FEBRUARY 15TH. - STORNOWAY, HEBRIDES.

About 8.10 in the morning the Stornoway coastguard telephoned that a vessel was in distress in the neighbourhood of Glas Island, Scalpay, some forty miles away. She was the Sebastian, of London, a steamer of 3,354 tons, bound in ballast from Glasgow to Newcastle by way of Loch Ewe, with a crew of thirty-nine. A south-southwest gale was blowing, with a heavy sea and rain squalls. The naval authorities sent a trawler. Two tugs from Aultbea were reported to have put out. Later messages from the light-keeper at Glas Island, Scalpay, said that the steamer was anchored and appeared to be holding. Shortly after nine o’clock it was decided to send the motor lifeboat William and Harriot, as it war, felt that there was great danger of the Sebastian going ashore. By this time a strong gale was blowing. After struggling against a headwind and heavy seas for five hours the lifeboat reached the Sebastian, to find that the trawler was standing by, but owing to the heavy motion could not go alongside, and that the Sebastian had lost her propeller. The life-boat stood by until dusk, when the master of the Sebastian decided to abandon ship, and the life-boat took off her crew. The wind had suddenly changed about six o’clock, and the life-boat again had a head wind.

It was not until eleven o’clock that night that she regained her station. On the following day the steamer was towed into Loch Ewe.

It had been a long and arduous service, and an increase in the usual money reward on the standard scale was made to each member of the crew. Standard rewards to crew, £16 19s. ; additional rewards to crew, £7 ; Total rewards, £23 19s..