The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-29 00:00:00

VALUE OF THE SELF-RIGRTIAV
PRINCIPLE IN LIFEBOATS.

(From the _Lifeboat Journal.)
In the 19th Number of this Journal we replica
to the various theoretical objections that had been
advanced against the self-righting principle, and
demonstrated that the same means which were al'
ployed to produce that effect contributed to the
safety and efficiency of a boat in other respects'
There was, however, one objection made which, as
we then stated, could only be disproved by actual
experiment.
of
It was maintained by some that the propertY
self-righting would be of no service to the crew
a lifeboat if she were upset, inasmuch as that when
she had righted she would be quickly carried avoY
by the wind or tide beyond the reach of her hapless
erew, who could never regain her in a seaway', and
,1
would then have b trust to their life-belts alone le',
safety.
Now it so happens that within the last fel:,
months three accidents to lifeboats have occurred'
one to a small self-righting boat, the other two If
non-righting boats. By comparing the results r
these accidents together, we shall not only obtain
an illustration of the value of the self-righting
principle, but shall perceive that the - particula:
objection which we are now replying to is not
valid one.

The three accidents are as follows :
1. On the 4th Jan., 1857, the Point of Ayr liff;
boat, when under sail, upset at a distance from t'it
land ; the accident was seen from the shore, "le
no immediate help was available, and the 0
of the bdat's crew, 13 in all, were drowned• .1-
or three of them were seen clinging to her keel for
twenty minutes, by which time they became e„i
hausted, were washed off, and, having no life-Ws'
perished.
2. In February last the Southwold lifeboat,
large sailing boat, considered to be one of the fines
in the kingdom, but not self-righting, when out for
exercise only, was running before a rather beta%
surf with all sail set, when she suddenly ran hei°o
a sea, broached to, and upset. The crew having ,
their life-belts, and the accident being withl° h
short distance of the shore, were all saved, althoug
two or three of them were in an exhausted stateli
but three unfortunate gentlemen who had gone °.
in the boat, and had neglected to put on lifehe,-`
lost their lives.
3. On the night of the 19th of October last, in n
gale of wind, the small six-oared self-righting
beat belonging to the National Lifeboat Institut'°'
at Dungeness proceeded through a heavy' Sea;
managed by eight Coastguard men, to a Ncre',e,
which was seen to be aground at about thni,re,o
quarters of a mile from the lifeboat station. r
wreck was reached soon after midnight, and et,
aseertaining that she had been deserted by
,_ Alr,ec
crew, the lifeboat returned for the
For the first half mile she was rowed safelyt
before a heavy broken sea, but on crossing a dee,Pht
channel, between two shoals, she was cautsD
up and struck by three heavy seas in successlfs't
which followed so quickly one on the other t'‘,;,,
the boat could not recover herself, and the CO
losing all command with the rudder, she was el,
ried away before the sea, broached to, and uPsie,'
throwing her crew out of her. She immediate
however, self-righted, cleared herself of all Water'
and her anchor having fallen out when she Fain,
keel up, she was brought up by it. The crew,
the meantime, having on good life-belts, &ate di
regained, and got into the boat, cut the cable, 0.0
11
returned safely to the shore, not one of them es
being hurt. When it is considered that this uc',i,
dent occurred in the middle of the night, and its e,
suits are contrasted with those of the two similar aee,:e
dents above alluded to, both of which occurred t'
daytime, we conceive that we have at once, jiot
simply a triumphant reply to those who still rePt.
diate the advantage of the self-righting properYi
but a proof that the discovery and adoption of this
principle form an era in the history of lifehe%f
which promises to materially lessen the danger d,
the arduous service in which they are emploY,e
and thus to confer an important boon on suffering
humanity.
May we not even safely conclude that this is tilieo
first instance that has ever occurred of a verb°,
boat's crew passing unscathed through such '-
ordeal ?
In justice to the brave fellows who formed the
crew of the boat on this occasion we must State'
that they expressed their readiness to has;
gone out in the boat again immediately
after their landing had their services be,ft,
again required; and that they, unasin
for, certified to their entire confidence in her an
their readiness to trust their lives in her whenel.erco
they should be called on to do so. They likewe
bore testimony to the value of the lifebelts on
plan of Captain J. R. Ward, R.N., supplied'by the
institution to its lifeboat crews.