JANUARY 30TH - 31ST. - WALMER, KENT. At 9.20 at night, just after the lifeboat had returned from the American steamer Am-Mer-Mar, which had gone aground on the Goodwin Sands, but had got off without help, the Deal coastguard reported another vessel aground. A moderate west-north-west wind was blowing and the sea was rough. At 9.45 the motor life-boat Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No. 2) was launched, and found another American steamer, the Luray Victory, of Los Angeles, aground on the Goodwin Sands, near South Goodwin Buoy. She was in a very bad position. The life-boat could not go alongside owing to the heavy seas. She signalled that she would anchor close by for the night. At six next morning, the 31st of January, she weighed anchor and took a wire from the steamer to a tug, but the weather became worse and it was impossible to run wires to another tug without damage to the life-boat. Efforts were made to refloat the Luray Victory at high tide, but they were unsuccessful. The steamer was now listing to port and she asked the life-boat to stand by. As it seemed probable that she would again have to stand by all night, the coxswain decided to return to Walmer and refuel. He signalled this to the Luray Victory and left her at 11.45 that morning.

During the whole time on service the lifeboat had not been able to get near enough to the Luray Victory to obtain food, although repeatedly signalled by her to do so. At three in the afternoon the life-boat again put to sea. Owing to the state of the tide she had to set her course round the south part of the Goodwins and reached the Luray Victory at four o’clock. She saw that the steamer’s boats were being lowered and preparations made to abandon her. She was beginning to break up. The life-boat’s first attempts to go alongside failed, but in the end the coxswain brought her, and held her, close enough for her crew of forty-nine to jump aboard.

The rescue took just half an hour. The sands round the stern of the steamer were beginning to dry and the work had to be quickly done if the life-boat herself were not to be stranded. The life-boat then made for Walmer, where she arrived at 5.50 that evening. - Rewards : first service, £48 l6s. 6d. ; second service, £24 12s.