Chapter 1

It was early in the morning and the noise next to my ear was very loud and very shrill. It beeped three or four times and I was wide-awake. As always, my gear was on the bedroom chair ready to go. I swung my legs out of the bed, at the same time pressing the stop button on the pager. I slipped my trousers on, slipped my feet into my trainers not bothering with socks, and pulled a fleece over my head. I headed downstairs, grabbed my house keys, slammed the front door behind me and ran down the street.

The boat station was only a quarter of a mile from my house, I could have driven down to it, but the narrow winding lanes meant it was easier and quicker for me to run down.

The sun was already rising but there was still an early morning mist rolling around the bay.

I was the second person to get to the station, so the front door was already open. I ran straight into the kit room. I kicked off my shoes and within seconds I was down to my boxer shorts, I slipped into my thermal undersuit and then on top of that I pulled on my bright yellow all-in-one dry suit. It was a struggle as they are not easy to get into on your own, but practice makes perfect as they say.

As I was getting myself kitted up Pete ran in and stripped off, at the same time he grunted a greeting. He was not a morning person at all was our Pete. I gave him a cheery hello and he grunted his reply as he pulled on is kit.

I slipped on my yellow boots and grabbed my lifejacket. Then I got my battery pack, radio, and flashlight off the charger. Soon all were in their dedicated pockets.

I could see Jago the helmsman in the main office, he was already suited up and speaking to the coast guard on the big red phone. As I ran out of the kit room, Burt and Davy ran in, quickly followed by Big H, young Neil, Savo, Stevo and Trev.

I slipped on my helmet and stuffed my gloves in one of my pockets. I might need them later but for now, I needed nimble fingers.

I went out of the boat room and started to untie some of the safety ropes. Jago ran past me and jumped onto the boat. He ran into the cabin and I soon heard some of the other lads running past me.

I heard the chug chug chug as the engines started up and then a deep throaty roar as Jago gave the throttle a little twist before they settled into a tiger-like purr.

The boat used a seven-man crew and I wanted to be part of the shout, so I jumped on-board. Big H headed into the cabin and start to work on the communications stuff; that was his area of expertise, as our local IT geek he had a good handle on the all the magic boxes. He was soon setting up all the stuff, VHF (very high frequency) and MF (medium frequency) radios, the radar, the GPS systems, and the internal radio that we all used on the boat.

Pete slid down the steps and into the engine room, he was a mechanic at the local garage, and he loved the two Caterpillar C18 marine diesel engines. He kept them well-oiled and ticking over. They were like his kids. He made them purr like kittens, but they roared like lions when the throttle was opened up.

I ran to the front of the boat and cast off the bow line, I knew that sone one else would be casting off the stern line. The sun was now peeping out between the clouds. I was one of the deck crew and until we got to the shout, I had little to do. Some of the other lads all had jobs to do, checking the gear, checking the searchlights etc. we all knew it was one hundred per cent perfect we checked it every day.

We relied on the kit to get us home safe and sound, so we made sure that it was in one hundred per cent working order every day. Some of the married guys told me they spent more time looking after the boat and its kit then they spent looking after their wife and kids.

I looked around and saw that young Neil and Savo had drawn the short straws they were still on the slipway as the engines roared into life and we slid down the slipway and hit the water. They would stay in the station until we got back and take care of the onshore stuff. We had all been there, as there were always more guys on call than the boat needed to crew it just in case anyone was late or ill.

If you were unlucky enough to be left back at the station during a shout, you normally drank tea and kept your ears open for radio traffic.

I heard the two marine diesel engines change tone as the propellers dug into the water and we shot off, building speed as we headed away from the station. The weather in the bay was calm and the sea was smooth. We left quite a wake behind us as the twin engines were revved up to full speed.

I was fairly new to the crew and the youngest member at twenty-four. I had only finished my training three months previously; I had only been on five shouts since and I still got both excited and a little nervous as we headed out into the unknown.

I heard the radio crackle in my ear. It was Jago.

“Right lads, when on deck clip up please, the weather outside the bay is not so good,” he growled. Jago always growled, he was a good bloke and a great helmsman, but he was a miserable old bugger.

There were three of us still on deck and we all clipped our safety lines onto the steel cabling beside us.

“The shout is to a yacht off Monkey Island, it’s holed and sinking,” he told us.

