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THE JOURNAL OF THE RNLI

Volume XLVI Number 470 Winter 1979/80 25p

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THELIFEBOAT

Winter 1979/80

/^ j ^ Notes of the Quarter, by Patrick Howarth 219

Lord Saltoun, MC, by His Grace the Duke of Atholl, Chairman of theCommittee of Management 220

XLVl Two Scottish Lifeboats capsize and right 220

4 /U Mountbatten of Burma 221

HRH The Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI, visits South Wales . . . . 221

Chairman: Lifeboat Services 222THE DUKE OF ATHOLL

HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother names RNLB Rotary Service,Director and Secretary: Dover 231REAR A D M I R A L W. 3. GRAHAM, CB M N I

On Station: Delivery and naming of Blyth lifeboat, RNLB Shoreline, by PeterHolness, membership secretary 232

Managing Editor: Blizzard 234PATRICK HOWARTH

Portrait of a lifeboat station: Wells 239Editor:JOAN DAVIES Here and There 240

Books Reviews 241Headquarters:Royal National Life-boat Institution Some w f R ; j M 242West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 6 '.HZ (Telephone Poole 7.133). Letters 246Telex: 41328

London Office: Offshore Lifeboat Services, June, July and August 1979 248Royal National Life-boat Institution,21 Ebury Street, London SW1W OLD Inshore Lifeboat Services, June, July and August 1979 249(Telephone 01-730 0031).After January 28: 202 Lambeth Road, Index to Advertisers 252London SE1 7JW (Telephone 01-9284236).

COVER PICTURE

Sir Samuel Kelly, the 46ft 9in Watson relieflifeboat on temporary duty at Courtmac-sherry Harbour tows in Casse Tete V duringthe Fastnet storm. In all that day, TuesdayAugust 14, 1979, Courtmacsherry lifeboat,under the command of Coxswain Stephen'Sammy' Mearns, was on service for morethan 21 hours through the worst of theweather. The photograph was taken byAmbrose Greenway.

Editorial: All material submitted forconsideration with a view to publica-tion in the journal should be addressedto the editor, THE LIFEBOAT, RoyalNational Life-boat Institution, WestQuay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ(Telephone Poole 71133). Photographsintended for return should be accom-panied by a stamped and addressedenvelope.

Next issue: the spring issue of the THELIFEBOAT will appear in April and newsitems should be sent by the end ofJanuary. News items for the summerissue should be sent in by the end ofApril.

Advertisements: All advertisingenquiries should be addressed toDyson Advertising Services, PO Box 9,Godalming, Surrey (TelephoneGodalming (04868) 23675).

Subscription: A year's subscription offour issues costs £1.40, including post-age, but those who are entitled toreceive THE LIFEBOAT free of chargewill continue to do so. Overseas sub-scriptions depend on the cost of post-age to the country concerned.

Printers: The Friary Press, Grove Trad-ing Estate, Dorchester, Dorset.

217

WE KNOW ABOUT THE SEA HEREand we have the books to prove it!

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Reg in England No 843946

218

NOTES OFTHE QUARTER

by Patrick Howarth

RNLI LIFEBOATS spent 186.6 hours atsea in rescues or attempted rescues ofyachtsmen taking part in the FastnetRace in August. They saved the lives of60 people, landed three others, savedeight boats and in different ways helped12 other boats. The Falmouth lifeboatwas away from her station during theseoperations for over 38 hours.

These bare statistics tell only a smallpart of the story of a major and highlysuccessful combined operation insearch and rescue. Helicopters fromthe Royal Navy and Royal Air Force,supported by RAF Nimrods and Irishand French aircraft, all played impor-tant parts, the total number of livesrescued by helicopter being 74. Anumber of other surface craft, includ-ing vessels of the Royal Navy, werealso involved, and the essential task of

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland MrHumphrey Atkins, an ex-naval officer, takesthe wheel of the 46ft 9in Watson Lady Scott(Civil Service No. 4) on a visit to Portrushlifeboat station last September. He wasaccompanied by Mrs Atkins.

photograph by courtesy of J. K.Photographic

co-ordination was carried out in a mostable manner by Ireland's Marine Co-ordination Centre at Shannon and HMCoastguard at Lands End. Fullerdetails of the lifeboat involvement inthe Fastnet Race appear on page 222.

Radio appealCoxswain Derek Scott of the Mum-

bles made an appeal on behalf of theRNLI on BBC radio on Sunday,August 12. The Fastnet Race followedimmediately on his appeal, and many ofthose who responded wrote in movingterms of the way in which the reportsfrom the Fastnet Race served as areminder of the continuous work ofthose who man the lifeboats. One con-tributor wrote:

' Your splendid radio appeal and thesimply wonderful heroism shown by thelifeboat crews in the Fastnet disaster callfor an extra sign of appreciation of theirwonderful work.'

Another commented:'My son was on the Fastnet Race and

mercifully returned safely after a terribleordeal. My admiration for the lifeboatcrews who set out in such weather isenormous.'

The total response to the appealamounted to more than £11.500.

Twenty-six years agoThis is the last number of THE

LIFEBOAT for which I shall have anyeditorial responsibility. Just as thisnumber contains an account of theflawless manner in which lifeboatcrews responded to such an emergencyas the 1979 Fastnet Race, so the firstnumber which I edited described ear-lier emergencies to which the lifeboatresponse was no less admirable.

I joined the service of the RNLI onFebruary 1, 1953. A day earlier themotor ship Princess Victoria, ownedby the British Transport Commission,sank after leaving Stranraer. She car-ried 127 passengers and a crew of 49.The disaster was the greatest sufferedby a British merchant vessel inpeacetime for a quarter of a century. Anumber of lifeboats put out to therescue, the Donaghadee boat saving 31lives.

On the same weekend floods on theeast coast caused greater devastationover a period of 48 hours than hadbeen known in peacetime withinliving memory in England. Among thelifeboats on service was that at South-end, which was called out seven timesin a period of little more than 48 hoursand spent more than 26 hours at sea.One of the most spectacular rescueswas carried out by the Clacton lifeboat,which took five men, a woman, twochildren, two dogs and a cat from theroof of a bungalow.

The report in THE LIFEBOAT of theeast coast floods called attention to asignificant decision made by the Com-mittee of Management. The LordMayor of London, Sir Rupert De la

Bere, launched an appeal for a reJieffund, and the government of the dayundertook to double the amount con-tributed to the fund. As this was tax-payers' money the RNLI decided notto apply for a grant, preferring to main-tain its status as an organisationsupported entirely by voluntary contri-butions. The cost of repairing damageto RNLI property was estimated to bebetween £10,000 and £15,000.

A quarter century of changeIn the period of little more than a

quarter of a century which has elapsedsince February 1953 the changes inlifeboats and their equipment havebeen prodigious. In 1953 there were nolifeboats in the fleet with a speed ofmore than nine knots. All lifeboatswere built of wood. They were openboats, and a debate was still takingplace on whether it would be desirableto fit lifeboats with wheelhouses. Fewof the boats were self-righters, andthose which were were regarded withsome suspicion by the majority ofcrews. There were no inshore lifeboats:no radar set had been invented whichcould be of much use in boats lying solow in the water as lifeboats; no echosounders had yet been fitted. Crewsstill wore the traditional oilskins andkapok lifejackets.

One glance at an Arun or Atlanticlifeboat today can give an impression ofthe immensity of the changes whichTHE LIFEBOAT has chronicled in thelast quarter of a century.

Continuity of serviceThere have been many changes too

in the appearance of THE LIFEBOATitself. In 1953 and for some yearsafterwards the publication servedmainly as the historical record of thework of the service. Gradually itdeveloped into the magazine of qualitywhich has been edited for some yearsnow with such distinction by JoanDavies. Nevertheless in its contents aremarkable continuity can be found.This is provided by the very nature ofvoluntary service. The summer 1953number of THE LIFEBOAT, which wasthe first I edited, included a verbatimreport of an interview broadcast by theBBC with two women launchers atDungeness. They were Madge Tart,who began serving as a launcher at theage of eleven, and her sister-in-law,Ellen Tart. The autumn 1979 number ofTHE LIFEBOAT included an article byRay Kipling on women's work in thelifeboat service, in which the partplayed by successors of Madge andEllen Tart as launchers, Serena Fair,Doris Tart and Joan Bates, wasdescribed.

AGM 1980Royal Festival Hall, London

Thursday, May 22

219

WITH THE DEATH of Lord Saltoun, theRNLI has lost one of its most devotedsupporters. His main interest was notso much in technical matters such asboats and methods of communication,but in the people who worked for theInstitution, its staff, the crews and theirfamilies and the voluntary workers; inall of them he took a great interest andhe knew a surprising number of thempersonally. I am told that almost untilhis death he insisted on having a tele-phone by his bed, so that if there was adisaster he would hear about it straightaway, even if it occurred at 2 am, andwould be ready to go and visit thefamilies within 12 hours of it takingplace; this thoughtfulness made himextremely well known and greatly likedall round the coast, especially in Scot-land, which was of course his first love.He was Convenor of the ScottishLifeboat Council for very many years,a job he undertook with unparalleledzest and enthusiasm, sometimes caus-ing grave worry to the Institution'sstaff, especially latterly, that he mightoverdo it (at any rate this was theirstory, but it was sometimes suspectedthat they, although 20 or 30 yearsyounger, found great difficulty in keep-ing up with his pace). Everywhere hewent in the lifeboat world he wasalways a welcome figure, and many asmall cottage, housing the widow of alifeboatman, was enlivened by his fre-

Lord Saltoun,MC

A man who cared forpeople

quent visits, checking on the occu-pant's well-being.

His best known episode on the tech-nical side was when he lost his trousersat Littlehampton. He volunteered to goalone as a guinea-pig in a boat in whicha new self-righting device had beeninstalled and was being tested; it didnot work quite as quickly as antici-pated, his trousers were soaked and oilleaked on to them; a kind soul loanedhim a pair for the return to London, buthis original ones have never beentraced (perhaps they are still adorningLittlehampton pier).

But what undoubtedly he will be bestremembered for is his book, TheLifeboat Service Memorial Book, abeautiful hand-illuminated record ofevery lifeboatman who has lost his lifein service since the Institution's incep-tion in 1824. Lord Saltoun raised themoney to pay for it, did the very con-siderable research required for it,organised the craftsmen to write it (fivemembers of The Society of Scribes and

Lord Saltoun at the InternationalLifeboat Conference in Edinburgh,1963.

photograph by courtesy of JohnDewar

Illuminators) and bind it, and I suspecthe may have even had a hand in findingthe vellum for it.

