Ben Asdale
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2018) |
The trawler Ben Asdale, aground in Cornwall, some time in the 1970s.
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Ben Asdale |
Builder | A & C de la Manche, Dieppe |
Launched | 8 September 1972 |
Identification | IMO number: 7227152 |
Fate | Wrecked on 30 December 1978 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | freezer trawler |
Tonnage | 422 GRT |
Length | 143 ft (43.6 m) |
Beam | 31 ft 6 in (9.6 m) |
Depth | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
Notes |
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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
The skipper let go an anchor but it failed to hold, and as they were swept towards
By now, word of the trawler's troubles had spread, and the three Billcliffe brothers, who owned the Crag 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
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 eight crewmen. 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. The crew of the helicopter were awarded two Air Force Crosses and three Queen's Commendations for one of the most dangerous rescues of modern times.[1][2]
References
- ^ Sources for the Ben Asdale story: submerged.co.uk has many points in common with the text in this article but date of wreck given as 1979, not 1978. and Smallholder, Thursday 11 Dec 2003 an account by one of the coastguards, correcting the date.[dead link]
- ^ "Information about the trawler Ben Asdale". Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2010.