Rescue against the clock Drifting closer to a rocky shore minute by minute, the yacht Headstrong needed help to survive the night. But would the Plymouth lifeboat reach them in time?Hampered by fishing gear around her propeller, Headstrong was in dire straits, 7 miles from Plymouth lifeboat station. The conditions were against the crew of four, with SE force 8-9 winds, very rough sea conditions and poor visibility, The Arun class lifeboat City of Plymouth launched at 6.12pm on 21 May 2002.

Initially the crew thought it would be a straightforward shout. Second Coxswain Sean Marshall recalled: 'We plotted our course and, although the weather was bad, at first it didn't appear to be a lifethreatening situation.' However, the yacht was not actually at the reported coordinates. A problem with the radar meant that the lifeboat could not pinpoint the yacht's position. Luckily, a crew member spotted the yacht and the City of Plymouth reached scene just over half an hour after launching.

They soon realised, to their dismay, that the situation was more serious than first thought. Sean commented: 'When we saw where the yacht actually was, it put a whole new spin on things.' Stern to sea, with regular breaking waves entering her cockpit area, the yacht was slowly drifting towards a rocky shore. With the radar not working properly, Coxswain Dave Mitford judged that they were about 750m away. Luckily, the fishing gear that had caused the problem in the first place was now slowing down the deadly drift to shore. Dave reflected: 'Talk about pulling six numbers! The yacht got its prop tangled in fishing gear - the chances of that are rare anyway but to be drifting towards the rocks and to be saved by this going around the prop is unbelievable. It slowed their drift rate down and if that hadn't happened - they would have been on the rocks long before we got there.' The crew could see two members of the yacht crew huddled in the cockpit. As time was against them, Dave decided to place a lifeboatman on board to establish a tow.

Second Coxswain Sean Marshall, aged 29, volunteered for the job.

Simply getting close enough to the yacht for Sean to jump was not easy, with a 6-7m swell. On the first attempt, Dave positioned the lifeboat within leaping range for Sean, who used his judgement on when to jump. He landed safely and the lifeboat quickly moved away to prevent a collision.

Now on board the yacht, Sean assessed the two people in the cockpit and judged that they would be unable to help accept the tow or be evacuated. He took charge of the situation and moved them down to the cabin to join the other two.

Meanwhile, Dave was increasingly concerned that Headstrong was getting too close to the lee shore. It was imperative to secure the tow line immediately.

The lifeboat quickly approached and the tow line was thrown to Sean, who secured it to the foredeck of the yacht. Now less than 400m from shore, the seas were beginning to break. Dave was concerned that entangled fishing gear would damage the propeller shaft during the tow, leading to flooding. Attempts by Sean to free the propeller shaft by removing the floating remains of the fishing gear with a boathook were unsuccessful. With conditions worsening, there was no time to put another crew member on board to help Sean. So with both lifeboat and casualty facing into sea, David used a short tow of 9m to pull the yacht gently half a mile off shore, out of immediate danger.

Just when they thought they were making progress, they heard a loud noise below the vessel. They feared it was the fishing gear damaging the propeller shaft.

David remembers the moment: 'I was concerned about the fishing gear around the prop. If I'd pulled the prop shaft out when towing the yacht, water would have bucketed in.'As he couldn't find any problems, Sean was happy to conclude that the noise had probably been the entangled fishing gear breaking away.

To avoid dangers at the eastern entrance to Plymouth breakwater, David towed Headstrong further to the western entrance to Plymouth Sound. At 3-4 knots in rough conditions it was tough going for all the crew. Sean was steering the yacht, with the sea breaking over the stern. With remarkable endurance in these conditions, Sean was at the helm for "P/j hours.