Monkey Island was a good twenty minutes for us even with the two-turbo engines cranked up to their full speed of 25 knots. Now, a yacht could be a one-man twenty-footer or a millionaire’s toy with a crew of many, so it was hard to picture.

“How many onboard Jago?” I heard Burt asking, pre-empting the question most of us were about to ask.

“Two adults’ and two kids, the coast guard told me they are bailing like fuck “Jago replied.

I pressed my personal radios ‘send’ button.

“I take it there is no hope of Helicopter support then boss?” I enquired.

“That’s a Negative Zak, it’s too foggy out there they tell me “Jago replied as he said it, we sailed out of the bay, the sea got angry and the wind picked up. It was also drizzly, I hate drizzle it gets in your gear, and it gets in your eyes. The deck was soon awash as the waves hit us. A new sound joined the roar of the engines as the automatic pumps kicked in to keep the bilges empty.

The radio crackled in my ear again.

“Hot chocolate or coffee lads “it was Burt, he was always ready to brew up if we had a fair distance to go. A good brew both warmed you up and was good for morale.

“Coffee for me Burt please mate “I replied and heard the rest of the crew put in their orders.

Five minutes later, we heard two clicks on the radio; it was his signal to tell us he had brewed up and to go below to get the drinks. I looked around before I went below, I could see that further out to sea there was a huge fog bank just as the coast guards had said. That would hinder us that was for certain.

On one of my earliest shouts, we had searched for a dingy for eight hours in a fog that was thick as pea soup and only found it when we bumped into it.

I took Jago, and Big H their drinks and a handful of chocolate biscuits, the crew loved chocolate biscuits with a brew. The boat always had a tin full of biscuits, then I headed into the main cabin and took my coffee from Burt. We all sat on our seats and I put my safety belt on, we were being tossed around a bit and I did not want to be thrown out of my seat and injured.

The boat was being tossed about as we covered the distance as fast as we could; Pete came up from the engine room and dunked half a wagon wheel in his hot chocolate.

“Nice Morning for it “he grumbled and was met with a chorus of the usual banter.

It was hard to do anything other than taking a seat and holding on while Jago sailed us at full speed toward the sinking yacht. Big H and Jago would get us to the sinking ship what was sure, they had been doing this for over ten years each. They had been part of the crew that had saved countless lives over the years and I was told by the other lads I could learn a lot from them.

The rest of the lads were all incredibly quiet, no one was ever sure if it was nerves, uncertainty or whatever. Nevertheless, we all sat and drank our brews, dunked our biscuits, and thought our thoughts. Every now and then, we would hear Jago and Big H talking to each other over the radio.

Our silence was broken by a loud crackle and then Jago called for us to get to our positions.

Ten seconds later, we were all on deck and clipped up. The sea was much angrier now and the deck was extremely slippery, with seawater spraying all around. There was not much to see as the fog-shrouded us and you could not see more than thirty or forty feet into it.

We all took up our positions. I was on the starboard side toward the stern of the boat.

The radio crackled and I heard Big H telling Jago where he should steer as he had the yacht’s position on the radar screen. It took another ten minutes before we found her. As soon as we got near, we could hear the people onboard calling out to us.

“Right Zak, I need you to go aboard the yacht and see how bad it is, we need to know if our portable pump will keep her afloat,” said Jago. It was sometimes easier to pump out the damaged vessel and tow it back to the harbour.

“No worries mate” I replied. A fresh wave of nervous excitement washed over me. I tried to contain it, to channel it. I had done this for real a few times but had practised the manoeuvre many times in training.

“Right get rigged up and tell me when you are ready to go,” he growled Trev and Burt tied a safety rope to me and they both checked It. I would have to jump from one boat to another and there was always the chance I could slip between the boats and end up in the drink. It was their job to haul me back on board if that should happen.

It was always a risky job going aboard a sinking boat, but I was more than eager to do it. It what I joined up for, what I trained for.

“I am ready to go when you are Jago,” I said into my radio.

I could hear Trev calling out to the yacht warning them we were coming alongside and that I would be going over to them. The yacht was rolling on the oceans swell but it was obvious she was down in the water.

There was a bloke in the yachts open cockpit and he was waving at us.

Three times Jago tried to get our boat into a good position but three times the swell of the waves pushed us away. On the fourth time, he got us awfully close and I jumped. It seemed to me I was in the air for ages and that the gap was huge but really, I guess it was less than three foot and I was in the air for seconds.

I landed and reached out for the yachts grab rail, stepped over it and dropped in the cockpit.

