MARCH 19TH. - BRIDLINGTON, YORKSHIRE.

About 12.35 in the morning a message came from the Bridlington coastguard that distress rockets had been seen at Hornsea, eleven miles south of Bridlington, and at 1 A.M. the motor life-boat Stanhope Smart was launched. A fresh E.N.E. wind was blowing, with a swell which caused a certain amount of surf on the beach, and the boat had to be launched through coast defences. The night was cloudy, but there was some moonlight. As the life-boat cleared the land, the wind and sea increased.

She had no difficulty in finding the vessel in distress, as two shore searchlights were trained on her, and she reached her at 2.15.

She was an old wooden drifter, the S.S.

Kernoozer, now being used by contractors to the Air Ministry for putting down and taking up moorings. She had lost a blade of her propeller, her engine had stopped, and she had anchored, but her anchor was dragging. She was lying inside broken water, in about three fathoms, was rolling heavily and was leaking badly. Her master said that he wanted to abandon ship, and the lifeboat went straight alongside, under her lee, and made fast.

There were nine men on board the Kernoozer, and they and the cat jumped into the life-boat.

The whole rescue took only a few minutes.

The life-boat arrived back at Bridlington at four in the morning. Later in the morning it was learned that the Kernoozer’s crew were going out to her again in a large fishing boat, to see if she could be towed into Bridlington, and as the weather was still bad it was decided that the life-boat should go with the fishing boat. Both boats left at ten o’clock, but when they reached the Kernoozer they found that she had gone ashore and was breaking up. The life-boat returned to her station at one in the afternoon. A letter of thanks was sent to Mr. C. H. Gray, the honorary secretary, who acted as head launcher, and an increase in the usual money reward on the standard scales was made to each member of the crew. - Standard rewards to crew and helpers, £30 15s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £8 total rewards, £38 15s. 6d.