Sean also monitored the condition ofthe crew, who started to feel better once inside Plymouth Sound. They all reached the safety of theTorpoint Ferry area and the City of Plymouth returned to the station after a three-hour service. After the rescue Sean said: 'Everyone was on a high. It was a good job - the outcome was great and it had gone like clockwork.1 'It was one that I will always remember because there were a combination of factors that could have made the outcome very grave.' Sean Marshall David Milford was awarded the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum for his role in the rescue, in recognition of his skills in leadership, boathandling, and his swift thinking and actions. Sean received a bronze medal for his bravery, skill and endurance.

He modestly stresses that it was a team effort: 'I was delighted when they announced the award but it really is testament to the whole station.' The award to Sean Marshall is the first medal at Plymouth station for 25 years.

Sean was only a young boy when the previous medals were awarded, but he knows one of the heroes well. By being presented with the bronze medal, he is following in the footsteps of his very own father, Pat Marshall, who was awarded a bronze medal in 1978.

Deja vu The duo that rescued the lives of four people on the yacht Headstrong are making a habit of saving lives in outstanding services Dave Milford and Sean Marshall have been awarded the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum for their role in the rescue of a lone skipper on 9 June 2002, just 19 days after the medal-winning rescue of Headstrong.

It was late at night when the City of Plymouth launched to help the 6.5m yacht the March Hare. With winds gusting up to gale force 9 and waves of up to 6m, the journey was physically demanding even with all the crew seated and strapped in. They reached the casualty just after midnight. The yacht Marc/? Hare was in a bad way. With its engine jammed it was pitching heavily and rolling through at least 50 degrees. With the searchlight the crew spotted the skipper as he looked out of the main hatch to signal he was there. The lifeboat drew close to the yacht and the crew reassured the skipper that they would put a lifeboatman on board to help.

David and Sean knew what had to be done. As with the rescue of Headstrong, the coxswain would pull alongside the yacht and Sean would jump onto the vessel. The manoeuvre went well and Sean jumped safely onto the March Hare. Then David made another expertly judged approach the yacht again to throw a drogue to Sean.

'Dave and I have worked together for so long that we almost have a sixth sense.' Sean Marshall On board the March Hare Sean had a lot of work to do to prepare the yacht for a tow.

With the yacht pitching and rolling wildly, Sean clipped on his safety line whenever possible. He used his sailing knowledge to furl the sail and secure it. He noticed that the mast was in danger of collapse and was looking for a rope to secure it when a huge wave hit the boat. As Sean grabbed hold of the mast, the wave broke over him. He managed to hold on, but the wave had inflated his lifejacket. So David took the City of Plymouth close to the casualty again, to throw Sean a replacement lifejacket and Sean got back to work, Sean did all he could to stabilise the yacht and was then ready to receive the tow. Two hours after launching, the tow line was secured and the tow commenced. David then had the near impossible task of maintaining a safe speed for the casualty, but providing enough power to make headway in the large seas. Both boats rolled violently during the tow, but a speed of 2-4 knots was maintained. After a gruelling tow of over four hours, March Hare reached the safety of Sutton Harbour. Simon Pryce, divisional inspector (South) commented on the good teamwork of the whole crew. He praised Sean's 'courage' and commented that David's boathandling was excellent: 'It is a measure of his skill that nobody was hurt.'THE LIFEBOAT Arun class lifeboat ON-1136 City of Plymouth Funding: The citizens of Plymouth together with other gifts and legacies THE CREW Coxswain Dave Milford Crew members Sean Marshall Dave Ellis Sean O'Kane Christopher Cook Andrew Thompson Jonathan West PLYMOUTH LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 1824 Previous RNLI medals: 15 silver and 5 bronze THE CASUALTY Crew of four on the Dana 34 yacht Headstrong THE CONDITIONS Weather Rain Visibility: Poor Wind: Force 9 Sea state: RoughCommunity spirit The residents of the tranquil island of Alderney in the Channel Islands are reknowned for being laid back, but with three lives in danger, the community sprang into actionA 13-year-old girl was knocked off her feet and swept into the sea when playing on the water-covered causeway at Fort Clonque on 9 August. When her 16-yearold friend and a passer-by tried to help her, they also got washed off the causeway.

