- The Rescue of the Renown
The Renown was a German
barque used as a sailingcargo ship built prior to 1873, when she made her first voyage.The storm and sinking
In 1888, the "Renown" sank during a storm, miles off the shore of
Den Helder in theNetherlands . The survivors had climbed up themizzen-mast and were eventually rescued by a small boat that approached the sinking ship. The lifeboat, captained byDorus Rijkers , approached the "Renown", where Rijkers jumped out of the boat and climbed the mast. He and his crew helped the endangered men from the mast to the lifeboat, and back again to dry land. Of the ship's total crew of 30, approximately 5 died in the shipwreck and the remainder were resuced.Aftermath
The heroic rescue ended successfully, and Dorus Rijkers was later rewarded with a gold medal for his valour. All of the surviving crew-members received a small stipend from the
court ofthe Hague after it was decided that they earned it because the boat was in bad condition when leavingHamburg harbour, one week before the accident.ee also
* KNRM
*Dorus Rijkers
* lifeboats
*rescue References
* [http://www.dorusrijkers.nl/opa/algemeen/index.html Foundation "mrb Dorus Rijkers" - much historical information and photographs about the famous lifeboatman Dorus Rijkers]
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