Lord Saltoun died at the age of 93,and for many of those years, perhapsthe majority, he had thought first of hisfamily and secondly of all those peopleconnected with the lifeboat service; he,himself, came a long way down, and itwas this total lack of self interest whichmade him such an endearing compan-ion and friend.—THE DUKE OFATHOLL, Chairman of the RNL1.

Two Scottish Lifeboatscapsize and right

ON SUNDAY MORNING, November 18,the 50ft Thames lifeboat stationed atIslay and the 52ft Barnett lifeboatstationed at Barra Island were capsizedwhile going to the help of a 299 tonDanish coaster whose cargo of marblechips had shifted.

The two lifeboats launched soonafter midnight in storm force 10 windsand very heavy seas. At 0145 Islaylifeboat was capsized. She rightedimmediately, but one of her engines

failed to regain full power and shereturned to station. The fault wasrectified and the lifeboat was availableagain for restricted service. The radarhad been damaged but both radiosworked well. One crew member suf-fered a broken ankle and the assistantmechanic minor bruising. The crewhave expressed praise for the perfor-mance of their boat.

Barra lifeboat was capsized at 0345.The lifeboat, built in 1957 and later fit-ted with a righting air bag, rightedimmediately but, her propellers beingfouled by ropes, the engines could notbe re-started. Four crew members who

suffered minor injuries were lifted offby helicopter at about mid-day. Thecoaster Sapphire was standing by andin hazardous conditions managed topass a tow to the lifeboat at about 1130.The tow parted on several occasionsand was finally handed over to the localfishing vessel Notre Dame for the lastpart of the passage back to station. Thelifeboat, with her four remaining crewmembers, arrived at Barra at 1540,after nearly 16 hours at sea.

The casualty, which had refused helpfrom a helicopter, returned to Barraunder escort of another Danish coasterjust after 1100.

Seafarers serviceSeven Dorset lifeboatmen, from

Poole, Swanage and We y mouth,attended the annual national service forseafarers in St Paul's Cathedral onOctober 24, when, for the first time, theRNLI flag was carried up the aisle; theflag was carried by Coxswain VictorMarsh of Swanage.

Fastnet memorialA memorial service for the 15

yachtsmen who lost their lives in theRoyal Ocean Racing Club Fastnet Race1979 was held at the Royal ParishChurch of St Martin-in-the-Fields onNovember 8, when the RNLI wasinvited to take a collection; it amountedto more than £500. King Olav or Nor-way and King Constantine of Greece,

both members of the RORC, were pre-sent and every British maritime servicewas represented.

C o t MRaymond Baxter, FRSA, has recently

become a member of the Committee ofManagement. Mr Baxter, who has beena broadcaster since 1945, first with theBBC and then freelance, has made sev-eral television appeals for the lifeboatservice and given the Institution valu-able publicity in many other ways. Hewas awarded a public relationsstatuette in 1969 and joined the PublicRelations Committee, of which he isnow chairman, in 1972. Mr Baxter isalso a member of the ExecutiveCommittee.

'In Danger's Hour'Kodak Limited are celebrating their

centenary year in 1980 by mountingone of the finest exhibitions of lifeboatphotographs ever to be seen in thiscountry. It will be staged at their show-rooms in High Holborn, London, for amonth starting on March 12 and it willinclude exhibits from many outstandingphotographers well known to lifeboatpeople for the work they have done forthe lifeboat service.

It is hoped to transport the exhibitionlater to other leading cities.

RNLI London office is moving toLambeth: from January 28 theaddress will be 202 Lambeth Road,London SE1 7JW, Tel. 01-9284236.

220

Mountbatten of Burma

ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET the Earl Mountbatten of Burma,who was killed in his motor yacht while on holiday lastAugust, will be remembered, as is his wife, the CountessMountbatten, as a very good friend of the lifeboat service.Whereas, however, Lady Mountbatten is particularlyremembered for the active part she took in fund raising—shebecame Vice-President of the Ladies' Lifeboat Guild in 1925and was its President from 1944 until her death in1960—Lord Mountbatten will be particularly rememberedfor his close connection with lifeboats in the Isle of Wight, ofwhich he was Governor and Lord Lieutenant. He was patronof the appeal which funded Yarmouth's Arun lifeboat, atwhose naming ceremony he accompanied HRH The Duke ofKent. Some years earlier he had himself performed the nam-ing ceremony of Bembridge lifeboat.

It is appropriate, therefore, that the first of a new type ofintermediate lifeboat, the RNLI Medina 35, being designedand built on the Isle of Wight, should bear Lord Mountbat-ten's name, Mountbatten of Burma. He himself had wel-comed the proposal and, shortly before his death, he hadapproved the details for an appeal being launched by Rom-sey and District branch, of which he was also patron, toprovide funds for this new boat. The appeal was in factlaunched a week before his death and was continued with theagreement of his family.

Mountbatten of Burma, prototype of the experimental intermediatelifeboat RNLI Medina 35, on early trials.

photograph by courtesy of Ambrose Greenway

So many people have chosen to honour the memory ofLord Mountbatten by supporting this appeal that theresponse has been overwhelming. Contributions have notonly come from all over the British Isles and Ireland, butalso from many other parts of the world. After three monthsthe appeal stands at about £60,000.

Mountbatten of Burma, the prototype of the experimentalRNLI Medina 25 intermediate lifeboat, was launched in theautumn, since when she has been undergoing trials. TheMedina 35 is designed by the Institution's Cowes Base teamunder the leadership of David Stogdon, MBE, and the proto-type was built by W. A. Souter and Son of Cowes.

The Duke of Kent visits South Wales: During a two-day tour onOctober 31 and November 1 HRH The Duke of Kent, President of theRNLI, visited Barry Dock, Porthcawl and The Mumbles lifeboatstations. He also attended a gala performance of'Madame Butterfly'given by the Welsh National Opera Company in Cardiff NewTheatre in aid of the lifeboat service, when a guard of honour wasprovided by crew members from Atlantic College ILB station. In thetwo days His Royal Highness met not only crew members andbranch officials at all three lifeboat stations, but also representa-tives from other stations and financial branches and guilds in thearea. (Above, left) A reception at Cardiff Castle followed the per-

formance of'Madame Butterfly': the Duke of Kent with Mrs EsmeHugh-Jones, chairman of Cardiff ladies' guild, and Cdr NormanLloyd-Edwards, chairman of Cardiff branch. (Below, left) His RoyalHighness meets crew members in The Mumbles boathouse. (Above,right) The Duke coming ashore from the 52ft Arun lifeboat Arun atBarry Dock and (below, right), at Porthcawl, talking with Lt JohnUnwin, divisional inspector of lifeboats (West) and members of theILB crew.

photographs by courtesy of 'Western Mail and Echo' (Cardiff andBarry Dock), 'South Wales Evening Post' (The Mumbles) and Mid

Glamorgan County Council (Porthcawl)

221

August stormsTWO DEEPENING DEPRESSIONS sweep-ing in from the Atlantic last summerwithin a few days of each other broughtwith them first, on August 9, severegales with storm force gusts and then,on the night of August 13 and 14, stormforce winds rising to violent storm andhurricane, the winds reaching theirwildest in the south-west approachesand the Channel. In neither period wasthe worst of the weather long lived butthe unexpected speed with which thestorms developed and their arrival at

the height of the holiday and sailingseason resulted in exceptionally heavycalls on all rescue services. Largenumbers of yachts were caught out inthe storms of August 13 and 14 and inthe aftermath of moderating gale andrough seas it was some time before allcould be accounted for. Notes on thetwo weather sequences kindly writtenfor us by Peter Shorney of Southamp-ton Weather Centre and lists of lifeboatservices during the two periods will befound on the following pages.

* * *In the first period of gales, on Thurs-

day August 9, 15 offshore and 11inshore lifeboats were launched on ser-vice. Between them, they were at seafor 62.1 hours and rescued 43 people.Swanage lifeboat, the 37ft 6in Rother./.Reginald Corah, in fact launched twicein just over six hours, rescuing fourpeople and saving two boats.

Although there were calls at variousparts of the coast, the greatest concen-tration was along the Channel, wherethe winds were at their strongest. By0053 Selsey lifeboat had launched; by0305 Dover. At 0339 Yarmouth Isle ofWight's 52ft ArunJoy and John Wade

Gu\ and Clare Hunter, Si Mary's 46ft 9in Watson lifeboat, on service during ike Fustnetstorm. photograph by courtesy of RNAS Culdrose

slipped her moorings after red flareshad been sighted near the Needles, andthe lifeboat was able to reach a 26ftyacht just in time to tow her clear of theShingle Bank, towards which she wasbeing driven before the storm; theyacht and her crew of four were takenback safely to Yarmouth.

An hour and a half later, City ofBristol, Clovelly's 71ft Clyde lifeboat,had slipped her moorings to investigateflares sighted three miles west of Hart-land Point. With the help of thelifeboat's ILB, four people were pickedup from a liferaft, their swamped andabandoned yacht presumed lost.

Both Walmer's offshore and inshorelifeboats were called out soon aftereight o'clock that morning; a 32ft yachtwas being driven down fast towardsDeal Pier. So imminent was the dangerthat, without waiting for a full crew, the37ft 6in Rother The Hampshire Rosewas launched over woods laid rapidlyacross the beach by the head launcherand three other shore helpers.Although unable to reach the yachtbefore she swung round broadside onand broached, stern beneath the pier,the lifeboat managed to get a ropeaboard and slowly towed her clear ofthe pierhead. By this time, the ILB hadbrought out extra crew and betweenthem they were able to transfer a man,a woman and their cat to The Hamp-shire Rose, which then towed the yachtto Ramsgate Harbour.

At about the same time Torbay's 54ftArun Edward Bridges (Civil ServiceNo. 37) was slipping her moorings to goto the help of a small sloop 28 mileseast south east of the lifeboat station;the yacht's sails had blown out and shehad only enough fuel for two hours. Acollier, Fletcher, was standing by but inthe severe gale force winds and steepseas she could neither take off theyacht's crew nor take her in tow.Edward Bridges found the little boatrolling her keel out and pitching vio-lently. It was not considered safe to tryto take off her four crew members sothe sloop was towed back to Brixham.The lifeboat had been at sea for tenhours. A letter followed from theyacht's skipper:

'/ want to say a proper and very heart-felt thank you to you and all your crewfor all that you did for its on Thursdaylast . . . I can put no estimate of thevalue of what you did . . . "

1100: Newhaven's 44ft WaveneyLouis Marchesi of Round Table slippedher moorings to go to the help of a gaffcutter reported in difficulties 27 milessouth of Shoreham. Despite west-south-westerly winds blowing up toforce 9, the Waveney ploughed onthrough the very rough seas at 12knots, coming alongside the casualtyhalf a mile east of Greenwich Buoy at1250. She was taken in tow and hercrew of seven, including two children,were landed safely. The lifeboat hadbeen at sea for six hours.

