Boats
the familiar Watson-type hull
shape included recesses to
protect the blades of vulnerable
propellers as well as providing
safety when rescuing survivors
from the sea.
After three 46ft Watsons were
completed the length was
increased by 9in, the first five
craft looking very similar to their
forbears. Then in 1948, the design
underwent a major update.
The superstructure and deck
arrangement was changed with
an aluminium structure featuring
an open cockpit amidships and a
large ‘survivors’ cabin aft, which
also housed the radio equipment.
Forward was a smaller cabin with
engine controls and access to the
engine room below. Power was
supplied by twin Ferry 40bhp
VE4 engines, specially built to
exacting RNLI specifications with
exhaust outlets emitting high up
on the foremast.
From 1960, the 46ft 9in lifeboats
were taken out of service one by
one to undergo their first major
redesign/refit programme. This
included modifying the cockpit
to an enclosed design, thus
protecting the coxswain from
the elements. Later, radar was
installed on many of the lifeboats.
Next came an early-1970s project
to change the Ferry marine diesel
engines for the latest 70bhp Ford
Mermaid-type 6-cylinder diesels
with exhausts repositioned to exit
either side of the hull structure.
Also, a once-only self-righting
system was installed which
involved fitting an inflatable
airbag, located on the cabin roof.
An illustrious career
The lifeboat operation based at
St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly
provides vital rescue service
duties to the perilous western
approaches. The first oar-powered
lifeboat took up duty in 1874,
followed by a 42ft self-righting
type before the first motor lifeboat
arrived in 1919. She was replaced
in 1930 by a 45ft 6in Watson
type,which saw service until 1953.
After seven donations were
received by the RNLI, a new
lifeboat was delivered to St
Mary’s in November 1955. In
acknowledgement for the largest
legacy from Mrs Clare Hunter
of Lincolnshire the boat was
christened Guy And Clare
Hunter. Of 49ft 6in Watson-type
design, she was built by J Samuel
White of Cowes, Isle of Wight –
one of a number of carefully
selected yards to be tasked with
building lifeboats to the RNLI’s
demanding standards.
During her illustrious career this
lifeboat was involved in several
major rescue operations,
perhaps the most significant and
memorable being attending the
Torrey Canyon in February 1967,
which remains the UK’s worst
environmental disaster. Just two
months later she went to the aid of
the motor yacht Braemar, which
was on hire to ITN for TV coverage
of the homecoming of Sir Francis
Chichester in his yacht Gypsy
Moth from a triumphant solo
round-the-world voyage. Braemar
developed engine trouble and
began to take on water around
28 miles from Bishop’s Rock
Lighthouse: in storm-force
conditions, the Guy And Clare
Hunter took her in tow. After 18
hours she brought Braemar to
the safety of Newlyn harbour,
Cornwall, her logbook recording
that at one point the ‘tow’ was
making a speed of a quarter of a
knot. The lifeboat had been at seafor a total of 27 draining hours.
Another memorable rescue was
when the lifeboat attended to a
Mayday call from the Swedish
ship Nordanhav on 21 February- In severe gale-force
conditions the cargo had shifted,
and the vessel was in serious
danger of foundering. That night,
the Guy And Clare Hunter
assisted in saving all 10 crew
from the stricken ship.
In 1981, the Guy And Clare
Hunter was replaced by a fast
Arun class lifeboat. However,
perhaps the most tragic of events
to take place that year was when
the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon
Browne, was lost with all eight
crew while attempting a daring
rescue in horrific conditions on 19
December to rescue the crew of
eight from the coaster Union Star,
all of whom also perished as well.
Guy And Clare Hunter then
became the temporary
replacement lifeboat at Penlee
until a new Arun class lifeboat
was delivered and a new lifeboat
station built at Newlyn.
During her illustrious career the
Guy And Clare Hunter saved a
total of 155 lives and earned for
coxswain Matt Lethbridge three
RNLI silver medals for gallantry,
plus numerous other citations for
the lifeboat. Perhaps one of the
most poignant memories of being
rescued by the lifeboat and
coxswain Matt came from Lucille
Langley-Williams, when she
recalled: ‘It was the most
wonderful moment in my life, to
see the coxswain’s face as he
reached down over the side of the
lifeboat.’ Matt Lethbridge was the
subject of an edition of the
long-running TV programme This
is Your Life, hosted by Eamonn
Andrews. A talented painter who
recreated in oils some of his more
daring rescues, his autobiography
All in a Lifetime covers his
fascinating life. He died on 10
August 2010.Into private hands
In 1987, the Guy And Clare Hunter
was sold off from the RNLI’s
operational fleet into private
hands. Says current owner and
enthusiastic member of the
Historic Lifeboat Owners
Association, Quinton Nelson:
‘I come from a long line of
seafarers. I am the fifth generation
of lifeboatmen in our family, having
joined the local lifeboat service
in Northern Ireland in 1966. My
father, two of his brothers, a
cousin and an uncle were all
involved in the famous rescue of
the ferry Princess Victoria which
sank just a few miles from Belfast
on 31 January 1953. The lifeboatThe original engines were replaced with 70bhp Ford Mermaid dieselsGuy And Clare Hunter now pilots swimmers across the North Channel between Donaghadee and Scotland