A heavy swell on the night of 30 September 1976 carried the Scarborough trawler Admiral Van Tromp onto a notorious underwater reef close to Black Nab: Saltwick Bay. The trawler grounded, her five-crew trapped in the wave pounded wheelhouse.

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The William and Mary Durham, a Watson-class lifeboat on temporary duty at Whitby, launched. Her volunteer crew first tried to fire rocket lines onto the trawler, but the trapped men could not grab them. It was impossible to get alongside the vessel because of the huge waves. Eventually, with three crew already injured, Coxswain Robert Allen was forced to abandon the rescue.

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When daylight broke, the Coastguard reported that a man was clinging to Black Rock, some 180m offshore. The man was the skipper of the Admiral Van Tromp, who had been washed from the wheelhouse.

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The Whitby inshore lifeboat (ILB) launched to his rescue. Despite the almost vertical rock, Helmsman Richard Robinson managed to thrust the bow (front) of the lifeboat onto a ledge, so the skipper could be dragged safely aboard. Two more of the crew were washed ashore alive, but sadly the last two men drowned.

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For this most dangerous and difficult service, the RNLI awarded a Silver Medal to Coxswain Robert Allen and a Bronze Medal to Helmsman Richard Robinson.