The
Zippa was reached at 10.35 a.m. on scene the yacht was
being thrown about erratically by a heavy breaking sea.
The weather on scene was winds of 40 – 45 knots,
with intermittent rain squalls. After surveying the
casualty and talking to the skipper, the Coxswain decided
to take the casualty in tow. But because the crew of the
yacht were tired and exhausted it was necessary to put a
crewman on board. On the forth attempt, J Cannell was
able to get aboard, because of the conditions it was with
some difficulty that the tow was connected at 10.50 a.m.
The lifeboat then proceeded to tow the yacht at 2.5
– 3.5 knots, reaching Yarmouth Harbour at 14.55 p.m.
The crew
of the lifeboat were COXSWAIN R THURLOW
CREW MEMBERS. J CANNELL, M NUTT, N TRETT, A HEWITT, G
SPOONER, A THURLOW, T WILLIAMS, R BROOKLIN.
Following this rescue the Coxswain and crew were awarded with a special certificate including the description above and the words below.
On
behalf of the directors of the Caister Volunteer Rescue
Service we would like to record our congratulations to
the Coxswain and members of the crew for their courage
and determination, which resulted in three lives being
saved in extreme conditions.
Yours sincerely
| Harry Barker LLB Chairman December 2000 |
Bernard Matthews CBE QSM |