On Monday, September 2 it is 50 years since Falmouth’s senior Trinity House pilot 49 year old Captain Laurence Kerr Mitchell died in 1974, whilst trying to board the disabled P&O ferry Eagle in Falmouth Bay during bad weather.
Battered by storm force winds and heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay the Eagle limped towards Falmouth for repairs and shelter.
Captain Mitchell, the duty pilot that day, went to sea in the pilot boat Kernow under the command of Coxswain John Bobin and his deckhand Coxswain Bob Hurrell.
Eagle had bridge front windows smashed in the storm, along with various electrical defects affecting her steering when the master Captain Gordon Renshaw decided to make for Falmouth.
Weather conditions in the Bay were nasty, with a heavy southerly swell running.
Coxswain Bobin, in his report, said: “ Before we reached the harbour entrance we encountered heavy seas - we continued like this to the 2D buoy some 3.5 miles south. Communications with the ship were very bad as Eagle also had radio problems.
‘Eventually with the help of Falmouth Coastguard and Land’s End Radio communications although poor were established enough to pass positions of the ferry."
Eagle appeared out of the mist, allowing the pilot and pilot boat crew to assess the situation.
Captain Mitchell said: "OK John. I think she is OK to board." The Eagle, which had a large belting (steel fendering) along her hull, began to roll slightly with the pilot boat pinned alongside.
Something happened which made Captain Mitchell decide to reboard the pilot boat, as Coxswain Bobin saw him standing on the belting facing towards the pilot boat. In trying to reboard he was badly injured before falling into the water.
Whilst trying to recover Captain Mitchell from the sea the Kernow’s mast snapped rendering the VHF inoperable. The pilot boat crew were now at the mercy of the sea with both men trying to save the pilot but to no avail.
Hero of the day was tugman Mike Tuffery, who dived overboard from the harbour tug St Agnes in a valiant attempt to save the pilot, but again heavy seas prevented the crew of the tug from hauling Captain Mitchell out of the water.
A royal Navy helicopter naval diver John Westgarth, assisted by Mike, put a harness around the pilot and winched him up to the helicopter. He was later pronounced dead.
His widow Maureen told the Packet after the incident that she "knew the dangers involved in his work" and added that he had great respect for the sea. "He loved life and lived it to the full," she said. "He was a generous and kind man. I am so proud of him."
Laurie, as he was affectionately known around the Falmouth port fraternity, left four children, Laurie, Sheenagh, Lisa and a son Frazer.
The Rt Hon James Callaghan MP, president of the United Kingdom Pilots Association, said at the organisation’s 88th annual conference: “There is no doubt Captain Mitchell knew full well the risk he was taking and the difficulties he was incurring trying to board the Eagle when she was in distress and needed considerable help. He did that in the highest traditions of the Pilotage service.”
Captain Mitchell, affectionately known around the Falmouth waterfront as Laurie, was a man who was very much respected by all for his integrity, good humour, professionalism and dynamic enthusiasm. A strong willed, charismatic character, Laurie always championed the betterment of pilots.
When on leave I shared many a pint with Laurie in the Chain Locker pub on Custom House quay, where he could be found enjoying a drink whilst smoking his pipe chatting to waterfront characters and the famous landlord Jock Drennan. Laurie encouraged me to study hard for my exams - he passed on good tips about a whole range of subjects. We both shared the same birthday !
Falmouth needed a new fast pilot boat in the late 1970s, to handle the pilotage work when up to 3,500 pilotage moves were carried out annually. Trinity House gave the green light for the new build, a 17. 5 metre Nelson 56 pilot boat with Alexander Robertson & Sons boatyard in Sandbank, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
In May 1978, Maureen Mitchell officially named the pilot boat LK Mitchell after her late husband at Customs House Quay.
She said: “He would have been proud to have had her as his ship. She is a handsome reminder of a handsome man. She is as strong as he was strong and I am sure she will endure difficulties at sea as he faced them.”
Since then, the LK Mitchell has been through hell and high water operating in the worst conditions nature can throw at any vessel. Apart from boarding and landing pilots thousands of times this boat has been the port’s most faithful servant for nearly 50 years.
When the iconic pilot boat steams out of Falmouth Harbour for the last time in mid September to her new home in Scotland she will leave in her wake a unique legacy of memories for many in the Port of Falmouth. Memories of the valiant service she has performed for nearly 50 years in the port along with the ever lasting memory of that brave pilot Captain Laurence Kerr “Laurie” Mitchell from whom she wears his name with pride.
Trinitas in Unitate
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