Gone 10pm, the evening was drawing in and rain made visibility poor, but people staying in the fort could see two of the casualties clinging to a rock close to the causeway. Breaking water surrounded the pair, and the rock was often awash.

When Station Honorary Secretary David McAllister heard of the disaster from the Harbour Office, he authorised the launch of the station's D class and Trent class lifeboats and rushed to the scene. Mechanic Phil Murray was celebrating his wife's birthday in a restaurant when his pager went off. Phil ran to the station and put on inshore lifeboat kit and was soon on his way with Francois Jean and Wayne Chandler.

Both lifeboats battled through rough sea conditions with the wind of force 5-6 blowing across the tide. Drizzle and spray along with fading light meant that visibility was poor. The area is also rocky, but Phil at the helm of the D class knew that seconds could make the difference between life and death and took the shortest route possible through the rocks.

As Phil commented after the rescue, they just got on with the job in hand: 'It's visors down and away you go.' The Spirit of Alderney reached the scene within 10 minutes of launching, just before the all-weather lifeboat. The D class lifeboat crew spotted the first girl clinging onto a rock. The area was illuminated by police landrovers on shore with spotlights and white parachute rockets from shore and the all-weather lifeboat positioned to the south of the causeway. There was now no sign of the other two casualties. Phil decided to try to reach the casualty in the D class, despite the surf and the precarious rocks.

Phil commented: 'If we'd have got it wrong, we could have capsized the boat in breaking waves.' But time was crucial: if the young girl lost her grip or tried to swim for shore, it is likely that her life would be lost. The all-weather lifeboat repositioned herself at the north side of the causeway to act as a safety boat in case the Spirit of Atdemey got into difficulty in the surf.

At one point they were within 3m of the girl, but despite many attempts to reach her, the D class could not get close enough. The boat was grounding on the rocks in 1-2m swell and the propeller kept touching the bottom,damaging all three blades.

From the shore David McAllister and Crew Member Mark Gaudion could see that the lifeboat was struggling to reach the casualty. David acted quickly. He requested ropes and lifejackets be sent to the causeway from the station and advised others not to risk their lives wading out. Recalling the moment, David said he did not want someone who 'wasn't a lifeboat person' to risk their lives as this was 'not the right thing to do'.

When the equipment arrived they quickly donned lifejackets and tied themselves together with a rope from the station.

Policemen and two shore helpers tended the end of the rope as they waded out.

Mark and David risked serious injury if they lost their footing, but they were well aware that they didn't have much time.

They didn't know how long the 13 year old could hold on for.

The men were only 9m from shore when strength of tide made progress difficult, with around 80m to go. David had the presence of mind to place the rope on the upside of a wooden post next to the causeway. This eased their progress towards the girl and also ensured that they would not be swept quite so far out if they did lose their footing.

Phil on the D class knew that the boat would be inoperable if it suffered more damage to the propeller. As it was, he described it as being: 'Like a little cauliflower'. With David and Mark getting closer to the girl, Phil made the difficult decision to leave the girl to them.

He decided to change his damaged propeller in the lee of Fort Clonque and look for the other casualties.

Spirit ofAlderney moved around the fort to Hannaine Bay on the south side of the causeway to change the propeller. The conditions in the bay were not much calmer, and before they had a chance to change the propeller, they spotted the two other casualties.

By the light of the flares they saw that the second girl was on rocks very close to the fort. She would soon be taken to safety by the group at Fort Clonque. But the man was on a large rock north of the causeway. Despite the problems with the propeller in horrendous conditions, the crew decided to attempt to rescue the man without delay.

Meanwhile David and Mark battled their way to the first girl on the rock.

Mark commented that despite the pressure of the situation: 'Everybody was very calm, controlled and focussed on the job in hand.'They reached the exhausted casualty and Mark hoisted her onto his shoulder and started back to the shore.

