aunhtinastorm As high winds and torrential rain caused chaos across Britain on 7 July 2004, two people on their yacht faced storm force conditions 35 miles south of The Lizard, CornwallLaunching The Lizard Tyne class lifeboat was tricky in such appalling weather. Good timing was vital. There were 3m waves sweeping across the slipway and winds were gusting up to 70mph. The crew remained calm and professional as Coxswain Phil Burgess waited for the right moment to give the go-ahead to launch. He remembers:'When you're halfway down the slipway you just hope you've got the timing right!' Phil's judgement was perfect and the David Robinson launched successfully at 8.40pm into very heavy seas.

The 9.5m yacht Celtie, with two people on board, had been travelling from the Channel Islands to southern Ireland when the storm hit. The skipper hadn't expected such bad weather: 'We were caught out - the wrong place to be at the wrong time.' He notified Falmouth Coastguard and tried to head towards the English coast. Unable to make headway in force 10 north easterly winds, he was forced to turn down wind.

In the very rough seas, the all weather lifeboat proved her worth, averaging 18 knots, faster as she surfed down steep 6-7m waves. While the lifeboat was on passage, the casualty was being blown south west. The Coastguard kept updating the lifeboat crew on the yacht's latest position.

At 11.25pm, three hours after the crew were paged, the lifeboat arrived on the scene, spotting the lights of the yacht without too much difficulty. The lifeboat illuminated the yacht fully with searchlights and assessed her condition. She was beingthrown around in the rough seas and winds now reaching storm force 10-11 were causing the yacht to list dramatically. Phil recalls his first thought: 'She was heeling right over. I thought she had water in her and that we'd have to take the crew off straight away. But she was dry - it was the sheer weight of the wind.' The yacht's skipper was calm and was prepared to abandon craft if necessary. He later described the conditions as being'very, very difficult in a small boat, with just huge and confused waves'. He talked through the options with the Coxswain. Phil didn't want to risk any transfers in such steep waves with gusts of 70-80mph winds. A potential crash would be too dangerous for both the people and the two craft. They decided to tow the casualty to a safe haven instead. The lifeboat crew had great faith in the towing capabilities of the David Robinson, which has served The Lizard well for 17 years.

The skipper moved around the listing yacht with care, keeping low to the deck. An experienced sailor of 50 years, he furled the headsail so that the towline could be passed and made his way slowly to the foredeck. Phil later praised the skipper for his seamanship: 'He did a darn good job.'The crew worked doggedly on the deck to set up the tow with seas breaking over the lifeboat and winds increasing to hurricane force 12.Phil manoeuvred the lifeboat off the starboard bow of the yacht and Crew Member Roger Legge threw a heaving line across to the skipper, who secured it on the boat's sturdy Sampson post. The tow was taken up slowly and the skipper made his way back to the cabin.

Setting up the tow in the atrocious conditions took a full 30 minutes.

The crew let out 150m of line and started the tow at just 2 knots.

Phil was concerned that the towline would part, so he stayed in the exposed upper steering position with several other crew members, despite being drenched by the breaking seas.

With the winds blowing north easterly, the lifeboat crew decided it was best to tow towards Falmouth. It would be further than The Lizard, but they'd be going directly into the weather, which should lessen the motion of the yacht and the strain on the towline. With 50 miles to tow, the crew knew they had a very long night ahead.

After an hour and a half of towing, at about 1.30am, the crew on deck were more confident that the towline would hold, so they all went below to the wheelhouse. Despite being soaking wet, none of them took off their suits and lifejackets, just in case they were suddenly needed on deck. With steep waves breaking over the lifeboat, they knew the smaller yacht would be having an uncomfortable journey. They maintained regular radio contact with the pair in the yacht's cabin. Conditions on the yacht were grim. The skipper recalls: 'It was the worse period I've ever spent in a boat. With a couple of gallons coming in with each wave, 10 hours of mopping, bailing and pumping, we were exhausted.' By Sam it was beginning to get light. They were 22 miles from Falmouth and there was still a severe gale. However, the swell had decreased a little, which allowed theTyne to increase to 4-5 knots.

After nearly 14 gruelling hours at sea, the David Robinson arrived at Falmouth at 10.10am. They passed Cellie to the harbour launch, which safely moored her up in the marina. As the weather was much too severe to re-house at The Lizard station, the lifeboat was placed at a mooring in Falmouth harbour until the weather abated.

The tired and hungry crew were welcomed ashore by local people and the press. They still found the time and energy to speak to the media in a calm and professional manner. Tom Mansell, Deputy Divisional Inspector (South) later commended the crew's actions during and after the service: 'The Coxswain and crew of The Lizard lifeboat were a great credit to the station and to the RNLI.' Falmouth lifeboat guild kindly laid on breakfast for the crew, who then returned home by road.

In recognition of his determination, seamanship and leadership on this service, Phil Burgess received the RNLI'sThanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum. All the crew were presented with vellum service certificates. Phil praises their teamwork during the long and arduous service: 'They did an excellent job. They all deserve Vellums!'ALL WEATHER LIFEBOAT Tyne class David Robinson ON-1145 (47-030) Funding: Legacy of Sir David Robinson THE CREW Coxswain: Phil Burgess Crew Members: David Hill Roger Legge Louis Mitchell Sam Ward Jonathan Bray Darren Thirlaway THE LIZARD LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 1859 (lifeboats formerly stationed at The Lizard and Cadgwith). New station at Kilcobben Cove opened 1961 Previous RNLI Medals: 5 Silver and 1 Bronze THE CASUALTY 9.5m yacht Ce///e, with 2 crew 35 miles south of The Lizard, Cornwall THE CONDITIONS Weather: Severe Visibility: Dark, with torrential rain Wind: NE violent storm force 11-12 Sea state: Very rough, waves 6-7m.