The Report of the Court of Inquiry into the Rye
lifeboat disaster has been issued by the Board of Trade. The Court consider that none of the tests carried out by the Board of Trade and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution " represented the conditions which prevailed when the ' Mary Stanford ' capsized," and they recom- mend " more exhaustive trials." They are satisfied that when the " belts containing bodies " were first sighted, at some distance from the shore, they were still capable of supporting at least eighteen pounds, and they suggest that a considerable amount of buoyancy was lost when they came into contact with the waves breaking on the shore. Finally, they recommend that " until there is sufficient evidence that Kapok life-jackets in non-water-tight canvas covers are capable of standing such rough treatment as may reasonably be expected to befall them in lifeboat disasters," such covers should be waterproofed, and the pockets of the belts should be so arranged that if they expand they will put as little extra strain as possible on to the wearers."
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