Eastbourne's Rother, The Duke of

222

The weather: The following notes onthe passage of the severe gales andstorms of early August were kindlyprepared for THE LIFEBOAT by PeterShorney of Southampton WeatherCentre:

The first signs of the depression which ledto the strong winds on August 9 showed as asmall disturbance at 50°N 40°W at midnightGMT on August 7.

Twenty-four hours later it had moved to53°N 26°W without much change in centralpressure. However by midnight on the 9th ithad moved into Ireland and the centralpressure had dropped to 999mb. It con-tinued to deepen for the next 12 hours bywhich time the pressure at the low centrehad dropped to 994mb and was positionedover the Straits of Dover. During the 36hours from midnight on August 8 the lowhad changed from an almost innocuous dis-turbance to a fully fledged depression centreand the winds flowing around this centrewere quite strong especially in the southernquadrants. Gusts of over 50 knots wererecorded at the Needles (58) at Portland Bill(50) and Dover (54). Another marked featureof the winds were that they were very gustyespecially on the western flank of thedepression. This gustiness rather than theactual speed of the wind probablyaccounted for the distress caused to small

boats. Subsequently the depression centremoved across the southern North Sea intothe Low Countries and from then on gradu-ally filled.

The depression which caused storm forcewinds in the sea area Fastnet during thenight of August 13 to 14 developed from asmall disturbance which formed over theeastern United States in the early hours ofAugust 10. This small depression whichbecame known to meteorologists as 'Low Y'came quickly forward without much deepen-ing to reach 25°W by 0600 GMT on August13 with a central pressure of 1002mb. Fromhere onwards the dynamical state of theatmosphere favoured development and itdeepened rapidly during the next 18 hours,becoming a small intense depression nearsouth west Ireland with a central pressure of979mb by midnight.

By this time strong south to south-westwinds were affecting the south-westapproaches and the Fastnet area. Thecentre then turned towards the north eastand the Fastnet area was affected bysouth-west winds which increased to stormforce 10 south of the centre. These windsquickly veered to the west north west as'Low Y' moved north east across Irelandand the rapid changes in wind direction arelikely to have added to the confused anddangerous state of sea reported by so manyyachts. Winds started to moderate during

Track of depression 'Low Y' from 1800GMT on August 11 to 1200 GMT on August14.

Chart for 0600 GMT on August 14: heightof storm.

the late morning of August 14 and this pro-cess of moderation continued as the lowcentre moved across Scotland later in theday.

Kent, took the crew of six off a sinkingFrench trawler in the early afternoon.A letter came from the French Mer-chant Marine director at Dunkerque:

'Cette affaire illustre une fois de plus,s'il en etait besoin, la solidariteextremement vivante qui unit les gens demer du mond entier.'

Abersoch's Atlantic 21 launched at1412 in a northerly gale to help a dinghyreported in difficulty. In fact, a speed-boat was able to give this dinghy help,but on her way back to her boathousethe ILB was diverted to help two girls

in difficulties in an inflatable dinghy. Aman had tried to row out to them, butwith an ebb tide and strong offshorewind he, too, was soon in trouble. Allthree were taken aboard the ILB andthe two boats brought in.

Calls continued to come until wellinto the evening. It had been a wild andbusy day. Yet, compared with whatwas to come four days later, it mightalmost be regarded as a curtain-raiser.

On Monday evening, August 13, with

the swift approach of a rapidly deepen-ing low, the winds were rising dramati-cally. During the last four hours of theevening lifeboats were called out atsuch scattered places round the BritishIsles as Falmouth, Harwich, Wick,Exmouth (at sea more than five hours;four people rescued and a yacht saved)and Lerwick. But perhaps it was theservice at Lyme Regis which was thetrue harbinger of what was to come.

When Lyme's Atlantic 21 waslaunched at 1947 to go to the help of ayacht off Beer Head, dragging her

223

Services of onshore lifeboats on August 9, 1979

Date andtime ofservice

9.8.1979005303050339050805520637080508170830084009381057

1100132213421713

STATION

Seise yDoverYarmouthClovellySwanageAldeburghPlymouthWalmerTorbayWalton and FrintonHarwichSwanage

New havenEastbourneFleetwoodWeymouth

HoursCASUALTY at Lives People

sea rescued landec

Yacht Mayfly 2.6Yacht Samantha 0.6 2Yacht Hot Ice 1.8 4Yacht Sweet Annett 2.5 4Yacht Mary Clare 1.7Cabin Cruiser Cresta 2.3 2Cabin Cruiser Zanadu II 3.4Yacht Jewel 4.7 2Yacht Contessa Gabriel 10.1 4Yacht Zenia 3.5 1Yacht Vitalba 2.5Trimaran Trivia , . 4SpeedboatYacht Dorothea 6.0 7Trawler Saint Marcouf 3.9 6Dinghy 1.8Yacht Lucy Grey 5.0 2

Vessels Vessels Services renderedsaved helped

1 Gave help1 Saved boat and rescued1 Saved boat and rescued

Rescued 4NoneRescued 2

1 Escorted boatSaved boat and rescuedSaved boat and rescuedSaved boat and rescued

1 Gave helpSaved boat and rescuedSaved boatSaved boat and rescuedRescued 6None

1 Saved boat and landed 2

24

241

4

7

53.9 36

Services of inshore lifeboats on August 9, 1979

Date andtime ofservice

06050839091513001304141215331741194019552228

HoursSTATION CASUALTY at

sea

StranraerWalmerSouthwoldPooleMorecambeAbersochStaithes/RunswickTenbyBangorArran (Lamlash)Trearddur Bay

Yacht Silver MinxYacht JewelYacht Cresta in tow of Aldeburgh 1LBYachtDinghyRubber dinghy in tow of rowing boatPersons cut off by tideRubber dinghyRowing boatRowing boatCabin cruiser

10,0,1.1.10.0.0.0.0.

2.9.35

.7

.0131

.3

.8

Lives People Vessels Vesselsrescued landed saved helped

11

2 123 2

1

GaveGaveNoneSaved

Services

helphelp

rendered

boat and rescued 2Rescued 2SavedNoneNoneNoneGaveNone

boats and

help

rescued 3

8.2

anchor on to a lee shore, the south-westerly wind had already risen to neargale force 7 and throughout this 272-hour service the wind was strengthen-ing all the time. Two women and afive-year-old boy were taken off andbrought back to Lyme, while one ILBcrew member joined two men aboardthe yacht, got her engine going and,with shortened sail and with the ILBback again as escort through the wildseas, brought her safe to harbour.

Meanwhile, as night came on, theworst of the weather was building upfurther west in the south Irish Sea, withnext morning the south-westerly stormforce winds veering to west north westand gusting up to hurricane force 12.The seas, with a fetch right across theAtlantic funnelling into narrowing wat-ers, were not only treacherously shortbut also very high and breaking. Furth-ermore, for some hours while the stormgathered its strength, the tide wasagainst the wind, adding its own quotaof aggravation to the troubled seas.And across that 150-mile stretch of seabetween Land's End and the FastnetRock off the south of Ireland wasstrung out the international FastnetRace fleet of 303 yachts, includingthree-boat teams from a number ofcountries competing for the Admiral'sCup, one of the premier international

offshore yachting trophies. Althoughthe majority of the yachts weatheredthe storm and came safe to harbourunaided, 85 of them in fact finishing therace, it was soon known that somewere in serious trouble and grave anxi-ety was felt about the safety of thewhole fleet.

The first indications that the. racingyachts might be in trouble came at 2130when it was learned that two boatswere making their way to Cork; half anhour later a message came from theFastnet Rock itself; the light keepertelephoned the honorary secretary ofBaltimore lifeboat station at 2205reporting a boat in trouble near therock and asking that the lifeboat belaunched. On the English side of theIrish Sea the first intimation of troublecame shortly after 0200 on TuesdayAugust 14 when Land's End Coast-guard heard on Channel 16 VHP thatMagic was dismasted and was takingheavy seas.

A massive combined search andrescue operation was soon in fullswing, co-ordinated by the MarineRescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC)at Shannon in Ireland and HM Coast-guard Marine Rescue Sub Centre(MRSC) Land's End. During the next36 hours great endeavour and endur-ance was to be shown by lifeboatmen

from both sides of the Irish Sea, bynaval helicopter crews from RNAS Cul-drose together with RAF and Irish AirCorps helicopter crews, by RAF Nim-rod crews, by the crews of naval andmerchant ships and fishing boats of dif-ferent nationalities in the area andindeed by the crews of the yachtsthemselves, some of whom went to thehelp of other boats even at the cost ofputting themselves in jeopardy. TheNetherlands warship HNMS Overijssel,which was acting as guardship for theracing fleet, and HMS Anglesey were onscene throughout the worst of thestorm.

Thirteen lifeboats, coming from bothsides of the Irish Sea, took part in theoperation, towing in or escorting 20yachts and rescuing 60 lives. But, tostart at the beginning in the late eveningof Monday, August 13 ...

Baltimore's 47ft Watson The Robertwas the first to launch, following thecall from the Fastnet Rock, and shewas to be at sea for ten hours on thisfirst call. On launching at 2215 thesoutherly wind was fresh to near gale,the sea rough, but the wind was soon toveer to south west and rise to severegale force 9 with very high seas. Thelifeboat searched the area near theFastnet Rock, keeping in touch withthe keeper, but could find no boat. It

224

-

was thought she must have gone in toSchull. On her way back to station, TheRobert received a message fromMRCC Shannon asking her to go to ayacht south east of Fastnet. She foundRegardless and, after great difficulty inthe very high seas, got a rope on herand towed the yacht with her crew ofnine to Baltimore, arriving at 0815 onTuesday.

The crew remained standing by onboard and, a request having come fromMRCC Shannon, The Robert launchedagain at 0905 to go to the help ofMarionette, rudderless, south east bysouth of the Stags. When the lifeboateventually found the yacht, at 1445, shewas 25 miles south by west of GalleyHead. Marionette with her crew of 12were towed back to Baltimore, arrivingat 2100, nearly 12 hours after thelifeboat's second launch. The lifeboatwas rehoused and ready for service at2230.

