JAN. 23RD. - PADSTOW, CORNWALL.

On the same day on which the St. Ives motor life-boat was wrecked, the motor life-boat Princess Mary, at Padstow, Cornwall, was damaged on service. She is the heaviest lifeboat in the Institution’s fleet.At five minutes past two in the morning, just eight minutes after the honorary secretary at St. Ives had been rung up by the coastguard, the Padstow station was also rung up. The message from the coastguard was that distress flares could be seen about a mile north of Trevose Head. The life-boat put out in a W.N.W. gale, with exceptionally heavy seas and ground swell, and heavy squalls of rain. She found the ex-mine-layer Medea just outside the harbour. T h e Medea had parted from her tug and was drifting towards Doom Bar.

As she tried to get alongside, the life-boat was buried by a very heavy sea. It washed overboard a ventilator, several fenders, a life-buoy and and damaged the electric lighting system, putting it out of action.

The position of the Medea was now such that it was not practicable for the life-boat to reach her, so the coxswain signalled with his hand-flashing lamp to the coastguard of Stepper Point asking him to call out the rocket life-saving appliances. He had lashed a small torch to his compass and put out to sea, to wait for the tide to rise. The minelayer drifted over the bar, and three of the four men on board her were rescued by the rocket appliances from the shore. The fourth man was drowned.

Meanwhile the life-boat remained at sea until high-water. As she was coming in she was swept by three successive heavy seas which filled the canopy, washed a spare drogue and another life-buoy overboard, and knocked both the coxswain and the second coxswain from the wheel. The life-boat was out for five hours.

Rewards : A letter of appreciation to the coxswain and crew and an increase in the usual money award on the standard scale.

Head. The Penlee motor life-boat W and S, which was in Newlyn Harbour at the time, set out at once, but off Land’s End she was recalled by the coastguard. She returned to Newlyn again at 8.45 A.M. An increase in the usual money awards on the standard scale was granted to each member of the crew.-Standard rewards to crew, £11 8s. ; additional rewards to crew, £9 ; total rewards, £21 15s.