70 years ago the Earl Thorfinn, on her round of the North Isles, was hit by a hurricane and had to run before the wind towards Aberdeen. Captain Hamish Flett and his crew coped with mountainous seas that smashed her steering gear and conditions that destroyed other vessels. How did the ship survive, and how has marine communication developed over the years to help in such situations? Prof. Tom Stevenson tells the story.

In association with the Museum of Communication, Burntisland, and Orkney Wireless Museum