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One of Guernsey's heroic lifeboat crew members and former coxswain, Michael Scales has died.
Mr Scales passed away on Saturday 12 August in Southampton, where he had lived for the past 13 years with his wife Helen.
Mr Scales had been the coxswain of the Sir William Arnold, the St Peter Port Lifeboat between 1981 and 1984 and was a crew member of the lifeboat for "many years" before taking on the coxswain role.
His time as coxswain coincided with one of the most memorable rescues in the RNLI's history as the St Peter Port crew saved the lives of most of the people aboard the stricken freight ship, Bonita.
That rescue on Sunday 13 December 1981 has been described as a "daring rescue mission" among other terms.
The Bonita rescue saw Mr Scales join a "very elite group of only 151 RNLI volunteers who have been awarded the Institution's Gold Medal in its 199-year history".
Pictured: Former St. Peter Port Lifeboat Coxswain Michael Scales received a gold medal for gallantry for leading the Bonita rescue of December 1981.
The 8,000-tonne Ecuadorian cargo ship was carrying fertiliser from Hamburg to Panama when she was caught in a hurricane in the Channel. The children and wives of the Captain and First Engineer were on board along with the crew, engineers and an electrician.
The story of how the volunteers headed into "horrendous conditions in the English Channel" to save the lives of 34 of the 36 people onboard was recounted by Mr Scales in 2021 to mark its 40th anniversary.
In his interview with the RNLI, Mr Scales recalled the conditions.
"Shortly after leaving St. Peter Port, we broached [keeled over to one side by the force of the wind and sea] and that was the first of many broachings. On the radar, you could just see walls of water.
"The first view of the ship, it was dusk, it was snowing and the seas were 15 metres high.
"It’s not until you see the daunting sight of a ship laying on its side knowing the amount of people that have to be rescued and the precarious position they are in. Then you have a thought: ‘well, how am I going to get these off safely, or as best you can'.
"I have great respect for those crew members on board Bonita who decided ‘well, we’re going to jump’ because personally I wouldn’t have liked to. I wasn’t thinking about my state of mind - I was thinking about the state of mind of the people we had to persuade to jump.
"Halfway through, we had 16 people on board, we had a serious injury and the crew were exhausted. I was exhausted because it is concentration. Eventually, the master of the Bonita was rescued and then I went ‘oh, thank you, God."
Pictured: A rescued crewman is taken off the Sir William Arnold in Brixham. Picture credit: Herald Express.
A few months after the Bonita mission, in May 1982, Mr Scales and his crewmen received medals for their gallantry.
At the RNLI awards presentation they met the widows and other relatives of the Penlee Lifeboat crew who had all perished at sea just days after the Bonita rescue. The Penlee crew launched to assist the Union Star, but everyone on board both vessels drowned.
It would be another four decades before Mr Scales would meet any of the surviving Bonita crew or their families on dry land.
The RNLI invited Mr and Mrs Scales to a re-dedication ceremony for the former RNLB Sir William Arnold in St Katharine Dock in London in 2022. Among the other guests were Mr Nils Fosstveit and Mr John Aicher who had been taken aboard the Sir William Arnold on that stormy night.
RNLI President HRH The Duke of Kent led the re-dedication of the lifeboat which is now owned privately in Essex where it is used as a training and education centre.
Pictured: The 'gold medal' crew of December 1981, who went to assist the Bonita as she listed in hurricane force storms in the English Channel.
Speaking in his 2021 interview, Mr Scales recalled the men he toiled alongside as volunteers on the lifeboat.
"I look at some of the photos. A few of my crew have since passed. I look at 40 years and think: ‘where did that go?'
"I look at what the RNLI is doing now in their construction, their training, the college - and it’s a new generation, but it’s still: 'get out there and save lives'."
One of Mr Scales fellow crewmen, Peter Bougourd died earlier this year aged 89.
While Mr Scales and his wife had relocated away from Guernsey, he had strong family links to the island, and last visited in 2022.
Mr Scales' daughter Donna and son Stephen both live in the island still. Stephen joined the St Peter Port Lifeboat crew in 2011.
A spokesperson for the St Peter Port crew said:
"We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Michael's family and friends at this sad time. We will confirm details of the arrangements to commemorate his life once available.
"Fair winds and following seas Michael and thank you for your service to the RNLI and Guernsey."
READ MORE...
Former Coxswain Michael Scales - My memories of the Bonita rescue
WATCH: Remembering the RNLI's Bonita rescue 40 years on
The 'Guernsey Hero' now educating others in London
Guernsey Lifeboat sails to notable milestone
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