Sir Samuel Kelly, the 46ft 9in Wat-son relief lifeboat on temporary duty atCourtmacsherry, launched at 0240 onTuesday August 14 to go to the yachtWild Goose reported to be 27 milessouth of Old Head of Kinsale, but at0320 she was diverted to the yacht Pep-si, reported to be 30 miles south of Gal-ley Head. Full power was maintainedbut with the seas on the bow, a west-going stream and winds between force9 and 10, it was only possible to make6.5 knots. The reported position ofPepsi was reached at 0840. There beingno sign of her, a square search wasstarted but, effective visibility beingpoor because of the height of the seas,air support was requested. During thissearch two other yachts were sightedand checked but were found to beunder full control.

At 1000 the yacht Casse Tete V, witha crew of ten, reported the loss of herrudder 26 miles south of Galley Headand Courtmacsherry lifeboat divertedto intercept her. At the expected timeof interception, 1125, there was still nosign of the yacht. The two boats were,however, in VHP radio contact; thelifeboat fired parachute flares, theyacht gave her a bearing and, setting areciprocal course, the lifeboat soonsighted Casse Tete. An approach wasmade abeam to windward and the towpassed by heaving line. At 1145 coursewas set for Courtmacsherry but due tothe violent yawing and surfing of therudderless yacht and the westerlysevere gale, only 2.3 knots were possi-ble. Station was reached shortly after

Coxswains of three lifeboatswhich were on service for morethan 20 hours at the height of theFastnet storm:

(left) Coxswain Matthew Leth-bridge, St Mary's

(right) Coxswain John Collins,Baltimore

photographs by courtesyof Peter Hadfield

(below) Coxswain StephenMearns, Courtmacsherry Har-bour

midnight after a 12-hour tow and thelifeboat, which had been at seaaltogether for nearly 22 hours, wasonce again made ready for service.

Courtmacsherry lifeboat had onlybeen at sea a matter of minutes when,at about 0300, Ballycotton on one sideof the Irish Sea and St Mary's on theother were also on their way in weathernow deteriorating towards the fullstorm.

Joseph Hiram Chadwick, the 52ftBarnett relief lifeboat on temporaryduty at Ballycotton, slipped her moor-ings at 0255 and escorted the yachtAccanito six miles into Cork. She thenreturned to sea to search for WildGoose. At 1200, however, the lifeboatsighted the yacht Ossian, dismasted,and took her, with her crew of six, intow back to Ballycotton, arriving at1915. The lifeboat was once again madeready for service and the crewremained on stand by for a further eighthours.

St Mary's lifeboat, the 46ft 9in Wat-son Guy and Clare Hunter set off at fullspeed from the Scilly Isles at 0300 to goto the help of Magic, 40 miles northwest of Round Island Lighthouse.While on passage two yachts were pas-sed, both under storm jib but undercontrol. When the lifeboat was 32 milesnorth west of Round Island, at about0800, a helicopter reported a dismastedyacht about seven miles downwind.Course was altered to see if she wasMagic, but half an hour later it waslearnt that she was a different yachtand that all her crew had been takenoff. At 1045, while the search was con-tinuing, the yacht Victride was sighted;she was making heavy weather but allappeared well. At 1108, however, thisyacht asked for help and St Mary'slifeboat returned. Victride''s main hatch

was split and she was taking water but,escorted by the lifeboat, she was ableto head for St Mary's. The two boatswere 47 miles north north west ofRound Island, the wind was violentstorm force 11 and the sea very rough.

At 1120 the yacht Pegasus called StMary's lifeboat asking for escort. Shedid not appear to be in immediate diffi-culty so was given a converging courseand radio contact maintained. Anotheryacht carrying no sail was sighted at1325; she had been knocked downtwice but did not require help. Duringthis passage Victride broached to andwas knocked down twice, recoveringeach time. The lifeboat was continu-ously shipping heavy seas and on oneoccasion a sea ran straight through thewheelhouse and floated three crewmembers who were 'sheltering' in thelee of the wheelhouse clean off theirfeet and away. However, they werewearing safety lanyards and no onewent over the side.

Pegasus was in company at 1800 andat 2000 the lifeboat was alongside at StMary's together with the two yachts.But only for a little while. Half an hourearlier the Coastguard had reported theyacht Festinia Tertia in difficulties 12miles west by north of Round Island.Only waiting to refuel (the job wasdone by shore helpers while the crewchanged into dry clothes) St Mary'slifeboat put to sea again. At about 2100Festinia Tertia's position was reportedto be three miles west of New Grimsbyentrance; she was sighted by thelifeboat at 2125, taken in tow andbrought to St Mary's, arriving along-side at 2320. The lifeboat returned toher station and was once again readyfor service at 2355. Altogether she hadbeen at sea for nearly 21 hours.

Sennen Cove's 37ft 6in Rotherlifeboat Diana White was launched at0706 into storm force west-north-westwinds and very rough seas to search fortwo yachts 60 miles north west of herstation. However, as a helicopter wasable to look after these two casualties,at 1100 she was diverted to search forthe yacht Azenora II about 11 miles tothe south east. Nothing was sightedand at 1300 she was recalled to refuel.She arrived at station at 1630 and wasrehoused and ready for service at 1930.

225

Services of offshore lifeboats between 1800 on August 13 and 1800 on August 16, 1979

Date andtime ofservice

13.8.197920082130

*2215223523282334

14.8.1979*0240

•0255

"0300

0405*0701

*0706*0905•0908

0934100011031125

13001625173517551856

•1904

20302143

*2212

15.8.1979*0050*0105

12251821

*19052230225623002335

16.8.1979*0415

090810301340142515001737

STATION

FalmouthHarwichBaltimoreWickExmouthLerwick

Courtmacsherry Harbour

Ballycotton

St Mary's

FoweySt Ives

Sennen CoveBaltimoreDunmore East

HumberClovellyTorbaySkegness

BridlingtonScarboroughDoverFalmouthWalmerPadstow

YarmouthPlymouthFalmouth

Lizard-CadgwithAngle

Dunmore EastDoverClovellyFoweyYoughalSt Peter PortPadstow

PenleeFalmouthBaltimoreSennen CoveArklowPenleeSt Helier

HoursCASUALTY at Lives People Vessels Vessels Services

sea rescued landed saved helped

FlaresYacht Quiet MomentYacht RegardlessFishing boat CelosiaYacht SharimaFlares

Yacht Wild GooseYacht PepsiYacht Casse Tele VYacht AccanitoYacht Wild GooseYacht OssianYacht MagicYacht VictrideYacht PegasusYacht Festinia TertiaUnidentified distress signalYacht Grema/kenYacht Azenora 11YachtsYacht MarionetteYacht Wild GooseYacht AutonomyYacht JuggernautTwo yachtsYacht Vanity FnirYacht EurlhmilMen cut off by tideYacht XantheYacht Mavis MFishing Vessel SincerityYachtYachtMissing youthYachtInjured man on board Yacht Tarnasin 11Trawler Petit PoissonYacht TarantulaYacht Mosika AlnuiYacht SeaweedYacht KeinvorYacht Big ShadowYacht Golden Apple of the Sun

Survivors of yacht AriadneYacht CavalYacht AnimalYacht and sailing dinghyCabin cruiser Santa MariaYachtsFlaresFlaresFlareCatamaran Palnkina

Yacht CanYacht Tacita and anotherYacht KayukaCargo vessel FordonnaYacht SundownerCargo vessel FordonnaYacht Ar Men Gwen

1.8 None4.8 1 Gave help

10.0 9 1 Saved boat and2.7 None5.4 4 1 Saved boat and6.4 None

None21.5 None

10 1 Saved boat and1 Escorted boat

16.4 None6 1 Saved boat and

None,,„ , 1 Escorted boat

1 Escorted boat6 1 Saved boat and

3.7 Noneq , None

1 1 Saved boat and9.4 None

11.9 12 1 Saved boat andNone

, -, 8 1 Saved boat and1 Escorted boat2 Escorted boats

9.9 4 1 Saved boat and1.8 I Gave help0.9 3 Rescued 3

1 Escorted boat2 Rescued 2

1.3 1 Escorted boat1.3 None6.3 None3.1 None4.8 None

rendered

rescued 9

rescued 4

rescued 10

rescued 6

rescued 6

rescued 1

rescued 12

rescued 8

rescued 4

1 Took out doctor and escorted boa.„ . 1 Gave help

1 1 Saved boat and1 Gave help

6. 1 1 Escorted boat5.4 I Gave help,. ~ 9 1 Saved boat and

1 Gave help

1.1 2 Landed two, -, 1 Escorted boat

1 Escorted boat1.0 2 Escorted boats2.3 1 Gave help

12.9 None2.2 None3.6 None3.3 None8.5 3 1 Saved boat and

3.5 1 Gave help3.4 None3.0 2 1 Saved boat and3.5 1 Gave help3.5 None4.8 None3.2 4 Rescued 4

305.3 83 3 13 23

landed one

rescued 9

rescued 3

rescued 2

*Detwtes Fastnet Race Casualties.

St Ives lifeboat, the 37ft OakleyFrank Penfold Marshall, which hadoriginally launched five minutes beforeSennen Cove lifeboat, at 0701, to go theyacht Gremalken was homed in by aNimrod aircraft to a disabled yachtwhich turned out to be Azenora II: shewas a French yacht taking part in asingle-handed race from Kinsale toBrittany and had been drifting with hermast broken for 48 hours. She wastaken in tow to St Ives, arriving at1635. The lifeboat was rehoused andready for service at 1800.

Dunmore East's 44ft Waveneylifeboat St Patrick set out at 0908 tojoin the search for Wild Goose, at thattime reported 52 miles south of thelifeboat station and drif t ing at fiveknots. St Patrick was making about 12knots in the heavy seas and while underway was given a new position for thecasualty of 45 miles south of MineHead. At 1225 she heard that the ser-vice vessel Gulf Link 18, already in thearea, had picked up seven survivorsfrom a yacht and was continuing tosearch for Wild Goose. At 1425 Gulf

Link 18 reported that she had WildGoose in tow for Cork Harbour withseven on board.

