Penlee lifeboat disaster 30 years on

A strange note…a screaming sort of noise is how one witness describes the gale that brings tragedy to the tiny fishing village of mousehole in 1981.Eight miles off the south cornish coast the cargo ship the union star develops engine trouble.The captain refuses the offer of assistance by a tug,not wanting to pay the costs.As the weather worsens and the gale drives the union start to the rocky coast, he finally sends a distress signal.A helicopter from RNAS culdrose is unable to rescue anyone, so the lifeboat solomon browne launches from penlee point.Coxswain Trevelyan Richards realises its going to be tough: from twelve volunteers, mainly fishermen, he chooses only one member from each family.In 60 foot seas, the lifeboat is hurled on to the union stars deck twice before they manage to pull four crew off.On the final attempt as the union start keels over, the radio goes silent-and the lights of the solomon browne disappear.Lifeboat tragedies always touch the nations heart, but the penlee disaster, devastating a single, tiny community, does so more than most.The official enquiry in 1982 blames no one, attributing the tragedy to the weather. But new legislation empowers coastguards to declare a mayday and authorise salvage on behalf of a ships captain.