Testing tow at Port St MaryWhen the Trent class Cough Ritchie II Launched, all that the crew knew was that a fishing boat was in trouble about 20 miles south east of Port St Mary in the Isle of Man. When they discovered that it was the large vessel Paramount, they knew from experience that they were in for a long and difficult serviceSoon after launching at 4.52pm on 24 November 2003, the crew of Cough Ritchie II were told that a 30m fishing vessel, Paramount, had her rudder jammed. They would have to tow her to safety. The crew had experience of towing the large, heavy Paramount on a previous shout and it had been tough.

In command was Second Coxswain Michael Kneale, with the crew of Morgan Guy, Michael Keggan, David Kneen, Mark Pendlebury and MarkWhitely. Michael recalls the passage: 'Conditions were typical of the Irish Sea in a south west force 7, combined with spring tides, producing tumbly and confused seas of up to 3m.' The lifeboat made good speed to the casualty, arriving on scene at 5.58pm. It was pitch dark but the crew spotted the lights of the Paramount quickly. Once the heaving line was passed successfully, Michael told the fishermen to connect the tow rope on the vessel's port bow to counteract the effect of the rudder being jammed hard over to port.

As there was a danger of the tow rope parting, Michael instructed the casualty to place a large tyre in the tow, to act like a giant shock absorber. To help reduce the chance of the tow parting, the lifeboat crew let out 150m of their own tow rope. They also attached a large piece of matting to the rope, where it passed through the towing lead, to prevent chafing. They would ease it every 30 minutes.

The long tow commenced at a speed of 1-3 knots. Michael remembers the uncomfortable passage: 'Half of us were seasick ... the cranky motion of towing a large vessel in tumbly seas caught us out.' At 1am on 25 November, over 8 hours after launching, the lifeboat and casualty arrived off Port St Mary Harbour. The harbour master had cleared a suitable space alongside the other vessels. The lifeboat crew then faced their biggest challenge. The Paramount would have to be towed right into the harbour, with little room for manoeuvre. To add to the difficulties, there was a swell of 3-4m outside the breakwater.

The crew shortened the tow as they approached. Michael then attempted to turn the fishing vessel to bring her alongside the other vessels in the harbour but the Paramount began to drift slowly towards the rocks north of the harbour. The lifeboat crew reacted quickly, transferring the tow onto the lifeboat's bow, a technically difficult tactic that gave Michael more control. The lifeboat then brought the Paramount successfully into the harbour. Michael advised the casualty to go astern on her engine and the fishing vessel stopped perfectly alongside another. The lifeboat returned safely to station.

Later, Michael was pleased to receive a letter of thanks from the RNLI Chairman Peter Nicholson in recognition of his leadership, initiative and seamanship skills and reflected that 'quiet, efficient seamanship' does not always receive the praise it ought to. He played down his role and complimented the crew: 'A very fast and efficient response to shifting the tow forward saved the day and reduced what might have been a drama to a show of slick seamanship.1Stuck between high cliffs and high seasFowey Lifeboats launched no fewer than 73 times last year - but few shouts were as dramatic as the one that led to the rescue of a family stranded on a nearby beach, fearing for their lives A camping trip to Silvermine Beach in St Austell Bay went badly wrong on the evening of Sunday 24 August 2003 when three adults and four children were trapped between cliffs and a rising tide breaking on the shore. The group had decided to camp at the small beach for the evening after a day of pleasant weather and were dropped off there by the eighth member of the party, who then went fishing in his boat.

Wind speeds had picked up by the evening though, and the sea became so rough that, when the fishing boat returned in the early hours of the morning, she could not get close enough to the beach to pick up the campers. They became seriously frightened that they would be washed away.

The small fishing boat anchored further east in the bay at Polkerris and alerted Brixham Coastguard. At 4.30am, Fowey lifeboat crew was paged and Senior Helmsman Marcus Lewis was one of the first to the station.

He remembers: 'It was a black night and the wind was rattling the windows when the pagers went off.' Heading into the dark Within eight minutes Olive Herbert, the Fowey D class inshore lifeboat (ILB), was launched with Marcus at the helm along with Crew Member James (jimmy) Hoddinott and Probationer Matthew Jane.

At the same time, the all weather Trent class lifeboat Maurice and Joyce Hardy also set off, commanded by Coxswain Keith Stuart and seven crew members. The two boats soon separated, the Trent class heading towards Polkerris to get more information from the man who had raised the alarm, while the inshore lifeboat headed across the darkness of St Austell Bay for Silvermine Beach.