At 1545 St Patrick sighted the yachtKorsar and later spoke with yachtsAutonomy, which was without steer-age, and Juggernaut, which had nopower or lights and whose boom wasbroken. Towing Autonomy, with eighton board, and escorting J/^erm////, StPatrick arrived back at Dunmore Har-bour at 0030 on Wednesday August 15.She then returned to sea to escort intwo more yachts. She was refuelled

226

Services of inshore lifeboats between 1800 on August 13 and 1800 on August 16, 1979

Date andtime of STATIONservice

13.8.19791929 Peel1947 Lyme Regis2034 Largs

14.8.19790935 Poole0946 Tenby1135 Hunstanton1218 Poole1343 New Brighton1615 Gt Yarmouth Gorleston1934 Helensburgh

15.8.19791151 Tenby1233 Port Isaac1318 Atlantic College1322 Culler-coats1450 Port Isaac1550 Llandudno1635 Moelfre1705 Aberdovey1807 Port Isaac1843 Tenby1910 Lyme Regis

16.8.19791214 Appledore1232 Mablethorpe1519 Margate

CASUALTY

Yacht Sue-Ju-AnnYacht White KittenFlares

Yacht Mumble BeeYacht AlanaDinghyYacht Lazy Ways IIChildren in sea from capsized yachtBoys cut off by tideRowing boat

Sailing dinghyRubber dinghyMan washed off rocksRaftBathersRowing boatRubber dinghyObject in seaRubber dinghyRubber dinghyMan fallen from cliff

Yacht SkippyTwo swimmersAirbed

Hoursat Lives People

sea rescued landed

0.52.8 51.3

2.00.71.90.52.31.5 30.6 6

0.60.96.30.50.51.30.50.80.10.90.3

2.20.3 21.2

Vessels Vessels Services renderedsaved helped

1 Gave help1 Saved boat and rescued 5

None

1 Gave help1 Gave help

NoneNoneNoneLanded three

1 Saved boat and rescued 6

NoneNoneNoneNoneNone

1 Gave helpNoneNoneNone

1 Saved boatGave help

NoneRescued 2None

30.5 13

and ready for service at 0145.Padstow's lifeboat, the 48ft 6in Oak-

ley James and Catherine Macfarlane,set out at 1904 on August 14 to take thestation's honorary medical adviser tothe yacht Tamasin II, one of whosecrew members was injured. By now thewind had moderated to westerly galeforce 8 but the sea was still very rough.The lifeboat reached Tamasin II at 2007and escorted her back to Padstow, put-ting the doctor and a crew member onboard once they were inside StepperPoint. The yacht was placed on moor-ings in the harbour, but as soon as thelifeboat reached her station she wascalled out again to take over the tow toPadstow of the yacht Tarantula fromthe French trawler Petit Poisson. Thelifeboat returned to sea yet again tohelp the yacht Mosika Alma and wasfinally back on station and once againready for service at 1345 on Wednes-day August 15.

Even though the winds had started tomoderate later on Tuesday August 14they were still gale force and therewere still a large number of yachtswhich had not been sighted and fromwhom no message had been received,and two lifeboats from outside the areawere drafted in to help with search: the71ft cruising Clyde lifeboat City of Bris-tol from Clovelly and the 52ft fast afloatArun Elizabeth Ann from Falmouth.

City of Bristol had slipped her moor-ings at 1000 to help a family cruisingboat which, with father, mother andthree children on board, had suffered aknock down and was in difficulty; shewas escorted into the shelter of LundyIsland from where, at 1520, the cruisinglifeboat headed south west towardsLand's End to join the search. During

the following night the need to refueland make an emergency engine repairtook her into Newlyn, but by 1905 onWednesday August 15 she was oncemore at sea, searching the coast uptowards Lundy.

Elizabeth Ann, which had alreadybeen out once on service that day, setout at 2212 on Tuesday August 14 tosearch west of Scillies. On passage shepassed five yachts, checking that allwas well and passing all information tothe Coastguard at Land's End. Shearrived in the search area at 0620 onWednesday August 15 and, steamingclose to HMS Broadsword, was asked topatrol and search from her present pos-ition, 42 miles north west of Scillies, toScillies and Land's End. At 0725 shewas asked by Broadsword to investi-gate a yacht sighted by a helicopter 12miles west of Bishop Rock. On her wayto this position Elizabeth Ann sighted,checked and reported two other yachtsand then, at 0904, came up with theyacht for which she had been looking,Big Shadow. Big Shadow, which wasnow seven miles west of Bishop Rock,had lost her rudder and was using a sailtrailing astern to steer by. Big Shadowwas towed in to St Mary's at about1053 and, after refuelling, the lifeboatwas at sea again by 1205. Rendezvous-ing with Broadsword at 1525, she tookover the tow of Golden Apple of theSun, abandoned and rudderless. As thelifeboat needed to return to Newlyn torefuel it was agreed that she shouldtake the yacht with her, but that sheshould be released from the tow if adistress call came. During the tow thetow rope parted and was re-securedtwice by lifeboat crew members whoboarded the yacht.

Elizabeth Ann arrived at Newlyn at0115 on Thursday August 16. The yachtwas secured and the lifeboat refuelled;then while some crew members stoodwatch, others rested. Soon after 0900the lifeboat set out for her station, atthe request of the Coastguard invest/-gating one or two yachts on her way.All was well, however, and ElizabethAnn reached her station at 1232 andwas once more on her moorings, refuel-led, at 1430.

At 0105 on Wednesday August 15,Angle lifeboat, the 46ft 9in WatsonRichard Vernon and Mary Garforth ofLeeds, launched to escort the yachtCaval into Milford Haven, returning tosea to escort in the yacht Animal. Shereturned to station at 0615. That morn-ing, at 0050, the 52ft Barnett relieflifeboat Euphrosyne Kendal on tem-porary duty at the Lizard-Cadgwith,launched to rendezvous with a Germancoaster, Nanna, and take off two sur-vivors from the yacht Ariadne. The twomen were landed into the care of theMission to Seamen at 0155. At 0415 onThursday morning August 16 Penleelifeboat, the 47ft Watson SolomonBrowne launched to take over the towof the dismasted yacht Gan from thecoaster Marianna V; she was towed toNewlyn, arriving there at 0645. Thelifeboat had returned to her own stationand was rehoused by 0745.

As can be seen from the lists of ser-vices, a number of other offshore andinshore lifeboats launched between1800 on August 13 and 1800 on August16, and the services were by no meansonly to yachts; there were cargo ves-sels, fishing boats, people cut off by thetide, swimmers, even rubber dinghies.In all, during that period lifeboats gave

227

335.8 hours service at sea and 96 liveswere saved. The brunt of the storm,however, had been taken in the southwest where the search and rescueoperation had been an example of fineand dedicated co-operation betweenhighly skilled seamen and airman,given full support from the land.

Many letters of thanks and apprecia-tion were received by the Institutionfollowing the Fastnet storm. One froma racing yachtsman just said:

'/ participated in the Fastnet Race.Happily we arrived home without assis-tance and in one piece; but my skipperand fellow crew members just want tosay a respectful "thank you".'

South Eastern Division

Injured climber

SWANAGE COASTGUARD requested thelaunch of Swanage lifeboat at 1710 onSaturday June 16, 1979, to go to thehelp of a seriously injured cliff climberat Ragged Rocks, some quarter of amile west of Anvil Point. Maroonswere fired and at 1720 the 37ft 6inRother lifeboat J. Reginald Corahlaunched down her slipway with Cox-swain/Mechanic Victor A. C. Marsh incommand. Some three minutes later amessage came that a helicopter fromthe SAR flight at HMS Daedalus hadbeen scrambled and was on her way.

The tide was four hours ebb and agentle to moderate breeze, force 3 to 4,was blowing from west by south. Thesea was smooth and visibili ty good.

At 1734 Swanage lifeboat anchoredabout 25 yards off Ragged Rocks andlay tide rode while her Avon Redcrestdinghy was inflated and launched.Crew Member John Corben, a firstaider, and Crew Member ChristopherHaw, a first aider under training,embarked in the dinghy taking withthem a stretcher, two first aid kits,inflatable splints and blankets. Theyhad a difficult passage, rowing betweenrocks with the ground swell sometimesrising to four feet and both men weresoon soaking wet, but on their way inthey sighted the casualty on a rockyledge some ten yards inshore.

As they reached shore they werejoined by a skin diver, Patrick Allen,who was in the area with his boat, Col-leen. He swam ashore in his wet suitand, by tending the dinghy lines andgiving general assistance to thelifeboatmen, did all that he could tohelp.

The rock on which the casualty lay.attended by his climbing companion,was under a sheer cliff with a slightoverhang which was obstructing theCoastguard cliff rescue team in itsattempts to reach the man from above.The cliff top, moreover, was unstableso that there was danger of loose rockfalling down. One piece did strike CrewMember Haw on his head and back.

but without injury; both lifeboatmenwere wearing crash helmets.

The casualty was found to be suffer-ing from serious injuries caused by alarge falling boulder. His companionhad done what he could for him and thetwo lifeboatmen dressed his woundsand applied an inflatable splint to hisleft leg, which was fractured. ThenCrew Member Haw rowed back to thelifeboat to report to Coxswain Marshthat as falling rock made it too danger-ous for the injured man to be lifted upthe cliff by the Coastguard rescue teamand the swell made it too dangerous forhim to be taken off by the dinghy, itwould be best for him to be lifted off byhelicopter.

Christopher Haw was just being fer-ried back to shore by Second CoxswainPhillip Dorey when Wessex helicopter813, piloted by Lt Ray Colborne, RN,arrived overhead. While her equipmentwas being prepared, however, it wasfound that her winch gear was not work-ing correctly. Lt Colborne called for asecond helicopter and then, by rigginga jury winch strop and hovering withgreat skill very low indeed, he managedto transfer helicopter 813's diver andstretcher to the lifeboat. These in turnwere ferried ashore by Second Cox-swain Dorey.

At just about the same time Swanagehonorary medical adviser, Dr WilliamTudor-Thomas, arrived on the cliff-top.He had heard the maroons while onmedical visits in the town and, on learn-ing the details of the service, had setout at once. Helicopter 813 landed onthe cliff top, picked up Dr Tudor-Thomas complete with his medical bagand, once again having to hover verylow, put him aboard the lifeboat. Hewas kitted out in oilskins, lifejacket andhelmet and ferried ashore where, at1810, he took over the care of theinjured man from John Corben andChristopher Haw; he later gave highpraise to the first aid work that hadbeen done.

Wessex helicopter 811, piloted by LtMichael Ellis, RN, arrived from HMSDaedalus at 1820. As she did not carrya radio giving SAR VHP channels,helicopter 813 remained on scene toprovide a communications l ink.

