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This rescue remains the worst loss of crew in a single incident in RNLI history and was viewed as a national disaster across Victorian England.

The Mexico, a Hamburg barque, left Liverpool on 5 December bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador. Four days later she was caught in a violent gale, and amidst the heavy seas and snow showers, she ran aground on the perilous sandbanks in the Ribble Estuary. Lifeboats launched from Lytham, St Anne’s and Southport to rescue the stranded crew.

Eliza Fernley from Southport and Laura Janet from St Anne’s were the first lifeboats to launch. Tragically, they both capsized during the rescue attempt and 27 of the 29 crew were drowned. A third lifeboat, Charles Biggs, launched on its maiden rescue, and saved the Mexico’s 12 crew members.
Read more on the RNLI Website.