Marcus said: 'I am fairly comfortable with the ILB in those conditions, but I would rather it was daylight. We knew what the beach was like as we have exercised there in the past. It was probably the worst conditions I have anchored in though.' When the ILB was about half a mile from the beach, a white light from a torch could be seen, and Marcus was sure it was the casualties. He knew that the tide was unlikely to advance much further, but there was only 3-4m of beach left and there was a real danger that the people on the beach would risk serious injury trying to climb the cliffs to get to safety.

Battling through the waves After Matthew had dropped anchor, the ILB swung round towards the beach and Jimmy offered to go ashore and assess the situation. Climbing overboard and struggling with the breaking waves, he managed to take ashore some lifejackets and the hand-held VHF radio.

'Jimmy grew up on the water, dinghy sailing, water skiing, kite surfing and so on.

He's a real terrier,' said Marcus. 'He went tosee what was happening and told us by radio that the people were cold, wet and extremely anxious, and needed to be taken off the beach.'The ILB then moved in towards the beach for its first attempt to collect some of the stranded group. As well as facing rough conditions with large waves, Marcus had to be mindful of a large rock jutting out of the water on the port side.

As they tried to get to the boat, Jimmy and the woman he was helping through the surf were hit by a large wave, which knocked them both over. But, determined to go on, Jimmy managed to get her onto the boat and then followed with her three-year-old son.

By this time Keith and his crew aboard the Trent class had arrived nearby and illuminated the scene with their onboard searchlight. Marcus decided the casualties should be put aboard the larger boat without delay and he weighed anchor. The woman and child were transferred safely to the Trent class, which was anchored about 50m offshore, and the Olive Herbert was taken towards the beach again.

This time there were problems getting the anchor to hold, but Matthew Jane's persistence won through. On his third attempt the anchor held and the ILB ventured into the surf again. With the swell driving the propeller against the sand, the engine stalled several times, but restarted again on each occasion as Marcus drew as close to the beach as possible.

A team effort When he saw Marcus was ready, Jimmy brought out the first of three young girls, without incident. But just after the second girl had been pulled aboard a large wave loomed over them. 'I shouted for them to hold tight,' said Marcus. 'It broke over us and covered the poor girls. I said to them "this is better than Alton Towers, isn't it?"' After the third girl was helped aboard Jimmy returned to the beach and the girls were transferred to the Trent class.

To speed up the recovery of the two remaining adults, it was decided to make the ILB anchor line fast to the stern bollard of the Trent - that would prevent time being taken up trying to drop anchor amid the waves.

Veering towards the beach once more, this time there were no problems and the two remaining adult casualties and Jimmy were brought safely aboard. The casualties were transferred to the Trent class and the relieved group was taken to a waiting ambulance at Chartestown. Aside from suffering from the cold and shock, the rescued people were in good health. The lifeboats headed for home, now in daylight. Both lifeboats were back on station, refuelled and ready for service by 6.50am.

Praise for the crew In recognition of the skills used in the rescue effort, Marcus Lewis receives a framed letter of thanks signed by RNLI Chairman Peter Nicholson, while Crew Members James Hoddinott and Matthew Jane receive letters of appreciation from Chief Executive Andrew Freemantle. Marcus said: 'Afterwards, I thought "thank God that's over." Keith and the crew said "well done" to me. The main thing was that the people were off the beach and onto dry land. It is nice to be recognised though.' The recognition was also a welcome surprise for Matthew, who, as a probationer, was on his first major rescue. He said: 'It was my first big shout and it is very nice to get a letter. I was in good hands though - Marcus did a fantastic job, and so did Jimmy. I remember the large waves hitting Jimmy - he is not a tall man but he did very well.' Marcus added: The ILB did exactly what it was designed to do, and did it brilliantly, but it was all the crew on both boats that made the rescue possible.1 Mr Nicholson wrote in his letter to Marcus: 'You demonstrated first-class seamanship and leadership skills in carrying out this difficult service in surf conditions.