Soon, both girls were back on dry land. As predicted, the second girl was recovered by the group at the fort. The police vehicle crossed the causeway to pick up the girl.

The D class pushed through waves of 1-2m towards the remaining casualty.

They drew close to the man, put the nose of the lifeboat jammed up on the rock and helped him on board. The casualty was then transferred quickly onto the allweather lifeboat where the crew treated him with first aid, for shock and mild hypothermia. Phil spoke of the 'great relief to get the fellow on the boat.' The all-weather lifeboat watched over the damaged D class on the way back to the station where an ambulance crew took the man to hospital and where the propeller was finally changed on the D class. Everybody was safe and tranquility returned to the island. Phil went back to the restaurant, Bump's eating house, with Francois, where the owners treated the men to a well-deserved big steak.

Phil received a bronze medal for his actions in the D class and Mark and David were awarded the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum for their bravery.

Surprised, but proud of their awards, the three play down their heroism. Phil claimed: 'We weren't really brave. We had the best kit money could buy. We do what anybody would do.'The three holidaymakers had been saved by the bravery of individuals and a community effort. The rescue was well coordinated by the Harbour Office and it involved not only the island's two lifeboats, but also David and Mark from the shore, the police and St John Ambulance.THE LIFEBOATS D class lifeboat 0-551 Spirit ofAlderney Funding: Miss EM Brook Trent class lifeboat ON-1199 Roy Barker I Funding: Legacy of Frederick Roy Barker D CLASS CREW Helmsman Philip Murray Crew members Francois Jean, Wayne Chandler TRENT CLASS CREW Coxswain Declan Caudion Crew members Martin Harwood, Ivan Randall, William Watt James Walker, Andy Joyce SHORE HELPERS David McAllister, Mark Caudion ALDERNEY LIFEBOAT STATION Established: First established in 1869, closed in 1884.

Re-established 1985 Previous RNLI medals: 1 silver, 4 bronze THE CASUALTY Three holidaymakers THE CONDITIONS Weather: Rain Visibility: Fair visibility, fading light and darkness Wind: Force 6 Sea state: Rough, tidal current and heavy swellifeboats in Damage limitation Caught out by severe weather that had not been forecast, the yacht Piciess had broken mast and sail and had engine failure. The 6.5m yacht and its crew of two, were at the mercy of the seas, 5 miles east of Lymington lifeboat station When the Atlantic 75 Victor'Danny'Lovelock launched just after 3pm on 9 September, Nicholas Hayward at the helm knew it was going to be 'a hands-on job'. They had to reach the Piciess before the floundering yacht sank.

Conditions were difficult even at the launching site - just within limits for the lifeboat. Away from the lee of the land, the conditions deteriorated. Gale force winds reached force 9 and there were frequent waves of over 3m.

Before going any further, Nicholas checked with the crew that they were willing to proceed in such rough conditions. Short seas and steep waves made the passage very demanding, physically and mentally, but they were all witling to continue to try to save the pair on the yacht. As helmsman, Nicholas said: 'I had full confidence in my crew and the boat'. The Atlantic 75 had only arrived at Lymington in June, but Nicholas remarked that: 'it performed well in extreme conditions, proving itself over the 21.' The crew spotted the casualty and arrived on the scene only 10 minutes after launching. The yacht was without power due to intake of water and her mast and sail were hanging over the port side, still attached to the rigging. It was rolling and pitching violently with waves breaking continuously over the port side. The two crew were huddled in the cockpit.The 11m yacht Golden Com was nearby, but it could not help because of the conditions.

Nicholas decided to put experienced crew member Barry Down on board to secure a tow. The helmsman intended to put the lifeboat's port bow on the yacht's starboard bow, so Barry could transfer to the yacht. Erratic movements from the yacht made this extremely difficult, but the crew managed it on the fourth attempt.

