AT 9.45am yesterday, there was an eerie calm in Seaham Harbour, east Durham, as four lifeboats bobbed about in silence, their crews watching a wreath float towards the beach where the George Elmy lifeboat was washed up, carrying just one survivor.

The conditions could not have been more different to those on November 17, 1962, when nine of ten people aboard the lifeboat lost their lives in what many locals describe as the worst weather ever experienced on the County Durham coast.

The five crew on board the George Elmy had gone to rescue a fishing coble, the Economy, and its crew - miner Donald Burrell, his nine-year-old son, David, and his brother Gordon Burrell, and two other men, Joseph Kennedy and George Firth.

They had been caught in a storm, which bombarded their boat with hurricane-strength winds, snow and towering waves.

Concerned crowds that gathered on the side of the harbour breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the George Elmy approaching them.

But just 30ft away from the harbour, a ferocious wave overwhelmed the boat.

Only Donald Burrell survived, despite his desperate attempts to save his son. He was washed up on a nearby beach still clinging on to the upturned hull.

Mr Burrell has declined to talk about the disaster publicly since it happened.

On Saturday, a service was held at Dawdon, east Durham, to commemorate the tragedy.

And yesterday, lifeboat crews from Sunderland and Hartlepool turned out to stage their own tribute to the heroism of their colleagues.

The lifeboat station at Seaham has now gone, along with the old, open wooden boats. Modern crafts boast an array of technology and in severe weather crews strap themselves into seats under cover.

But a great deal of courage is still needed and coxswain of Sunderland Lifeboat, Ernie Laws, said: "The sea is a funny thing. One minute there's a storm, the next it's gone. The North-East coast is one of the worst areas in Britain, especially when you get an easterly wind. It is renowned for that."

Yesterday, the smaller inshore dinghies and the larger boats from Sunderland and Hartlepool met at Seaham Harbour, carrying with them crew from the Sunderland Volunteer Lifeboat, Seaham Coastguard and Sunderland Coastguard.

Mike Hodgson, from Sunderland Volunteer Lifeboat, said: "It's teamwork. You can't be in it for the glory."