty at the end of Saltburn Pier. The lifeboat arrived quickly and found three young boys clinging to the end of the pier structure.

Two of the boys were immediately taken on board the lifeboat but the third appeared to be in good condition and started to swim back to the shore.

After just 20m, however, he too got into difficulty and was taken aboard the lifeboat with his friends.

The lifeboat then landed the boys at Saltburn where they were checked over and found to be exhausted but otherwise fine.Whale trouble When the Macduff lifeboat was called out following a call reporting a yacht in trouble, all it found was a whale relaxing in the water. It was blowing up a fine mist with its blowhole and the sun reflecting off this mist gave the impression of a sail appearing and disappearing.Designed to be as tough as it takes! If there was ever any doubt that the RNLI's technical team designs its lifeboats so that they are sturdy enough to face the worst possible conditions, then the events of Sunday. 9 September were surely proof enough.

At 6.45 that morning, the Rosslare Harbour lifeboat was berthed in the lifeboat pen as the Stena Line, Fishguard to Rosslare ferry was arriving from Wales. As the ferry was being manoeuvred into her berth, adjacent to the lifeboat berth, she struck the pen structure. The sheer size and weight of the ferry meant that she crashed straight through the pen and ploughed into the Arun class lifeboat St Brendan.

The force of the collision virtually destroyed the steel framework of the pen structure and caused extensive damage to the lifeboat. The Arun's deck fittings were swept away and, as the bow of the lifeboat was pushed down by the weight of the ferry, water entered the vessel through the forward spaces. Fortunately, no one was on board the lifeboat and nobody aboard the ferry was injured.

Throughout the day Rosslare lifeboat personnel and divisional staff got the lifeboat ready for sea and eventually she was towed from her mooring for underwater inspection. The inspection revealed that the lifeboat could proceed under her own power to Kilmore Quay.

It happened that the Portrush lifeboat crew were on passage nearby with a relief boat bound for Malahide. They were diverted to Rosslare Harbour instead, leaving the station without lifeboat cover for as short a time as possible. The damaged lifeboat is now at Holyhead awaiting a report from the insurance assessors.

It is unlikely that the lifeboat pen will be rebuilt in the same place, as there is a clear risk of repeat damage and alternative berth locations are being investigated. In the meantime the lifeboat is operating from a deep water mooring. In the aftermath of the collision the efforts of the station honorary secretary Buddy Miller and the Rosslare crew were superb. They were supported by the divisional team, Kilmore Quay lifeboat station personnel, the harbour master and RNLI deputy launching authority, Aidan Jameson, and the Portrush lifeboat crew.Fouled propeller stops Northern Star On Sunday. 12 August, Bantry Coast Guard Radio received a request for assistance from the fishing trawler Northern Star. She had a fouled propeller and was unable to free herself. The Castletownbere Arur class lifeboat Floy and Barbara Harding launched at 4.32pm. On board were coxswain Brian O'Driscoll, mechanic Brendan Connelly, second coxswain Mick Martin-Sullivan, second mechanic Marney O'Donoghue and crew members Paul Stevens and James Murphy.

The lifeboat reached the casualty after two hours and passed a towline across. She started to tow the 25m, 160 tonne trawler towards safety. However, after 40 minutes, the crew of the fishing boat alerted the lifeboat crew that the rope and net that had been fouling the propeller had come free. Under careful observation from the lifeboat crew, the trawler captain started the engines and engaged the tail shaft. Everything was found to be operating correctly so the lifeboat released its tow and headed back to Castletownbere.The importance of teamwork Although the RNLI is entirely independent of government, it couldn't operate without the support of official organisations such as the Coastguard, which coordinates all rescues at sea.

An incident on 13 June demonstrated Ihis, when the Portsmouth-based Royal Navy frigate, HMS Kent, responded to a distress call off the south-west coast of Wales.

The ship, commanded by Commander John Clink, was conducting a routine exercise when she heard the distress call stating that the Wasini was taking on water and needed assistance. Shortly afterwards, distress flares were fired.

HMS Kent quickly approached the vessel and launched her seaboat with a small team of sailors and engineers aboard.

They brought the Wasini alongside the Kent before pumping out the water. By this time, the Angle and St Davids lifeboats had arrived. The St Davids lifeboat put a crew member aboard the casualty to assist with the lifeboat's portable pump. After discussion it was decided to tow the vessel back to Dale Beach. The casualty's crew were transferred onto the Angle lifeboat and the St Davids Tyne class lifeboat Garside, towed the Wasini back to port.

The Kent has since sailed to the Arabian Gulf to start her first operational deployment.'If it wasn't for Scott's vigilance, the two sailors could have been in serious trouble.'Two sailors were rescued from their capsized boat in May this year thanks to the eagle eyes of an 11-year-old boy from South Queensferry. Scott Findlater spotted an object floating in the water from his bedroom window and raised the alarm. As a tribute to his observation and persistence, Scott received an RNLI operations director's letter of thanks and the BBC recently re-enacted the rescue for the children's TV programme. Against All Odds.

Gavin Sprott and his daughter Kathenne had been out sailing when their yacht was swamped by an enormous wave at around 7pm. They clung to the upturned boat as 30mph winds swept them along for more than a mile. They had been in the water for more than an hour and a half before the lifeboat reached them but it could have been much longer if they hadn't been spotted by Scott.

He was looking out of his bedroom window when he spotted an object in the water and alerted his father, Gordon.

Using a powerful telescope, Mr Findlater realised that there were two people stranded in the water and immediately called the Coastguard. The inshore lifeboat from Queensferry was launched and found Gavin and (Catherine clinging to the boat- They were both suffering from hypothermia and could not have hung on for much longer The lifeboat crew helped them into the lifeboat and landed them at Hawes Pier where they were treated by ambulance crew before being taken to St John's Hospital in Livingstone. They both made a full recovery and were released from hospital the following day.

The BBC decided to include the story in Against All Odds and arranged for a reconstruction of the rescue. Filming took place on location in October. The parts of Gavin Sprott and his daughter were played by lifeboatman Duncan Small and local actress Kathryn Ritchie- The lifeboat crew from that night, helmsman lain Leil and crew members Scott Boyd and David McNeil, played themselves, as did Scon and his father.

Filming commenced with the firing of maroons to scramble the lifeboat. She was quickly launched and sped to the scene of the stricken yacht, supplied by South Queensferry Sea Cadets. The sailors were taken aboard and given thermal wraps before being taken back to Hawes Pier, where they were met by Scott, his father and Mike Davis, deputy launching authority and training officer at Queensferry lifeboat station. Some of the filming was quite spectacular, with one scene involving the capsize of the yacht, throwing Kathrvn and Duncan into the water.

Oliver Ludlow from Port Edgar Sailing School provided the waves with the wash from his high-speed craft. Kathryn and Duncan showed great resilience as they were in and out of the water all day.

The finished film will be shown as part of the BBC's Against All Odds programme in Spring 2002..