The teamwork and cooperation exhibited by our crew and between the two lifeboats reflects well on all at Fowey lifeboat station.' The rescued family sent a card of thanks and a donation to the Fowey crew.THE INSHORE LIFEBOAT D class Olive Herbert D-526 Funding: Olive Herbert Charitable Trust THE CREW Helmsman Marcus Lewis, James Hoddinott, Matthew Jane THE ALL WEATHER LIFEBOAT Trent class lifeboat ON-1222 (14-18) Maurice and Joyce Hardy Funding: Bequest of Maurice C Hardy THE CREW Coxswain: Keith Stuart Crew Members: John Barker, Nick Beard, Wayne Farr, Paul Gamble, Ronnie Johnson, Jonathan Pritchard, Paul Thomas FOWEY LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 1859 Previous RNLI Medals: Six Silver and one Bronze THE CASUALTIES Three adults and four children THE CONDITIONS Weather: Overcast Visibility: Dark Wind: Force 4-5 Sea state: Rough, 1-2m swellBoys stranded at base of cliffWhen reports came through of two people trapped by the tide south of Tynemouth Harbour, Mechanic Kevin Mole knew a quick launch was vital Kevin Mole was at Tynemouth station when he heard that two boys were stranded at the bottom of a cliff at Frenchman's Bay, to the south of the Harbour. Balanced on some rocks, they could be in danger of being swept into the sea with the rising tide. Kevin realised immediately the urgency of the situation and prepared the inshore lifeboat for launch. As soon as experienced Crew Member Jimmy Scott arrived at the station, they set off.

The Tynemouth D class The Cramer Smuggler launched at 4.07pm on 14 August 2003 with Kevin as helmsman. The inshore lifeboat made good speed in moderate seas, force 4 winds and swell of up to 1.5m. The crew soon spotted the local beach lifeguard vehicle on the cliffs and made for the area directly below.

Two boys were on a large rock, 3-4m from the base of the cliff. The swell height was now up to 2.5m. They were occasionally being covered in spray from breaking waves.

Although in a precarious position, the boys were currently in little danger of being washed off. High water was not until 6.06pm.

Jimmy told the boys to stay put while Kevin considered the options. Through his local knowledge Kevin knew that the Bay was strewn with large and small rocks, which could damage the lifeboat's propeller.

Suddenly the boys started to make their way down the rock, into danger. Kevin acted immediately: 'I hoped we would be able to go in, bow first, grab them and get out of there.' As the D class closed on the boys a large wave came through. Kevin avoided capsizing by punching the lifeboat, stern first, through the face of the breaking wave out into deeper water.Kevin and Jimmy decided to veer down and they anchored the lifeboat successfully.

Despite having been told to wait, one youth jumped for the lifeboat just as the D class fell into a trough. He hit the sponson and bounced into the water, jimmy was struggling to keep the anchor line taut with one arm but still managed to grab hold of the boy's hand. Kevin helped pull the boy aboard.

With both lifeboatmen busy saving the boys, communications with the Coastguard lapsed. The South Shields beach lifeguards could see from the top of the cliff that the crew of two had their hands full, so they kept the Coastguard informed of progress. Kevin described the lifeguards' communications assistance as 'a Godsend'.

Kevin and Jimmy prepared to go alongside the rock to rescue the second youth. Kevin remembers the moment: The rocks were looming up, the seas were coming towards us and we had to judge when to tell the lad to jump.' When the time was right, the remaining boy was instructed to step into the D class and was soon safely aboard.

Kevin landed the youths at Little Haven, where South Tyneside beach lifeguards gave the boys a check up before they went home.

The D class arrived back at the lifeboat station at 5.12pm, with Kevin and Jimmy satisfied that they had done a good job.

For their sound judgement, excellent seamanship and boathandling skills and teamwork, Kevin received a framed Chairman's letter of thanks and Jimmy received a Chief Executive's letter of appreciation.Speedy rescue saves diver Helmsman David Fordy and Crew Member Michael Hoyle were both standing at the front door of the Seahouses boathouse when the call came. An exhausted diver was in difficulty in confused seas near a cliff face. He needed urgent help as his life was in danger The crew of two had recently returned from a shout in the early afternoon of 26 October 2003. They had only just informed Number Coastguard that the D class lifeboat Sea Ranger was refuelled and ready for service but within minutes of the call they launched again. It was 3.23pm: the Mersey class lifeboat Grace Darling also launched, a minute later.

From the previous shout, the pair knew what to expect of the conditions: clear and bright with winds a northerly force 4-5.

