Title
Caroline Parsons Lifeboat
Description
Account taken from the RNLI Website RNLI.org
Thomas Cocking, Coxswain of the St Ives lifeboat hurries to the lifeboat station and fires two maroons to summon the rest of the crew. The lifeboat, Caroline Parsons, launches in record time and rounds St Ives Head in mountainous seas. Later on, some of the crew describe the waves as being 40ft high.
The lights of the stricken steamship are soon sighted, as the area is well-illuminated by car headlights and searchlights. The police and ambulance service rush to the scene, as well as hundreds of onlookers.
Coxswain Thomas Cocking skilfully manoeuvres the lifeboat towards the leeward side of the steamship to gain shelter from the enormous breaking waves. He positions the Caroline Parsons alongside the Alba and all 23 of the crew climb down the pilot ladder and into the lifeboat. Once they’re onboard, Cocking tells the captain to order his men to lie down on the deck to help stabilise the lifeboat.
At the mercy of the sea
As the lifeboat pulls away from the steamship, a huge wave strikes her broadside on. The Caroline Parsons capsizes and 32 men are thrown into the raging seas. This terrible spectacle is witnessed by the people gathered on land, many of whom are related to members of the lifeboat crew.
The Caroline Parsons is a modern lifeboat, and self-rights within seconds. Three members of the lifeboat crew cling onto the boat and stay onboard as she rolls onto an even keel. The engine won’t restart but the men help the rest of the crew and most of the shipwrecked sailors back aboard.
Without the engine, the lifeboat is now at the mercy of the sea. It’s being blown towards the rocks and driven ashore. The coxswain tells the men not to jump overboard because they will be ‘dashed to pieces’.
Seeing the lifeboat being driven onto the rocks prompts hundreds of onlookers to scramble down onto the beach and help rescue the men onboard. One brave man gets into the water to get a line to the lifeboat. After several attempts, he succeeds. The line is secured to the lifeboat and, one by one, the sailors and crew come along the line and make it safely ashore, dragged from the surf by the hordes of waiting rescuers.
The lifeboat crew make it to shore unscathed. Captain Horvath has a broken leg, and most of the Alba’s crew are cut and badly bruised – but grateful to be alive. Five of the Alba’s crew haven't made it back to the lifeboat after the capsize and are still missing. Eventually, three bodies wash ashore but the other two are never seen again.
Thomas Cocking, Coxswain of the St Ives lifeboat hurries to the lifeboat station and fires two maroons to summon the rest of the crew. The lifeboat, Caroline Parsons, launches in record time and rounds St Ives Head in mountainous seas. Later on, some of the crew describe the waves as being 40ft high.
The lights of the stricken steamship are soon sighted, as the area is well-illuminated by car headlights and searchlights. The police and ambulance service rush to the scene, as well as hundreds of onlookers.
Coxswain Thomas Cocking skilfully manoeuvres the lifeboat towards the leeward side of the steamship to gain shelter from the enormous breaking waves. He positions the Caroline Parsons alongside the Alba and all 23 of the crew climb down the pilot ladder and into the lifeboat. Once they’re onboard, Cocking tells the captain to order his men to lie down on the deck to help stabilise the lifeboat.
At the mercy of the sea
As the lifeboat pulls away from the steamship, a huge wave strikes her broadside on. The Caroline Parsons capsizes and 32 men are thrown into the raging seas. This terrible spectacle is witnessed by the people gathered on land, many of whom are related to members of the lifeboat crew.
The Caroline Parsons is a modern lifeboat, and self-rights within seconds. Three members of the lifeboat crew cling onto the boat and stay onboard as she rolls onto an even keel. The engine won’t restart but the men help the rest of the crew and most of the shipwrecked sailors back aboard.
Without the engine, the lifeboat is now at the mercy of the sea. It’s being blown towards the rocks and driven ashore. The coxswain tells the men not to jump overboard because they will be ‘dashed to pieces’.
Seeing the lifeboat being driven onto the rocks prompts hundreds of onlookers to scramble down onto the beach and help rescue the men onboard. One brave man gets into the water to get a line to the lifeboat. After several attempts, he succeeds. The line is secured to the lifeboat and, one by one, the sailors and crew come along the line and make it safely ashore, dragged from the surf by the hordes of waiting rescuers.
The lifeboat crew make it to shore unscathed. Captain Horvath has a broken leg, and most of the Alba’s crew are cut and badly bruised – but grateful to be alive. Five of the Alba’s crew haven't made it back to the lifeboat after the capsize and are still missing. Eventually, three bodies wash ashore but the other two are never seen again.
Publisher
Morrab Library
Date
1938-01-31
Rights
Morrab Library
Format
Print
Type
Photograph
Identifier
M.2532
Coverage
St Ives
Porthmear