Ben Asdale
Encyclopedia
Ben Asdale was a Scottish trawler that was wrecked in December 1978 near Falmouth, Cornwall
.
On the evening of 30 December 1978 the freezer trawler Ben Asdale was off loading fish into the hold of the Russian factory ship
Antarktika (Антарктика), which was anchored in Falmouth Bay. A force eight
gale
was blowing and heavy snow was falling. When the Ben Asdale had finished discharging her cargo of mackerel
, she cast off her stern rope in preparation to move away from the anchored Antarktika. The rope fouled her rudder
and she would not respond to her helm. The skipper, Barney Coe, tried to get the Russians to re-secure the stern of his vessel but by now the fierce gale was dragging both boats. The Russians sent over two officers to assist in getting the steering working and shortly after the bow rope parted and the Ben Asdale was adrift.
The skipper let go an anchor but it failed to hold, and as they were swept towards Maenporth
beach, a Mayday
was sent. With the wind now gusting force ten and the waves breaking over the trawler, she was out of control, and soon piled onto the rocks at the bottom of Newporth Head. As the boat struck the rocks one of the crew jumped over the side gravely injuring himself, and others threw out anything to act as life rafts.
By now, word of the trawler's troubles had spread and the three Billcliffe brothers who had a hotel by the beach rushed to the scene and waded into the surf and during that night dragged three of the crew to safety. Up on Newporth head, the Coastguard
had arrived and was setting up a breeches buoy
. With visibility almost at zero due to the blizzard, searchlights were rigged. As the breeches buoy was connected to the stricken trawler she lurched and rolled onto her side, jamming all the gear. By now the rescue helicopter had arrived from RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) but could not see what was going on down on the hulk of the trawler because of the swirling blizzard.
The Coastguard set up a radio link with the pilot, to guide the helicopter, which had to fly backwards over the wreck because of the winds and the nearness of the Headland. Over a period of about one and a half hours the helicopter lowered its winch eight times and successfully lifted off a crewman. Whilst all this was happening three of the crew despaired and tried to swim to a shore that looked temptingly near. In the end eleven people were saved, but in spite of all the efforts of the emergency services and the Billicliffe brothers, three men (two Britons and a Russian) were drowned, their bodies washed up the next day on Maenporth Beach.
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
.
On the evening of 30 December 1978 the freezer trawler Ben Asdale was off loading fish into the hold of the Russian factory ship
Factory ship
A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish...
Antarktika (Антарктика), which was anchored in Falmouth Bay. A force eight
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
was blowing and heavy snow was falling. When the Ben Asdale had finished discharging her cargo of mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
, she cast off her stern rope in preparation to move away from the anchored Antarktika. The rope fouled her rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
and she would not respond to her helm. The skipper, Barney Coe, tried to get the Russians to re-secure the stern of his vessel but by now the fierce gale was dragging both boats. The Russians sent over two officers to assist in getting the steering working and shortly after the bow rope parted and the Ben Asdale was adrift.
The skipper let go an anchor but it failed to hold, and as they were swept towards Maenporth
Maenporth
Maenporth is a cove and beach in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately two miles south-southwest of Falmouth on the estuary of the River Fal....
beach, a Mayday
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
was sent. With the wind now gusting force ten and the waves breaking over the trawler, she was out of control, and soon piled onto the rocks at the bottom of Newporth Head. As the boat struck the rocks one of the crew jumped over the side gravely injuring himself, and others threw out anything to act as life rafts.
By now, word of the trawler's troubles had spread and the three Billcliffe brothers who had a hotel by the beach rushed to the scene and waded into the surf and during that night dragged three of the crew to safety. Up on Newporth head, the Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
had arrived and was setting up a breeches buoy
Breeches buoy
A breeches buoy is a crude rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one location to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached...
. With visibility almost at zero due to the blizzard, searchlights were rigged. As the breeches buoy was connected to the stricken trawler she lurched and rolled onto her side, jamming all the gear. By now the rescue helicopter had arrived from RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) but could not see what was going on down on the hulk of the trawler because of the swirling blizzard.
The Coastguard set up a radio link with the pilot, to guide the helicopter, which had to fly backwards over the wreck because of the winds and the nearness of the Headland. Over a period of about one and a half hours the helicopter lowered its winch eight times and successfully lifted off a crewman. Whilst all this was happening three of the crew despaired and tried to swim to a shore that looked temptingly near. In the end eleven people were saved, but in spite of all the efforts of the emergency services and the Billicliffe brothers, three men (two Britons and a Russian) were drowned, their bodies washed up the next day on Maenporth Beach.