THE INSHORE LIFEBOAT D class Thomas Campbell D-447 (relief fleet) Funding: Legacy of Mr Edwin Ramsden THE CREW Helmsman David Maguire (pictured top) Crew Members (pictured bottom L-R): Simon Gulliver, Lorraine Calvin, Sinead Casey WEXFORD LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 2002 THE CASUALTIES Three adults on 9m yacht Joint Venture THE CONDITIONS Weather: Part cloudy Visibility: Using night vision kit visibility good (5-10 miles) Wind: Force 4 Sea state: Rough, 1-2m wavesWhen the yachtyo/nt Venture ran aground on Dogger bank during the early hours of 28 June 2004, one of her crew contacted the Coast Guard for assistance. As yet, nothing indicated that this would be anything but a routine tow for the local lifeboat The Rosslare all weather lifeboat would be too large for such shallow waters, so it was Wexford's D class, Thomas Campbell, that was called upon.

At 2.01am Lifeboat Operations Manager Nick Bowie paged Helmsman David Maguire and Crew Members Simon Gulliver, Lorraine Calvin and Sinead Casey. He placed four crew instead of the usual three, as he thought one would most likely need to board the yacht.

At 2.15am the inshore lifeboat launched into a calm, moonlit harbour but as she emerged from its shelter, conditions became rough.

Battling through 1-2m waves, the crew used their night vision equipment to find the yacht in her reported position - but the sandbank had shifted 100m to the west. Now,_/o/nt Venture was in a precarious position at the very edge of the seaward side of the bank: heeled over, pounded by the surf and already half full of water. David recalls: ' What had looked like an ordinary service turned out to be very nasty indeed.' Unable to board, the crew made numerous attempts to get close enough and to throw the tow rope. Eventually, someone on the yacht managed to catch and attach it securely. The strong wind and waves made the lifeboat move violently on the end of the line and the crew had to take turns at the helm. After 30 minutes of trying to pull joint Venture off the sandbank and with the safety of the increasingly tired crew paramount, David decided to abandon a tow.

Meanwhile, the tide had ebbed, making a direct passage in the lifeboat to the casualty impossible so the crew devised an alternative course of action. David skilfully beached Thomas Campbell on a more sheltered stretch of the sandbank with the intention of evacuating the yacht.

Shining a light from the lifeboat into the darkness, Simon could just make out the yacht.

The passengers, blinded and disorientated by the battering waves, needed help quickly. Risking his own safety Simon climbed out of the lifeboat and waded towards the yacht, waist deep in the water.

He instructed the passengers when it was safe to jump and guided them, one by one, safely along the bank and into the lifeboat.

At 4.15am, all seven people, lifeboat crew and passengers, returned safely to Wexford lifeboat station - quite a feat in such a small craft. Later that morning, the stricken joint Venture was found by her owner. She was a total loss, her hull damaged beyond repair.

For their determination, teamwork and skilful handling of the lifeboat in surf at night, Sinead and Lorraine receive a letter of appreciation from the RNLI's Chief Executive.

Simon receives a framed letter of thanks from the Chairman for his part in the service as does David for his 'seamanship and leadership in most testing conditions'..