by Kevin Guthrie

Created on: January 30, 2008   Last Updated: June 01, 2011

The tiny Cornish fishing village of Mousehole has maintained a lifeboat station for almost a century. Before Penlee station was opened in 1913 previous stations in the area dated back to 1803. The village had remained relatively unknown to the wider world. The events of December 19th, 1981, would change everything.

Preparations for Christmas were well under way and the volunteer crew of Penlee's lifeboat, Solomon Browne, were going about their business. In the English Channel, a brand new coaster was on her maiden voyage, transporting fertiliser from Holland to Ireland. At the helm of the Union Star for her first trip was a young but experienced captain, Michael Moreton, known as Henry'. He had an experienced crew of four with him, along with his wife and her two teenage daughters. To ensure that they would be allowed to sail with him Moreton had chosen not to inform his company, Union Transport, of their presence.

During the afternoon of the 19th radio reports warned of severe gales later in the day. Moreton, supremely confident in the new ship, elected to continue as normal, hoping to round Land's End quickly and proceed north with the storm behind him. By late afternoon the Union Star was in treacherous seas but seemingly coping well with no cause for alarm. Moreton knew of the dangers of the rocky coastline and gave it an especially wide berth. Tumbling through monstrous waves they made steady progress. Then the engines stopped.

It was early evening by the time Moreton radioed the coastguard and informed them of his predicament. Despite the engine failure it did not seem to be a major cause for concern. The ship was several miles offshore and they had plenty of time to find a fix. A rescue helicopter and the Penlee lifeboat were put on standby alert as a precaution. The nearest tug in the area was the Noord Holland, captained by Dutchman Guy Buurman. After being informed of the situation Buurman began a radio conversation with the Union Star, offering to tow it to safety under the term of Lloyds Open Form, a salvage agreement where the price of salvage was decided later. Moreton was reluctant to accept this as it could prove to be very costly for his company. Confident of restarting the engines, he declined.

It was the radar at Land's End rescue station which first alerted everyone involved to the gravity of the situation. The Union Star was drifting landward far quicker than anyone had thought. In truly atrocious conditions the helicopter was scrambled

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>