FISHERMEN – Off in Fog – Rescue

Accreditation The Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Gazette 13/12/1878.

REDCAR FISHERMEN OFF IN A FOG

     On Tuesday, the north east coast was enveloped in a dense fog, which came on very suddenly between nine and ten a.m., and continued through the day. During the forenoon it was so thick it was impossible to distinguish objects even at a few yards distance. This was especially the case on Redcar beach, and there was great excitement amongst the fisher folk, as a number of fishing cobles were out at sea which had put off about daybreak, when the sky was comparatively clear. With the view to indicate to the crews the whereabouts of the town the church bells were kept ringing for about two hours, during which time several shots were fired from the big guns at the Volunteer Battery (by permission of Capt. and Adjt. Jones), and also from the end of Redcar Pier by Mr. C. J. Coleman, on which also the lifeboat drums were sounded.

     After nearly three hours of anxious suspense those on the lookout were rewarded by seeing the cobles return one after another at short intervals, and the crews of the boats expressed their sense of the efforts that had been made to ensure their safety, stating that they had been guided home by the firing of the guns and the sound of the drums.