RNLI in Action – 30 years ago

30 years ago, the volunteer crew of Portrush Lifeboat launched in dreadful conditions to reports of two Spanish trawlers in difficulty - This was when the famous Portrush picture was taken by photographer Ian Watson- Crew member Mark Mitchell tells the story:

On a February afternoon in 1989, when I was 21, we were asked to go to the aid of two Spanish trawlers floundering off Donegal. Nothing unusual - except for the weather. The wind speed indicator at the top of the mast was screaming at 113.5mph. I had done several call-outs but this was the most dangerous to date.

We sat at the harbour entrance for what seemed like a lifetime as we strapped in and prepared. We were all well-experienced seafarers, but we knew this one was going to be bad.

As one mountainous wave after another surged past the harbour mouth, the Coxswain saw his chance - he was looking for a trough we could get ourselves into - and slammed the throttles forward. Almost a thousand horsepower launched us into the maelstrom. I was terrified. But we weren't allowed to say so because we were men in a man's world. In those days we couldn't show our fear.

Seconds later, the *seventh wave caught us and we were now suddenly on our side, surfing down a wall of white water towards the trough.

In a lesser boat we would have been dead, but the legendary stability of the **Richard Evans Arun Class Lifeboat pulled us back to something resembling an even keel and we turned to face the next one.

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Swarm helps pinpoint new magnetic north for smartphones

Magnetic north on the move

Since it was first measured in 1831, we have known that the magnetic north is constantly on the move. However, its tendency to slowly roam has stepped up a pace recently – so much so that the World Magnetic Model has had to be updated urgently with the pole’s new location, vital for navigation on smartphones, for example. ESA’s magnetic field Swarm mission has been key for this update.

The World Magnetic Model, the basis for many navigation systems used by ships, Google maps and smartphones, relies on the accurate knowledge of Earth’s magnetic field. Since magnetic north never stands still, the model has to be revised periodically – but a surge in pace has meant that an update was needed ahead of schedule.

Driven largely by the churning of fluid in Earth’s core, which generates the magnetic field, the magnetic north pole has always drifted, and geological evidence shows that every few hundred thousand years or so it even flips, so that north becomes south.

Around 50 years ago, the pole was ambling along at around 15 km a year, but now it is sprinting ahead at around 55 km a year. In 2017, it crossed the international date line, leaving the Canadian Arctic and heading towards Siberia.

Space compasses

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