The injured man was carefully trans-ferred to the RN stretcher alreadybrought ashore and he was then carriedto a large flat rock as clear as possibleof the cliff overhang. It still meant thatLt Ellis had to work very close tothe cliff but, with immense sk i l l , thestretcher was safely winched into thehelicopter, followed by the naval diver.Dr Tudor-Thomas asked that , ratherthan delay further to lift him aboard,the helicopter should make all possiblespeed for Poole.

Helicopter 811 landed at Poole at1834. The injured man was transferredto a waiting ambulance and takendirectly to hospital where, sadly, hedied later in the evening.

By 1837 helicopter 813 had been cal-

led to help a capsized boat off PortlandBill and Second Coxswain Dorey hadstarted to ferry everyone back from theshore. Patrick Allen to his own boatand the second climber, Dr Tudor-Thomas and Crew Members Corbenand Haw to the lifeboat. On the last tripthe inflatable dinghy was dashedagainst a jagged rock in the groundswell and badly punctured but enoughbuoyancy remained for the occupantsto reach the lifeboat safely, though wet.

At 1858 the lifeboat weighed anchorand by 1906 had made the passage backto station, where the climber and DrTudor-Thomas were put ashore. Thelifeboat was rehoused by 1940 andminutes later was again ready forservice.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Honorary Medical AdviserDr William R. Tudor-Thomas andCrew Members John E. Corben and T.Christopher Haw, and vellum servicecertificates were presented to Cox-swain/Mechanic Victor A. C. Marsh,Second Coxswain/Assistant MechanicPhillip J. Dorey and Crew MembersWalter E. Bishop, Ian P. Marsh andDavid G. Corben. Letters of thankssigned by Rear Admiral W. J. Graham,director of the Institution, were sent toLt Ray Colborne, RN, Lt Michael Ellis,RN, and the crews of helicopters 813and 811; to HM Coastguard StationOfficer W. Tolman and the Coastguardcliff rescue team: and to Patrick Allen.

South Eastern Division

CollisionA COLLISION IN DENSE FOG betweenMV Futurity and the motorboat LittleSlam some three miles south east ofLitt lehampton was reported to thehonorary secretary of Shoreham Har-bour lifeboat station at 1510 on SaturdayMay 12, 1979. Shoreham's 42ft Watsonlifeboat Dorothy and Philip Constantlaunched at 1522 under the command ofCoxswain Kenneth Voice. It was fourhours after high water, the sea wasvery calm but v i s ib i l i ty was only about50 yards.

While on her way to the positiongiven, the lifeboat was told by theCoastguard that Futurity had picked upfour survivors but that other peoplewere s t i l l missing. Littlehampton Atlan-tic 21 ILB launched at 1600and at 1605.as there were other fishing vessels inthe area helping with the search, theCoastguard asked Coxswain Voice toassume the office of on scenecommander.

At about 1622 the lifeboat made radiocontact wi th Futurity, who gave herposition as 33A miles south south eastof Lit t lehampton piers; she was allstopped and drif t ing with the tide. Twominutes later the lifeboat radar sud-denly stopped tracing the land mass.There was, however, just one very

228

small trace on the screen. On investiga-tion, Coxswain Voice found that thistrace was in fact Futurity. By 1640 thelifeboat could hear the motor vessel'ssiren and at 1648 she was comingalongside. The four survivors weretaken off and it was learned that LittleSlam, which had been out with a fish-ing party, had sunk; five people, includ-ing her skipper, were still missing.

Littlehampton ILB had also arrivedon scene. The four survivors weretransferred to the Atlantic 21 and at1805, after considerable difficulty,were landed on the beach into the careof the Coastguard; they were taken tohospital for a medical check. The ILBthen relaunched and returned to thesearch.

It was agreed that Coxswain Voiceshould board Futurity so that, using herradar, he could continue to act as onscene commander. As the motor ves-sel's master estimated that he haddrifted about a mile west from the pointof collision, Coxswain Voice decidedto continue the search to westwardsuntil low water. Futurity was havingdifficulty steering at the slow speed, soshe dropped anchor one cable south ofWinter Buoy while Coxswain Voicecontinued to co-ordinate the extensivesearch being made by Shorehamlifeboat, now in the charge of SecondCoxswain Kenneth Everard, and fish-ing vessels Jungfrau and John Seagull.

At about this time, MV Sand Swan,some five miles south south east of thesearch area, offered her help. Cox-swain Voice directed Sand Swan andthe three smaller boats to a rendezvoussouth west of the collision position.When all four vessels had met, heasked Sand Swan to position the smallboats each side of her, about a cableapart, and conduct a search on a courseof 055°, the estimated set of the tide atthat time.

On the search down tide, threebodies were recovered by Jungfrau andone by Shoreham lifeboat; all were putaboard the lifeboat. Lifebuoys andother wreckage from Little Slam werepicked up but one person was still mis-sing. By 2040, however, in addition tothe dense fog it was getting darkquickly and the search had to be calledoff until daylight.

Littlehampton ILB, which had beenback to base once to refuel during theevening, helped John Seagull to findthree other fishing boats and thenreturned to her station. By 2145 shewas rehoused and ready for service.

As the offshore lifeboat was six mileseast north east of Futurity, and as SandSwan was bound for Shoreham andcould escort the lifeboat with her radar,it was decided that rather than go backfor her coxswain, Second CoxswainEverard should take her straight backto station. Coxswain Voice was putashore at Littlehampton by Jungfrauand returned to Shoreham by car intime to meet the lifeboat on her arrivalat about 2345.

,'

Lenvick, Sunday August 19, 1979:52ft Arun lifeboat So\dian manoeuvring Norwegian fishingvessel Fr^yvarden alongside Lenvick Harbour after towing her about 60 miles to safety.Fr^yvarden was disabled by a net round her propeller and no other boat was available tohelp. Donations were made by her owners to the RNLI and to Lerwick lifeboat crew.

photograph by courtesy of 'Shetland Times'

The fog was still very thick and, asanother call might well come during thenight, it was arranged through HQ thatthe Decca engineer should come fromNewhaven at once to repair thelifeboat's radar. It was working againby 0230 and the lifeboat was rehousedand once again ready for service by0245.

A further extensive search was madethe next morning for the missing man,but without success.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Cdr Bruce Cairns, chiefof operations, was sent to CoxswainKenneth Voice and his crew.

South Eastern Division

CanoesHEARING AT 1335 on Saturday May 26,1979, that a canoe had capsized offDover, Coxswain/Assistant MechanicAnthony Hawkins informed DoverPort Control that he and a crewmember who was with him were goingto the boathouse to stand by. Authorityto launch was obtained from the honor-ary secretary and maroons fired, sothat, at 1344, just after red flares weresighted off the western entrance to theharbour, Faithful Forester, the 44ftWaveney lifeboat at that time on sta-tion at Dover, was slipping her moor-ings and on her way.

A near gale, force 7, was blowingfrom the south south west giving amoderate sea and swell. The afternoonwas overcast with frequent rain squallsin which visibility was poor. It was !3/4hours after high water.

At 1355, realising that there were anumber of canoes needing help, Cox-swain Hawkins asked for helicopter

assistance, and a Wessex was scram-bled from RAF Mansion. Meanwhilethe lifeboat reached a group of fourcanoeists who had rafted themselvestogether about two cables off the west-ern breakwater. They were rising andfalling some six feet in the rough seaand confused swell caused by wavesrebounding off the breakwater. A heav-ing line was thrown to the outboardcanoeist and as the four canoes weredrawn close alongside the lifeboat Cox-swain Hawkins and Crew MemberMichael Abbott grabbed the nearestcanoeist, a young girl, while CrewMembers Garth James and David Wil-liams grabbed the man in the nextcanoe; both were brought safely aboardthe lifeboat although the lift was mademore difficult by spray canopies fas-tened to the canoes.

At that moment the fourth canoe onthe outside of the 'raft' rolled over toseaward three times, failing to rightfrom the third roll. Realising the manwas trapped, Garth James, himself aone-time canoe instructor, jumpedfrom the lifeboat into the water andrighted the canoe. The third canoeistwas snatched from his craft into thelifeboat by Crew Members RoyCouzens and Michael Abbott, while thefourth canoeist was similarly rescuedby Crew Member Williams with GarthJames helping from the water. DavidWilliams then helped Garth back intothe lifeboat which was rolling heavily,her well awash.

At 1359 Dover Port Control told thelifeboat that three more canoes hadbeen sighted a little further out to seaand she headed for them at best pos-sible speed. Two canoeists, who threwoverboard their paddles and spray cov-ers to help the lifeboatmen, were takenfrom their canoes. The third canoeist

229

had by this time paddled to join a lonecompanion and together they weremaking their way through the easternentrance to the safety of the harbour.

The Wessex helicopter arrived atabout this time and from then on actedas 'spotter'. Dover lifeboat took overthe escort of two more canoeists fromDover Harbour patrol boat and sawthem safely ashore at St Margaret'sBay, while the patrol boat, on her wayback to harbour, rescued another twocanoeists.

The lifeboat entered harbour at 1500and landed the survivors; one, suffer-ing from shock and hypothermia, wassent to hospital by ambulance. Tenminutes later the lifeboat put to seaagain with extra crew members, suc-cessfully recovered five of the aban-doned canoes and brought them backto station. At 1555 Faithful Foresterwas back at her moorings and readyonce more for service.

For this service a framed letter ofthanks signed by the Duke of Atholl,chairman of the Institution, was sent toCrew Member Garth V. James. A letterof appreciation signed by Rear AdmiralW. J. Graham, director of the Institu-tion, was sent to Coxswain Anthony G.Hawkins and his crew.

Western Division

Fall from cliffTHE DEPUTY LAUNCHING AUTHORITYof Abersoch ILB station was informedby HM Coastguard at 1701 on ThursdayAugust 23, 1979, that a boy had fallenfrom the cliff at Llanbedrog Head, twomiles north east of the station. TheAtlantic 21 launched at 1715 manned byHelmsman Gareth Hughes Jones andCrew Members Barrie McGill, CaradogRoberts and Noel Loughlin and tenminutes later had reached the base ofthe cliff.

Three of the crew left the boat andclimbed up to where the nine-year-oldboy, who had fallen from about 150feet, was lying, and Helmsman HughesJones decided that his injuries were

sufficiently serious to require hisremoval by air.

A helicopter was scrambled fromRAF Valley at 1725 and arrived over-head at about 1745. At 1500 the casu-alty was winched aboard, followedthree minutes later by his mother whoaccompanied him to Bangor Hospital.

The ILB returned to station and wasrefuelled and again ready for service by1835.

For this service a letter signed byRear Admiral W. J. Graham, directorof the Institution, was sent to A. T. G.Owen, the Abersoch station honorarysecretary, conveying the Institution'sappreciation to Helmsman GarethHughes Jones and his crew.

