Louisa Anne Hawker Relives Her Past
Historic Lifeboat Louise Ann Hawker operforms rescue duties once again in Malaysia
On 19th August 2004 ‘Louisa Anne Hawker’, a 47’ Watson class lifeboat formerly in service from 1962 to 1986 with the Royal National Lifeboat Institute at Appledore, North Devon, performed a rescue in the Northern Straits of Malacca, Malaysia, some eighteen years after her last official service (providing assistance to the cabin cruiser ‘Stingray’ on 12th November 1986). Having been in Malaysia for less than a year, ‘Louisa Anne Hawker’, has proved beyond all doubt that her age and the unfamiliar tropical conditions have not affected her ability to assist those in difficulty at sea.
At 10:35hrs, Mr Seton Kendrick, present owner of Louisa Anne Hawker, received an urgent request for assistance from the operations room of Telaga Harbour, a marina on the north west coast of Langkawi Island where the former lifeboat is berthed, to go to the aid of the 46’ ketch ‘Tosimah‘, which was anchored on a lea shore off Pulau Tepong after experiencing engine failure. ‘Tosimah‘s’ mainsail and tender had also been damaged by ‘Sumatran’ squalls during the previous day’s sailing and her three occupants had been forced to endure a miserable night continuously pitching and rolling at anchor in heavy seas in close proximity to the uninhabited island.
A crew was assembled at the marina, briefings given, and Louisa Anne Hawker, with a small tender in tow, departed her berth at 12:02hrs on route to the casualty. The sea state encountered on the journey to ‘Tosimah’, situated 6.7nt. mls. south of Telaga Harbour, was moderate Force 4 to 5 with a swell of up to two meters and a breeze of around 15kts. At 13:08hrs Louisa Anne Hawker arrived at the ketch and two crewmembers were dispatched via the tender to board her and establish the exact condition of her occupants and nature of her mechanical problems (total engine failure). Meanwhile, Louisa Anne Hawker circled around the casualty and then manoeuvred alongside taking care not to get too close in the choppy conditions, to enable a towline (approximately 50 meters in length) to be attached to the bow of the ketch. At 13:33hrs Louisa Anne Hawker commenced towing of the casualty back to Telaga Harbour where she arrived at 15:26hrs.
Throughout the return journey the sea state remained moderate and there was a welcome absence of any ‘Sumatrans’ (squalls that are generated by weather over the Sumatran mountains which often hit the Malacca Straits without warning and can pack winds gusting up to 60kts. and torrential rain over a highly localized area) as experienced by ‘Tosimah’ the previous two days. Upon reaching Telaga Harbour, Louisa Anne Hawker detached the towline and let the casualty drift into a suitable berth and was herself alongside at 15:37hrs. Indeed, it was noted that the night of the 19/20th August saw violent squalls accompanied by frequent lightning and winds gusting to 40kts which would have posed a serious threat to the immobilized and damaged ‘Tosimah ‘ and her occupants had she been forced to remain at anchor on the lea shore of Pulau Tepong.
It is quite likely that Louisa Anne Hawker felt a twinge of nostalgia as she towed the ketch back to the safety of the marina, and it speaks volumes for the craftsmen and engineers who built her that some 42 years later she is still more than capable of providing help if required.