Once on board the yacht, Barry secured the broken mast and rigging and received the tow. Once the tow was secured, he checked the yacht's crew. They were sensibly dressed in foul weather clothing, but they were cold and wet as the cabin offered them little protection from the waves.

The lifeboat started towing Piciess to Lymington into the prevailing wind and sea, but even at 3 knots the pressure on the tow line was immense. Nicholas made a quick decision to change course to Cowes marina.

He waited for a lull in the conditions and then altered round to the east.

Soon after this, Barry became concerned about the condition of one of the yacht's crew. Barry slipped the tow and prepared the man for the transfer. The lifeboat reversed back alongside the yacht, both pitching violently, when movements were mirrored, the man was hauled into the lifeboat. He was suffering from seasickness and cold, so the crew transfered him to the larger yacht, Golden Corn. These actions required precision manoeuvring from Nicholas.

The tow line was secured again and the tow recommenced. The lifeboat, casualty and the Golden Com reached the safety of the entrance to the River Medina, in the lee of the land. The crew secured Piciess on the portside of the lifeboat.

They knew they had made it once they entered Cowes Marina along with the Golden Corn. The two yachtsmen didn't need medical attention, so the crew left them and returned to Lymington lifeboat station.

The crew were delighted to complete the physically demanding three-hour service.

Nicholas praised the efforts of the crew and commented that they: 'all had taken quite a beating' and were all tired and bruised. They were thankful that the only casualty during the rescue was the tow line, which had to be replaced after suffering friction damage.

The helmsman's boat handling, seamanship skill and leadership saved two lives and he was awarded the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum for his role in the rescue. Nicholas commented: 'To get any award is a great honour, not just for me, but everyone at the station'.THE LIFEBOAT Atlantic 75 lifeboat B-784 Victor 'Danny' Lovelock Funding: Mrs Iris Lovelock THE CREW Helmsman Nicholas Hayward Crew members Barry Down, Robin Mursell, Austin Honeysett LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 1965 Previous RNLI medals: Bronze medal in 1981 THE CASUALTY Crew of two on the 6.5m yacht Piciess THE CONDITIONS Weather: Rain, Visibility: Poor Wind: Force 9, Sea state: Very roughHostage drama Invergordon lifeboat crew came under attack when they went to the aid of the merchant cargo ship fst, where the ship's first mate had allegedly taken his shipmates hostage Lifeboat crew are trained to be ready for anything, but no-one coutd have predicted the high drama that took place at Invergordon on 15 January 2003.

The Trent class lifeboat launched at approximately 7.45am following a mayday call from fst. Despite winds of gale force 8, the lifeboat soon reached the vessel that was anchored near the entrance to the Cromarty Firth. The lifeboat stood by fst ready to offer assistance until 11am, when a flare, was fired apparently at the lifeboat, by one of the ship's crew members.

Fortunately it missed the lifeboat landing harmlessly in the sea and the lifeboat withdrew to a safe distance.

The lifeboatmen coutd see that there was a disturbance among the ship's crew and that a fire had broken out on board.

One fst crew member jumped into the sea and was recovered by the lifeboat. Three more crew members signaled they wanted to leave the boat.

Despite the gale and 2m swell, Coxswain Andrew Murray took the lifeboat alongside the ship and managed to get two crew off safely. The third crew member jumped into the sea and Allan Lipp entered the water to save him. He was recovered unconscious a few minutes later and was resuscitated on board the lifeboat.

The lifeboat returned to Invergordon and landed four casualties. On arrival, one man was taken to hospital by ambulance. The other three were treated at the lifeboat station by local paramedics and a local doctor. The lifeboat immediately changed crew and relaunched to standby in case further help was needed.

