$34 
Account of the Northumberland 
Life-Boat. 
The Northumberland ‘tife-hoat, 
so called from being built at the 
expence of his grace the duke of 
Northumberland, and presented by 
him to North Shields, was first em- 
ployed in November, 1798, when 
she went off to the ship Edin- 
burgh, of Kincardine, which was 
seen to go upon the Herd Sands, 
- about a mile and a half from the 
shore. Ralph Hillery, one of the 
seamen who went out in the life- 
boat to her assistance, relates that 
she was brought to an anchor be- 
fore the life-boat got to her; that 
‘the ship continued to strike the 
ground so heavily, that she could 
not have held together ten mi- 
nutes longer, had not the life-boat 
arrived; they made her cut her ca- 
ble, and then took seven men out 
of her, and brought them on shore ; 
that the sea was, at that time, so 
monstrously high, that no other 
boat whatever could have lived in 
it. He stated, that in the event of 
the life-boat filling, she would con- 
tinue upright and would not foun. 
der, as boats of common construc- 
tion do; that he has seen her go 
off scores of times, and never saw 
her fail in bringing off such of the 
crews as Staid by their ships. 
It also saved (as appears from 
other accounts) the crew of the 
brig Clio, of Sunderland, when she 
struck upon the rocks, called the 
Black Middens, on the north side 
of the eutrance of Tynemouth ha- 
ven. 4 
October 25, 1799, the ship Quin- 
tillian, from St. Petersburgh, drove 
on the Herd Sands, from the force 
of the sea-wind at N. E. knocked 
her rudder off, and was much da. 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1808. 
maed ; but the crew were brought 
on shore by the life-boat. The great 
utility of this life-boat is also cons 
firmed by many other recent cir 
cumstances: One among which is 
that of the ship Sally, of Sunder. 
Jand, which, in taking the harbour 
of Tynemouth, on December 25, 
1801, at night, struck on the bar: 
the crew were brought on shore by 
the life-boat, but the ship was driven 
among the rocks. 
On the 22d of January, 1802, in 
a heavy gale ef wind from the 
N.N. W. the ship Thomas and A- 
lice, in attempting the harbour of 
South: Shields, was driven on the Herd 
Sand: the Northumberland _life- 
boat went to her assistance; took, 
as was supposed, all the people out, 
and pulled away from the ship to 
make the harbour, when they were 
waved to return by a man who had 
been below deck. On taking this 
man out, they encountered a violent 
gust of wind, under the quarter of 
the ship; the ship, at the same time, 
drove among the breakers; and, 
entangling the boat with her, broke — 
most of the oars on that side of the — 
boat next the ship, and filled the 
boat with water. By the shock, — 
several oars were knocked ont of | 
the hands of the rowers, and that 
of the steersman, In this. situation, | 
the steersman quickly replaced his — 
oar from one of those left in the | 
boat, and swept the boat before the | 
sea, filled with water inside, as high > 
as the midship gunwhale: the boat. 
was steered, in this situation, be. 
fore the wind and sea, a distance 
far exceeding a mile, and landed 
twenty-one men, including the boat’s 
crew, without any accident but be= 
ing wet. 3 ; 
Mr. Hinderwell, of Scarborough, 
communicated, in a letter to Mr. 
. Greathead,, 