North Eastern Division

Wading neck highTWO SMALL BOATS trying to enter Cul-lercoats Bay were seen at 1645 onSaturday April 14, 1979, by ILB CrewMember Christopher Blackman, aged19, and his 16-year-old friend JeffreyStorey.

It was a fine day with a light easterlysea breeze but a heavy swell was break-ing over the north breakwater produc-ing an undertow which swings aroundthe tiny bay hugging the cliff sides. Itwas spring tides and half an hour afterhigh water so that little of the beachwas left uncovered.

The first boat, about 20 feet inlength, entered the bay and headed forthe beach, but the powerful swell car-ried her away towards the cliff. Seeingwhat was happening, ChristopherBlackman and Jeffrey Storeyimmediately went to her crew's helpand managed to beach the boat close tothe lifeboat house.

The second boat, seeing the first boatashore and not knowing how she hadreached safety, tried the same tactic.She was lifted on the crest of a wave,which carried her and her two crewswiftly towards the steep cliff andcaves. Trying to avoid a head-on colli-sion with the cliff, the helmsman turned

ANNUAL AWARDS1978

The Maud Smith Award for the mostoutstanding act of life saving by alifeboatman during 1978 has been madeto Coxswain John Petit of St Peter Portfor the rescue of two men from the oilrig Orion on the night of February 1/2.Orion ran aground on the rockynorth-west shore of Guernsey whenshe parted from her tug in storm forcewinds and high seas. For this serviceCoxswain Petit received the silvermedal for gallantry.

The Ralph Glister Award for the mostmeritorious service of 1978 by the crewof an inshore lifeboat has been made to

Helmsman Nicholas White and CrewMembers Richard Spindler andAnthony Blizzard of Weston-super-Mare for the rescue on November 12 ofthree boys who were trapped in a cave.The three inshore lifeboatmen receivedthe thanks of the Institution inscribedon vellum for driving their ILB, in galeforce winds and darkness, into the caveentrance to rescue the boys and twoauxiliary coastguards who had gone tohelp them.

The James Michael Bower Fund monet-ary awards have been made to the twolifeboatmen who received the RNLI'ssilver medal in 1978: Coxswain JohnPetit of St Peter Port, and Superinten-dent Coxswain Brian Bevan ofHumber.

the boat and capsized. Boat and crewwere driven into a small cave in thecliffside where they were buffeted bythe waves.

Regardless of their own safety,Christopher and Jeffrey plungedstraight into the water and waded neckhigh through the breaking waves to thenearside of the cave, where a spur ofrock runs out into the water. After sev-eral attempts they managed to climb onto the spur, pass a rope to one youngsurvivor, haul him clear and pushhim up the cliff and out of danger. Theytried to haul the other survivor clear inthe same way, but were washed off thespur time and again. While they werestill trying, the Coastguard Land Roverarrived and its crew managed to lowera longer and stronger rope to the man indifficulties and pull him clear.

When the survivor reached safetyChristopher Blackman and JeffreyStorey returned to the beach. Althoughthey made little of the part they played,they had been in constant danger forabout half an hour.

For this service framed letters ofthanks signed by the Duke of Atholl,chairman of the Institution, were sentto Crew Member Christopher Black-man and to Jeffrey Storey.

North Western Division

Injured fishermanLIVERPOOL COASTGUARD informed thehonorary secretary of Barrow lifeboatstation at 2232 on Monday July 16,1979, that there was an injured crewmember aboard the motor fishing ves-sel Vertrouwen, 18 miles west of Wal-ney Island and heading for Barrow.The honorary secretary telephoned thehonorary medical adviser, Mr J. H.Kilshaw, FRCS, and the crew assem-bled. Meanwhile it was learned that thefisherman had had both legs trapped ina winch.

Barrow's 46ft 9in Watson lifeboat,Herbert Leigh, launched at 2300 andset out to rendezvous with the trawlerat a position off Walney Island. Thenight was fine with good visibility. Amoderate to fresh breeze, force 4 to 5,was blowing from west north west andthe sea was moderate. It was one hourbefore low water.

While the lifeboat was on her way itwas decided that a helicopter should becalled in from RAF Valley, Anglesey.Vickers Ltd manned Walney Airfieldand the local ambulance and hospitalwere alerted.

The lifeboat came alongside thetrawler six miles west north west ofLightning Knoll Buoy and the HMAwent aboard her with two crew mem-bers. The injured man was placed in theNeil Robertson stretcher and, aftersome discussion between the pilot andthe doctor, winched up directly from

continued on page 247

230

The Queen Mother names

RNLB Rotary Service

IT WAS PARTICULARLY FITTING thatHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth TheQueen Mother should agree to visitDover to name the new lifeboat, for sheis not only a Patron of the RNLI, butearlier last year she was installed asLord Warden of the Cinque Ports.Lifeboat supporters from branches andstations throughout south-east Englandgathered to greet her on TuesdayOctober 30, undeterred by the drizzleand grey clouds, which most passed offas 'typical lifeboat weather'. Membersof Rotary Clubs were also out in forceas they had provided a substantial partof the cost of the 50ft Thames classlifeboat. There were actually twolifeboats in the Wellington Dock for theBoulogne crew of the French lifeboatservice had sailed across the Channelto be at the ceremony.

Captain Stanley Williams, chairmanof Dover branch, welcomed the QueenMother. Mr D. Imrie Brown, presidentof Rotary International, Great Britain

DOVER: OCTOBER 30, 1979

and Ireland, then presented the lifeboatto the Duke of Atholl, chairman of theInstitution, on behalf of the 58,000Rotarians in Great Britain and Irelandand noted how well the Rotary motto'Service above Self applied to thelifeboat service. The Duke of Athollhanded over the lifeboat to CaptainPeter White, honorary secretary of thestation, who expressed the honour andpride the station felt in receiving Rot-ary Service. Since the lifeboat hadarrived, some four weeks before theceremony, she had answered six callsand the crew found her a superb craft inevery way. Following the service ofdedication, led by the Bishop of Dover,the Queen Mother was invited to namethe lifeboat. She first thanked RotaryInternational for providing the lifeboatwhich would guard the Straits ofDover, a 'treacherous and violentnarrow stretch of sea'. The new life-boat, she said, would '. . . maintain thetraditions of a service which is admired

The 50ft Thames lifeboat Rotary Service ather naming in Wellington Dock withBoulogne lifeboat in attendance.

throughout the world . . . " for'. . . when ships are running forshelter, lifeboats are putting to sea'.The Queen Mother spoke of the splen-did record of the Dover crew and wenton to pay tribute to their wives andfamilies. 'By your patience and under-standing, you also serve', she toldthem.

Then came the moment of naming,the champagne bottle smashing downon the bows, and Coxswain AnthonyHawkins called for three cheers for HerMajesty.

As Rotary Service came alongsidethe harbour wall, Captain Williamspresented the Queen Mother with apainting of the new lifeboat and Cap-tain White invited her to board thelifeboat for an inspection.

Coxswain Hawkins displayed thegreat manoeuvreability of the lifeboatin the narrow confines of the dock andthe Queen Mother obviously enjoyedevery moment aboard for she spent along time in the wheelhouse chatting tothe crew. She left after tea but theday's ceremonies were not over.

Michel Boitard, president ofBoulogne lifeboat station, which wasfounded one year after the RNLI, pre-sented Captain Williams with a com-memorative gold medal and a largergold medal from the Societe Nationalede Sauvetage en Mer was presented byAdmiral Picard-Destelan, vice-president of the French lifeboat serviceand an old friend of the RNLI.

Finally the Duke of Atholl presenteda service vellum to former CoxswainArthur Liddon and a silver badge tohonorary medical adviser Dr S. Tally.

Within a few days of the namingceremony, Rotary Service was in thenews again, for she towed in televisionpersonality Hughie Green's yacht.Operating in the busiest shipping lanesin the world, Rotary Service will neverbe short of work.—R.K.

HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother meets mem-bers of Dover lifeboat crew (below) and (right} is takenon a tour of inspection of Rotary Service by (I.) CdrBruce Cairns, chief of operations RNLI, and(r.) Cap-tain Peter White, Dover station honorary secretary.

photographs by courtesy of The Dover Express'

231

On StationDelivery and naming of Blyth's new 37ft Gin Rother

class lifeboat, RNLB Shoreline

by Peter HolnessMembership Secretary

SHORELINE HAS NOW COMPLETED oneof the most exciting periods in its his-tory, for late last summer the firstlifeboat to be funded by Shorelinemembers made her delivery trip to herstation, Blyth, on the north-east coastof England, and on Saturday October20 she was named by our first member,Sir Alec Rose.

The new 37ft 6in Rother classlifeboat, which would be RNLBShoreline, left Littlehampton on Satur-day August 25 under the command ofthe divisional inspector for the NorthEast, Lt Alan Tate. With him sailedEdward Irwin, district engineer, andfour members of Blyth crew, CoxswainGeorge Turner, Motor Mechanic JohnScott and Crew Members Tom Mossand Les Fay. On the first part of thepassage they called in at Newhaven,Ramsgate, Harwich and Gorleston.

I had the pleasure of joining the boaton her arrival at Spurn Point on August29. It was the first time that I had metmembers of Blyth crew but although astranger to them I was made very, verywelcome.

We set sail on a bright, sunny morn-ing on August 30, and the sea was toremain flat calm for the whole of ourtrip—which could be said to be a goodthing or a bad thing depending onwhich way you look at it! We wereescorted out from Spurn Point byHumber's Arun lifeboat with, at thehelm, Superintendent Coxswain BrianBevan who, as you all know, receivedthe gold, silver and bronze medals forgallantry at last May's annual presenta-tion of awards. He showed us a short

cut across the sandbanks, using theDecca Navigator, and so saved aboutan hour on our scheduled trip toWhitby.

During the day a rendezvous hadbeen arranged with an RAF helicopterfor combined air/sea exercises, and Ihad the dubious pleasure of being usedas one of the casualties to be lifted offthe lifeboat and later returned to her.

On our arrival at Whitby we weregiven a very warm reception byeveryone from the lifeboat station andfrom the crowd that had gathered onthe quay, many of them Shorelinemembers who were keen to have a lookat the boat they had worked so hard toprovide. Also, thanks to the North Eastoffice and Whitby branch, a fund-raising caravan had been set up at thedockside and several new Shorelinemembers were signed on then andthere.

