MARCH 10TH. - 11TH. - HELVICK HEAD, CO. WATERFORD. Late on the night of the 9th of March the Belgian motor trawler St. Jan Berchmans, of Ostend, with a crew of seven, was fishing about five miles from Mine Head in a strong south-easterly breeze, with a rough sea. When she was hauling her trawl aboard a mine exploded. She was badly damaged, and leaking rapidly in the engine-room. She sent up distress rockets and then attempted to reach Dungarvan, but ran aground on the bar in the harbour. In the meantime the distress signals had been reported and the Helvick Head motor life-boat Elsie was launched about midnight. Four men also put out in a fishing boat. They arrived just before the life-boat and went on board the trawler to help her crew. The life-boat brought ashore the master and the mate at Dungarvan at two o’clock next morning.

Here they were met by the honorary secretary of the Helvick Head life-boat station, Mr. Patrick J. Morrissey. He tried to get the help of a tug or salvage vessel, and when he could not, he got permission to use a fire brigade trailer pump. This, with two firemen, was taken to Dungarvan Quay. It was hoisted aboard the life-boat, and she left at seven o’clock, taking with her the master, the mate, Mr. Morrissey and the firemen. They put the pump on board the trawler and the firemen got to work, while the life-boat ran out an anchor hoping to refloat the trawler at high water, but after several hours of work she was still a hundred yards away from the channel. The life-boat then took on board the fire pump, which by this time was choked with grit, and an injured member of the trawler’s crew. She reached Dungarvan again at one o’clock in the afternoon and returned to Helvick at 3.30. At seven in the evening she went out again to the St. Jan Berchmans for the third time, stood by her, and at high water got her a little nearer to the channel. She returned ashore at two in the morning of the 11th, and set out on her fourth trip to the trawler at 9.30. This time she succeeded in hauling her into the channel and took her to Dungarvan Quay, where a fire engine was engaged to pump the water out of her. After the life-boat’s crew had had a meal they took the life-boat back to Helvick, arriving at five that evening, forty hours after she was first called out. - Property salvage case.