Penlee - 31 years on

[chanelyacht]

31 years ago today, the RNLI Penlee Lifeboat "Solomon Browne" launched in horrendous conditions to the coaster "Union Star" off the southwest coast of Cornwall. Radio contact was lost, and the wreckage of the lifeboat found 2 1/2 hours later. 8 crew died, plus 8 from the Union Star.

I can't think of anything more chilling than that repeated, but unanswered, "Penlee Lifeboat, Falmouth Coastguard" call...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeIX0VnUMKo

 

[longjohnsilver]

A sad day. A good reminder of the fantastic job the RNLI volunteers do and the ultimate sacrifice some make.

 

[Cookee]

On our Round Britain Charity challenge our first stop from Salcombe was Newlyn, the flags are still at half mast. All of the RNLI personnel were amazingly helpful with local knowledge and sharing their weather information with us, a great bunch of guys!

 

[[70521]]

I watched it on YouTube a few months back, as you say that sort of call is chilling.

 

[ribrunt]

chanelyacht - agreed - cannot begin to imagine what it was like making those transmissions....

 

[penfold]

RIP.

The UK's waters take no prisoners; the standby vessel that had the fatality and the crew was later evacuated by chopper last week appears to have taken a huge wave forward, stoving in the front of the wheelhouse and buckling a lot of steelwork.

 

[taz]

Thankyou for posting that, I had no idea of this tragedy before I watched this.

Tragic all round but imho more so for the helo crew who must have felt so helpless at the time.

All concerned were very brave men indeed.

 

[chanelyacht]

chanelyacht - agreed - cannot begin to imagine what it was like making those transmissions....

I do know a couple of the guys who were on watch that night - it affected the whole team very deeply, as you'd expect.

It's the one type of radio call I pray I never have to make.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

We were living in Newlyn at the time, and I can recall it affected the whole community for quite a while, especially being so close to Christmas.

 

[saltylegs]

I rember it well, I was just about to become a full crew member on our local boat and my dad was second cox, they got a shout a couple of days later and they would not let the both of us go, it made me see my dad in a completly different light.
When i took my own boat around lands end a couple of years ago I still got a chill up my spine.

 

[oldbilbo]

Whenever I pass that hard stretch of coastline and look into that fateful cove, I have a minute or two's silent reflection.

And just a few years ago, on a winter's night shout to assist a catamaran south of Black Head, the Lizard/Cadgwith slipway boat had the wheelhouse stove in, with substantial wave damage, on launching. On that wild night, everyone came home.

I learned later that that set of seas came close to destroying the lifeboat....

....and that easterly Channel gales are sometimes more to be feared.