The fst's Ukrainian first mate was apparently wielding an axe and had 'lost his mind' but finally gave himself up to police after lengthy discussions through an interpreter. The first mate was arrested and taken to shore five hours after the incident began. Thanks to the actions of the Invergordon lifeboatmen and the police, no lives were lost in this most unpredictable service.n cave rescue An 11-year-old girl and her father were surfing on holiday in North Cornwall when the high tide swept them away. It was early evening on 10 August when a horrified mother watched her daughter and husband drifting further and further away from her. She alerted the emergency services immediately When the St Agnes lifeboat crew heard of the surfers in trouble they were determined to come to the rescue. However, launching the D class lifeboat was no mean feat as high tide meant that the area was restricted to a narrow slipway. It took considerable skill by Helmsman Andrew Northcote, his crew, Rory Bushe and Carey Morgan, and six shore helpers to launch Blue Peter IV.

Once launched, it was not an easy passage. Andy Northcote, on his first shout as helmsman, praised his fellow lifeboatmen: The crew were excellent, riding the boat extremely well in those conditions. I had full confidence in them.' He also praised the performance of the boat, saying that both crew and boat 'got a bit of a pounding' on the 20-minute passage.

On their approach, the crew saw the Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter hovering around the cliffs at Perranporth and knew that the casualties must be in the caves. The helicopter had spotted the surfers, but could not get to them because of a rock overhang.

Two off duty Perranporth RNLI Beach Rescue lifeguards had also launched their Arancia rescue boat. As the D class was nearly on the scene, the Beach Rescue boat acted as a safety boat, working with the lifeboatmen.

Blue Peter IV reached the cave entrance.

Familiar with the area, the lifeboat crew knew there were no underwater obstructions, but there was a 1-2m swell and considerable surf of about 2m around the entrance of the cave. They were aware that the girl was asthmatic and decided that there was no time to lose.

Approaching on the back of a wave, Andrew drove the lifeboat into the cave and with the power of the engine, he forced the front of the lifeboat onto the rock ledge at the back of the cave. Carey held the vessel against the rock while Rory helped the two casualties into the lifeboat.

When all were safely on board, Andrew waited for a wave to lift the boat, and used brute strength and considerable skill to reverse out of the cave. After the rescue he commented that he didn't worry about how dangerous it all was: 'With all the backwash we almost got sideswiped. I really didn't have time to think like that. I saw a lull in the conditions and went for it.

The crew checked the casualties. Both were suffering from mild hypothermia and the girl was suffering from a tight chest.

The crew gave her oxygen and took the pair ashore as quickly as possible to an ambulance crew and a relieved mother, only 25 minutes after launching. The lifeboatmen realised that the job was done when they reached the shore safely and got applause and cheers from a crowd that had gathered on the clifftop.

Andy Northcote was awarded the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum, and said: 'We were stoked. You don't think about awards but when we were told I thought at first it was a wind up.' Andy stressed the important role of the launch team and the other rescue services involved: The teamwork was second to none.' Rory and Carey received letters of thanks from the Chairman, the shore helpers received a letter of appreciation from the Chief Executive, and the operations director sent the two off-duty lifeguards a letter of appreciation. At the crew's annual dinner in December, a simple but poignant message from the rescued father and daughter was read out to the lifeboat crew: 'We are thrilled to learn of the awards to the brave lifeboatmen Andy, Rory and Carey. We're deeply grateful to them for rescuing us from the cave that night - they risked their lives to save ours.'THE LIFEBOAT D class lifeboat D-453 Blue Peter IV Funding: Proceeds from a Blue Peter TV appeal 1993/94 THE CREW Helmsman Andrew Northcote Crew members Rory Bushe, Carey Morgan Shore crew Gavin Forehead, Michael Williams, John Gunkle, Clive Sandall, Steve Bunt, James Noonan, Dewi Richards ST AGNES LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 1968 Previous RNLI medals: Silver medal in 1978 THE CASUALTY 2 surfers THE CONDITIONS Weather: Cloudy; visibility: Good Wind: Force 5; Sea state: Rough.