“Good Morning Sir,” I said in a cheery voice, trying to settle the sailor down.

“Thank god you are here,” he yelled, “we were sailing from Falmouth to Plymouth, but I think we have hit something in the water”

“No worries we are here to help, my names Zak by the way,” I said

“I am Andy” he replied and thrust out his hand, which I shook.

“Right where is the hole” I enquired.

“It’s about amidships we tried to plug it but there is water pouring in through it still,” he said, I could hear the fear in his voice. I would have been nervous as well, a long way from land with water pouring into the boat and two kids on board.

“Okay let me take a look below,” I told him.

I slipped into the cabin, there were two kids sat on one of the bench seats and crying their eyes out. A woman was using a bucket to try to bail the water out. She was fighting a losing battle that was obvious. There was a hatch in the floor of the cabin and water was oozing up from it.

“Hello there,” I said and dropped to my knees, the water was already about six inches deep. The kids kept crying, but the woman gave me a smile, a worried but cute smile.

“Thank Christ you’re here, “she said, she had a London accent I looked at her and then at the kids, she seemed too young to have kids that age but hey you never know these days.

I put my hand on the hatch and felt pressure on is, there was no way we could open it. Even as I knelt there, I could sense the water getting deeper.

I pressed the button on my personal radio.

“Guys there is no way our pump will do the job, the yachts had it, we need to get the family off, and now!” I said trying to keep my voice low and not get over-excited.

“Right oh mate “I heard Trev reply, “Kids first mate we will send over another safety rope and some harnesses”

“Cheers Trev” I replied. Then I turned to the lady that was still bailing.

“Right Mrs we need to get the kids off this boat,” I said, “Can you bring them up to the cockpit”

“Yes of course “she replied, her voice was also full of nerves and I do not blame her, I figured that they had another ten minutes before the yacht sank. I climbed up the small steps to the cockpit and I felt the little yacht shudder beneath my feet.

I clicked my radios send button.

“Guys make it quick I think she is about to go under,” I told the rest of the lifeboat crew.

“Right oh “Trev replied. “Are you ready for the rope?”

“Yes mate,” I told him.

It took three attempts to get the rope to me. As soon as I had it, I unclipped the harnesses and tossed them to Andy.

“Andy, we need to get these into you and the family, and then we will get you over to our boat”

He seemed frozen to the spot, unable to move, perhaps it was shock setting in.

“Right Guys, I will take you over one at a time, and I won’t stop coming back until you are all safe and sound, okay,” I told them.

His wife came over to me with a young girl of around nine or ten years old. She took one of the harnesses from Andy and slipped it over the girls’ shoulders and made good the fasteners

“Hi this is Becca,” she told me. I checked the harness was on safe and sound before I clipped the rope to it. I also flicked the switch on my radio that meant I did not have to depress the radios send button; everything I said would now be heard and recorded.

“Right Becca my name is Zak and together you and I will be jumping from one boat to another,” I told her.

“I can’t do it!” she yelled, she was scared and that was understandable,

“Sure, you can sweetie, do you like the fair?” I asked trying to soothe her nerves.

“Um ... yes “she cried

“This is just like a fair ride” I assured her. I did not have much time to waste and wanted to get the kids to safety., “you just hold onto me and you will be safe and sound”

The wife stroked her hair and tried to calm her down. It was a difficult job. This was not some summer afternoon on a boating pond, this was a real life or death situation, even my nerves were jangling.

“The big man will keep you safe and sound honey,” she told the girl.

“Right Becca you hold onto me and close your eyes and it will all be over in seconds,” I said trying to use my calming voice.

I lifted her up and she wrapped her arms around me, I clipped her harness to me and turned to face the lifeboat.

“Jago are you ready for us then mate,” I said into my radio’s microphone

“Yes matey, “he replied.

“When I say jump, you jump okay Zak, “Trev told me. I was happy that Trev was on the end of the rope, he was a small man but as strong as an ox and he would be able to pull me out of the water should things go badly.

“Yes mate, ready whenever you are,” I said and tried to think about the jump and how to make it over safely.

The lifeboat came in twice and the waves pushed her back but on the third attempt, Trev’s voice filled my ears.

“Jump!” He yelled I jumped or stepped over the two-foot gap between the boats. I was always in awe of Jago and his skills as a helmsman. He had gotten the lifeboat really close to the yacht in bloody horrible weather.