THE LIFE-BOAT The Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution VOL. XXXVII SEPTEMBER, 1962 No. 401 Notes of the Quarter THE remarkable variety of the services Life-boat Institution, as a body estab- which life-boat crews are called upon to lished by royal charter, has two primary perform today is clearly shown in the tasks, that of providing life-boats and accounts received from the stations all that is needed to make them efficient during the spring and early summer of vessels for saving life at sea, and that of this year and recorded in these pages. encouraging people who on their own There were the types of service which initiative put out in boats from the unfailingly occur : escorting fishing shore to rescue others. This second vessels over a harbour bar after a responsibility, that of encouraging shore sudden storm has sprung up ; towing boat rescues, is not perhaps sufficiently in boats whose engines have broken well known to the general public. down ; taking doctors to remote islands to perform emergency opera- tions and taking sick and injured men NEW LIFE-BOAT TRACTOR off steamers ; searching for crashed air- A prototype of a new tractor for craft ; helping to refloat vessels ; or hauling life-boats on their carriages rescuing exhausted people found cling- into and out of the water is being ing to capsized dinghies and canoes. developed. This is the Case 1000 In addition to all this an Italian model. Trials with a standard machine steamer collided off the Sussex coast of this type were conducted at Aberyst- and the Eastbourne life-boat was called wyth, Criccieth and Hoylake, and its out ; a Danish vessel collided off the performance on different types of beach Kent coast and the Dungeness life- was extremely satisfactory. It is hoped boat put out ; at Hastings the yacht that the Case tractor will gradually re- club's rescue boat was in difficulties place the existing petrol-driven tractors right under Hastings pier ; at Dover at those stations where the heavier type a yacht was found being pounded of Fowler tractor is not needed. It is against the harbour wall. The Brid- fitted with a 100 h.p. Leyland diesel lington life-boat had to escort in the engine, and the transmission is through late finishers in an ocean yacht race a torque converter and oil-controlled after a strong gale had blown up ; high and low speed clutches. The Caister life-boat took a fireman and tractor will be made watertight to work pumps out to a leaking tug ; and there in five feet of water. Although its power is were a number of instances of people very much greater than that of the falling over cliffs, and of life-boats, existing Roadless tractors, it is of with their boarding boats in tow, going approximately the same size. It will to their aid. An examination of the not therefore be necessary to make any services of this quarter give an impres- major structural alterations to allow sive picture of the extraordinary variety the new tractors to be housed. of the dangers to human life which may occur at sea. The only service recorded in this LIFE-BOAT SEEN EV NORTH AMERICA number of the Life-boat for which a A launch of a life-boat was shown in medal for gallantry was awarded a programme which was a significant occurred off the Channel Islands, the and memorable occasion in the history winner of the medal not being a member of television. The life-boat was the of a life-boat crew but the harbour Lizard/Cadgwith boat, and the tele- master of Alderney. The Royal National vision programme was the first ever to 298 THE LIFE-BOAT [SEPTEMBER, 1962 be transmitted live from this country to and an indication of the status it has the continents of North America and in the public mind. Europe. The programme went out on the evening of the 23rd July, 1962, AWARDS FOR SCOTTISH FISHWIVES via Telstar, and reports both from the Two awards to honorary workers United States and various European which will certainly give general satis- countries, including a number from faction were those of statuettes to two life-boat societies abroad, indicate that fishwives of Newhaven, Edinburgh. the picture received was exceptionally They are Mrs. Hackland and Mrs. clear. Apart from a few well-known Listen, and each of them has been landmarks in London, the launch of collecting on life-boat day in Edin- the Lizard/Cadgwith life-boat and only burgh, dressed in their traditional one other item were chosen by the costume, for some sixty years. They B.B.C. and the independent television have also collected at the Royal High- companies, which were co-operating land Show. It is in voluntary workers in the venture, to represent the con- such as these every bit as much as in the tribution from Britain to this pro- crews that man the life-boats that the gramme. This was both a gratifying true and abiding spirit of the life-boat tribute to the life-boat service as a whole service is to be found. Bronze Medal for Alderney Harbour Master ON the evening of the 28th March, 1962, received the may-day message, which the motor vessel Ridunian, which was was passed to the honorary secretary of loaded with 150 tons of grit and gravel, the St. Peter Port life-boat station, sailed from Alderney for St. Peter Port, Captain F. Nicolle. Captain Nicolle gave Guernsey. A fresh breeze was blowing orders for the life-boat to be launched from the south-south west, the weather and also told Captain A. D. Jennings, was bad, and visibility was poor. The the Alderney harbour master, what had sea was rough with waves reaching a happened. He suggested Captain Jen- height of some ten feet. nings should launch a suitable boat and set a watch on shore. Captain Jennings May-day Message drove by car to the west coast of The Ridunian passed close to the Alderney, but the visibility was too bad Corbet rock in order to avoid the worst for him to see much. He then collected of the sea, but there she took a sheer to a crew of four other men and told port, and although this was quickly Captain Nicolle that he was launching corrected, she struck the Barsier rock the Trinity House pilot cutter Burhou. at 7.20. This was a motor fishing vessel of the Five minutes later she sent a may-day seine-net type, 45 feet in length, with a message. The sea was too rough to speed of eight knots. She was not fitted lower the ship's boats, and it was with radio. decided instead to use an inflatable raft. This was launched but blew away almost at once, and a second inflatable Could not see Rock raft was damaged. It happened that the The pilot cutter put out at 8.20 and vessel was transporting a raft which made for the Swinge channel. Captain would take ten men, and by 7.35 the Jennings brought her close to the Corbet whole of the vessel's crew of seven were rock, although in fact he could not see in the raft. the rock. He then set a course to the The Ridunian soon slipped off the south to the Clouque rocks, which he rock, and the raft remained within sighted at 8.40, and after that began to sight of her lights for about twenty search to the north-west. His search minutes. Then the vessel disappeared, brought him close to the rocks in poor and it is probable that she sank at once. visibility, and had the pilot cutter St. Peter Port signal station had struck the rocks, she might well, in the SEPTEMBER, 1962] THE LIFE-BOAT 299 absence of any means of communicating Jennings had the good fortune to pick by radio, have been in serious difficul- up the Corbet rocks in the light of his ties before the St. Peter Port life-boat torch and thereby avoid them. The pilot could have reached her. However, cutter reached Alderney harbour at 9.45. there was a clear danger that the raft would be carried by the tide, which was Bronze Medal Awarded flowing strongly to the north-east, over For this service the bronze medal the Burhou reefs, where it would have for gallantry was awarded to Captain been impossible for the pilot cutter to A. D. Jennings. Letters of thanks were reach the raft. sent to the other four members of the Eventually at 9.10 a light was seen. crew, Mr. A. Johns, Mr. E. Johns, Mr. The pilot cutter came alongside the F. Venn, and Mr. P. B. Vissian, who all raft and succeeded in taking off all seven received monetary awards and medal men. On the return journey Captain service certificates. Bishop's Comment on the Life-boat Service THE Bishop of St. David's, the Right John Nichol. At the request of the Reverend John Richards, gave an chairman of the branch, Captain address from the bandstand at Aberyst- C. F. H. Churchill, the Mayor of wyth on the 9th May, 1962, in which Aberystwyth, Alderman W. G. Kitchin, he said: "No organisation in the whole accepted custody of the vellum and of our history has revealed more truly undertook to keep it in a place of the spirit of self-sacrifice and high honour in the Town Hall. adventure than the Royal National Life- Among the large crowd who had boat Institution".