Penlee

Unbelievably forty years ago today the eight men on the Solomon Brown and and the eight crew and family on the Union Star all lost their lives in the sea. The helicopter from Culdrose couldn't get anybody off in the sixty foot waves and gusts of 100mph so the lifeboat launched and unbelievably managed to get four people on board before communication with the coast guard was lost. Incredible bravery from unpaid volunteers so raise a glass and have a quiet moment to remember all these people that risk their lives for anybody in peril on the seas.

The 19th Ears.

A shocking night and another case of shite management by a shipping company.

Sorry thought it was today, I was eighteen years old when it happened and remember it like it was yesterday. Myself and my girlfriend at the time went up to Rame Head to watch the storm I heard about the tragedy the next day when I woke up I still can't believe anybody would put to sea in a boat of that size? I know the engine died and tonight I heard the coastguard recording and they were saying on the Union Star they were trying to get it on the second tank was it something as simple as shite in the fuel tank? Maiden voyage as well not a great time to have a test run was it?

Yep, alongside extreme bravery in warfare situations you won't find a more heroic bunch. RIP

Union Star had design faults & in poor weather sea water got into the fuel tanks through the tamk breather tubes.
She could have been saved hours earlier had her owners accepted a tow from a Dutch tug that was based in Mount’s Bay during winter months for just this sort of situation.
The ship’s owners however weren’t keen on paying the unknown towage costs, known as a Lloyds open form.
Fairly sure the law has now changed so the Coastguard can order a ship to accept tow.
Is this correct Seadog ?

Aye, take the tow and let the office argue the toss later.

I read the report years ago just after, shocking stuff. Shouldn't have been out there in that forecast.

The ship was brand new, the Chief Engineer who had stood by the build was sacked just before they left the yard, all that knowledge lost.

So much stuff was wrong on that voyage.

An old friend of mine from Torquay, now sadly deceased, sailed as Mate on a ship with an identical engine room from the same yard.

The company planned to run it without an engineer, madness of course. He was sent on an engine course at the yard and during it he was shown a reset button in the control console. The yard said they thought that it was not known about by the Union Star engineer and that was why the engine would not go again.

I was 2nd Mate, hove to in the Med a hundred or so miles East of Gib on a 100m coaster. A massive Westerly swell and gale had us stopped virtually with the waves breaking over each end of the ship and meeting in the middle when we were in the trough.

I was on from 22:00 until 03:00 that night, heard it on the world service bulletins. The Old Man was Dave Pascoe, he left us for the Scillonian, from Penzance, twas a solemn few days on there after that.

The sea demands respect.

An awful situation

Amazingly brave people.

Incredibly brave men.  The Solomon Browne's crew were all fully aware of the danger that night but nothing would have stopped any of them them going out.