But there was a heavy residual swell from the strong north easterly wind of previous days. A member of the public had called 999 and told Number Coastguard that they had spotted a diver in severe difficulty between Beadnall and Seahouses harbour. The man had been diving from the shore with a friend. The friend had experienced difficulty with his equipment but returned safely to the shore. The crew knew there was a real urgency with the diver near the cliff face and rocks: 'He stood every chance of being hurled into them by the seas.' On passage, David negotiated the heavy residual swell of 2m while maintaining full speed and reached the scene within 7 minutes. The seas were very confused around the cliff face with the swell and reflected swell meeting. In the 2-5m swell the crew could not locate the diver. But they stayed calm. David remembers: 'Once we were on scene our training started to pay off!' So David positioned the lifeboat on top of a wave and was able to spot the diver, 20m away.

He was only 20m from the sheer rock face and was being severely buffeted by the waves. He had been in the water for about an hour and a half and was exhausted from trying to swim against the wind and tide.

The helmsman powered the lifeboat towards the man, stopping with him on the lifeboat's port shoulder. It took all the strength of David and Michael to haul the heavily weighted and equipped diver aboard. At the same time David was concerned about the next breaking sea that was closing rapidly. There would be a real danger of capsize or swamping if they didn't get away in time. 'We got the diver aboard and got out as quickly as we could.

It was hellish there.' He powered the lifeboat away to calmer, deeper waters.

The pair quickly removed the diver's equipment and checked his condition before the Mersey class lifeboat arrived. At 3.40pm the diver was transferred to the all weather lifeboat where he was warmed through in the comfort of the wheelhouse.

Both lifeboats returned to Seahouses station. The diver required no further medical assistance but was given a warm drink at the station. Reunited with his dive 'buddy' safe on land, he thanked his rescuers profusely.

David received a letter of appreciation from the Chief Executive in recognition of his skill and bravery in this speedy service.

He reflects: 'I suppose it was a tricky rescue. It's only when you get back ashore and think about the job that you realise the dangers that we faced.'A day in the life of.Ask a few lifeboat crew what beach lifeguards do all day and someone might mention 'lounging around posing in sunglasses'. To find out what they really do, the Lifeboat asked Mark Evans, Senior Lifeguard at Perran Sands in Cornwall to describe a typical day 10am I get to the lifeguard base at Perran Sands and prepare for day ahead. My job is to manage the beach, keep the public safe, keep the team together and maintain a good lookout. I've surfed Carrick beaches since I was 12, so I know the area well. This helps me judge when and where it's safest for people to swim and where to place the red and yellow flags each day.

I organise the patrols: two lifeguards at the water's edge between the flags; two at the lifeguard base; and one on a quad bike doing regular trips to Penhale, about a mile away.The patrols rotate every half an hour - this keeps the lifeguards fresh and alert. Two of the lifeguards working with us today are volunteers. I fill in a daily log every hour, which records the lifeguards' general activities, the weather conditions, wave height, tide times, the state of the equipment and any incidents.

11am By mid-morning there are about 100 swimmers and 250 people on the beach. We spend most of our time doing surveillance and giving advice. I approach a family in a secluded area of the beach and advise them to consider swimming only between the flags, where the lifeguards can keep an eye on them. We try to warn people before they get into trouble and need rescuing.

12pm At midday some anxious parents approach the lifeguard base to tell us their seven-year-old son is missing. We are all radioed and within 20 minutes we locate the boy, who is safe and well.

2pm After lunch I hear about a serious incident 150m from the base. On my way, I check that there's still at least one lifeguard patrolling between the flags. I arrive to find a four-year-old girl, Lucy, unconscious by the side of a shallow pool. A fellow lifeguard is trying to clear her airway and give rescue breaths. We know what to do as we've had high-level first aid training for those who are first on the scene of an incident.

I roll Lucy onto her side, slap her back firmly five times and then try two more rescue breaths. The first aid works: Lucy shows signs of life. After placing her in the recovery position and giving her oxygen, I hold her hand and try to comfort her.Soon, Cornwall Air Ambulance takes Lucy to Treliske hospital, where she makes a full recovery. [For more information on this lifesaving incident see the autumn 2003 issue o/the Lifeboat./ 4pm The day isn't over, although it's becoming overcast and less busy. We still have to keep a sharp lookout. At 4.40pm, Simon on the quad bike spots two bodyboarders who look like they might get into trouble near Penhale Comer. They are assisted by the Arancia rescue boat and warned about the rip current there.

6pm It feels like a long day and my team are proud of what they have achieved. We pack away and finish for the day. We all need a rest, and have to be ready and alert for whatever might happen tomorrow..