In the evening we were welcomedofficially to Whitby by the Mayor andentertained at Whitby Yacht Club. Itwas while we were there that we weretold that the BBC 'Look North' teamwanted to do a television spot about thenew Shoreline lifeboat—and theywould like to start, please, at about halfpast seven the next morning. We were,I am afraid, a little bleary eyed whenwe forgathered at 0700 to get thelifeboat ready for sea.

Unfortunately the weather hadchanged to very, very thick fog. TheBBC was not, however, to be deterredand the new Shoreline Rother set offfrom Whitby accompanied by Whitby's44ft Waveney The White Rose of York-

Welcome to Blyth: RNLB Shoreline (r.)arrives in company with Blyth's previouslifeboat, the 46ft 9in Watson Winston Chur-chill (Civil Service No. 8) (c.) and the 52ftHarriett Princess Alexandra of Kent (I.)temporarily stationed at Tynemouth.

photograph by courtesy ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne 'Evening Chronicle'

shire with the television crew on board.After taking several shots the TV teamtransferred to the Shoreline lifeboatwhile I went aboard the Waveney totake some still photographs. This waswhen the trouble started. Off went theShoreline boat with the camera crew onboard, while Whitby lifeboat merrilysailed around the buoy just outside theharbour. It was not until about half anhour had elapsed that we realised thatthe Shoreline boat was not comingback. There followed on impromptuexercise in radar tracking while theWaveney caught up the Rother, put meaboard and took off the televisioncrew. It was a good opportunity forboth crews to test their equipment andthey used it to great advantage.

The fog did not lift all day, so thatour passage to Tynemouth was an eerieone and for me, I admit, a ratherfrightening experience. We heard foghorns in the distance but we did not seea single ship passing. I was up in thebows on lookout with two of the otherswhen, suddenly to my great surprise,Tynemouth piers loomed out of thewall of fog. We were exactly on courseand exactly on time, even if tired fromstraining our eyes in the fog.

Saturday, September 1. The fog hadlifted and, on a reasonably bright morn-ing, we were all busy getting theShoreline lifeboat ready for her arrivalat her new station. Dressed overall, sheleft Tynemouth for the short passage toBlyth in company with Tynemouthlifeboat. On the way we were met byBlyth inshore lifeboat and also by Win-ston Churchill (Civil Service No. 8), a46ft 9in Watson lifeboat that has givengreat service at Blyth for many yearsand on board which were a number ofretired ex-crew members. As the threelifeboats approached Blyth we werejoined by an enormous fleet of yachtsand motorboats, all sounding theirhorns in welcome. It was a most mov-ing experience.

Then we entered harbour to comealongside a quay crowded with localpeople and Shoreline members whohad all come to greet their new lifeboat.She was officially welcomed by theMayor and, as the ceremony wasbroadcast live by Radio Newcastle,many more people joined us over theair. The Shoreline lifeboat had comehome, and for the crew that had sailedher she had already become a trustedfriend.

And so, on to October and the nam-ing ceremony.

232

Coxswain George Turner (r.) on boardShoreline at Whitby with Peter Holness,membership secretary.

Back once again at Blyth on FridayOctober 19 I found myself in the midstof a hive of activity. Crew members,their families and friends together withmembers of the ladies' guild wereworking flat out to prepare Dun CowQuay for the naming ceremony to takeplace the following day. It is not easy toplan an event of this nature for whichpeople are expected from all parts ofthe country. A great deal of hard workby very many people had gone into theorganisation.

That evening we all went to theRoyal Northumberland Yacht Club,where Sir Alec Rose was presentedwith new Shoreline membershipenrolments to the value of £1,000—asplendid and timely gesture from theyachting fraternity.

Saturday October 20 dawned brightand sunny and everyone was down atDun Cow Quay early, helping to buildthe rostrum, lay out chairs, put up flagsand bunting and prepare refreshmentsin the adjoining Guildhall. It neverseems possible that everything will beready in time, but by three o'clock,with the co-operation of very manypeople including the Police and St JohnAmbulance, the scene was set andeveryone had assembled on the quay.

Seldom can there have been a morerepresentative gathering of lifeboatpeople at a naming ceremony because,as well as the people from Blyth itselfand representatives from neigh-bouring lifeboat stations, branchesand guilds, there were Shoreline mem-bers from all parts of the country.Some members had travelled all theway from Penzance and a whole coachparty had come from London to wit-ness what was for us an historic event.Among the honoured guests were aformer Blyth coxswain, 77-year-oldThomas Fawcus, who had first goneout in a pulling lifeboat at the age of 17and who had been awarded the silvermedal for gallantry in 1962; and avice-president and former chairman ofthe Institution, Cdr Ralph Swann, whowas a founder member of the member-ship scheme and who had given it greathelp and encouragement in its earlydays.

We were all happy to be together forsuch a memorable occasion.

After the proceedings had beenopened by Mr D. G. E. Kent, chairman

(Above) RNLB Shoreline isnamed . . . and Lt Alanlate, divisional inspector{North East) leads threecheers for Sir Alec Rose.

(Right) The ceremony over,Sir Alec goes aboard for atour of the harbour.

photographs by courtesy ofBlyth 'News Post'

of Blyth branch, the Rother lifeboatwas presented to the RNLI by Sir AlecRose on behalf of Shoreline members.She was received by Mr P. DenhamChristie, a vice-president of the Institu-tion and himself a former coxswain ofTynemouth lifeboat, who in turn deli-vered her into the care of Blyth branch.She was accepted on behalf of thebranch by Dr Reginald Carr, the stationhonorary secretary.

Then followed a service of dedica-tion conducted by the Reverend JohnStanley Monks, Vicar of St Cuthbert'sChurch, Blyth, assisted by the

Reverend John H. Latham, Minister ofBlyth United Reformed Church.

A vote of thanks was proposed byMrs E. Mather, chairman of Blythladies' guild, and then Sir Alec Rose,single-handed circumnavigator andShoreline Member No. 1, stepped for-ward . . .'May God bless her and allwho sail in her' . . . champagne cas-caded over her bow . . . and the 37ftGin Rother class lifeboat to which somany Shoreline members have contri-buted, and whose building we havewatched since the day her keel waslaid, was named RNLB Shoreline.

And now . . . a new Shoreline project

THROUGH THE GOOD OFFICES of Ken-sington branch and the generosity ofBMW Car Company, a BMW Series 7Motor car is being offered as a prize ina competition to encourage Shorelinemembership. All existing Shorelinemembers are eligible to take part, andthere is no charge. All you have to do issign on a new member on the specialenrolment form you will find inserted inthis copy of the journal and return it toShoreline office at Poole by April 30,

1980. Your name will then be includedautomatically among competitors forthe grand draw and you will stand achance of winning a magnificent car.More copies of the enrolment form areavailable from this office or from yourlocal RNLI district office. So, thankyou for your past help, and once againit's over to you.—PETER HOLNESS,membership secretary, RNLI, WestQuay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 I HZ(Tel. Poole 71133).

233

THE WINTER of 1978 and 1979, like thewinter the year before, will be remem-bered for the ferocity of its weather andfor the long services which were car-ried out by lifeboatmen in the teeth ofstorm force winds, high seas, blindingsnow and bitter, bitter cold. For suchservices the gold, silver and bronzemedals for gallantry were awarded toSuperintendent Coxswain Brian Bevanof Humber, the silver medal to Cox-swain David Cox of Wells, a third barto his bronze medal to Coxswain JohnPetit of St Peter Port and the bronzemedal to Coxswain Fred Walkington ofBridlington. While lifeboat people werein London for the annual presentationof awards last May, the opportunitywas taken to hold informal discussionsbetween these four coxswains and thedivisional inspectors of lifeboats fortheir areas, Lt Alan Tate (North East),Tom Nutman (East) and Lt Cdr RoyPortchmouth (South West), on theproblems of maintaining crew effi-ciency on prolonged services in suchextreme conditions.

Conversations revolved in particularround one night in January and one dayin February: the night of January 4 and5 when the St Peter Port lifeboat wassearching for 12 hours through a bit-terly cold night for survivors from theGreek freighter Cantonad in east-north-easterly winds rising to hurricaneforce 12 and high breaking seas andwith visibility further reduced by snowstorms; and February 15, a day ofnorth-easterly winds rising to violentstorms, force 11, high breaking seas,almost continuous snow and tempera-tures well below zero, when Bridling-ton, Wells and Humber lifeboats wereall out on service for many hours, Brid-lington to the German ship Sunnanhav,

BlizzardWhen snow and ice accompany storm force windsendurance of a high order is asked of lifeboatcrews; an active endurance which will enable themto maintain efficiency and bring a service to a suc-cessful conclusion even after many hours at sea inthe worst of weather. It was like that for some ofthe last winter's services . . .

Wells and Humber to a Romaniancargo ship Savinesti.

St Peter Port and Humber lifeboatsare both fast afloat Aruns, the former,Sir William Arnold, 52ft overall, the lat-ter, City of Bradford IV, 54ft LOA. Brid-lington lifeboat, William Henry andMary King, and Wells lifeboat, ErnestTom Neathercoat, are both open 37ftOakleys. A photograph of an Arun(Lerwick) appears on page 229, and ofan Oakley (Wells) on page 239.

These services were reported in fullin the summer 1979 issue of THELIFEBOAT (as were also the services forwhich Coxswain Bevan was awardedthe gold and silver medals) and briefsummaries are given below*.

But what was it like to be there . . . inthe Channel on that January night . . .

Coxswain John Petit, St Peter Port: Itwas just after 9 o'clock in the eveningwhen we started off into a north-easterly whole gale. With wind againsttide the seas were very steep. I had toslow up as we left the shelter of Herm.All of a sudden a wave came aboard

*Service to Cantonad: On the night ofJanuary 4 and 5, 1979, St Peter Port's 52ftArun lifeboat Sir William Arnold took partin a search for survivors from the Greekfreighter Cantonad which sank in theEnglish Channel in an east-north-easterlyhurricane and terrific seas. Visibility wasreduced by snow. On her way to the searcharea, more than 30 miles from station, onehuge wave rolled the lifeboat over 45degrees, throwing the coxswain out of hisseat and knocking him momentarily uncon-scious. Another crew member was injured,cracking two ribs. Nevertheless, the lifeboatwas on her way again within minutes tosearch throughout that wild and pitch-blacknight. One survivor was picked up from aliferaft by a naval helicopter; two bodieswere recovered from the water by thelifeboat, which was at sea for more than 12hours. For this service a third bar to hisbronze medal was awarded to CoxswainJohn Petit.

Services to Sunnanhav and Savinesti: on Feb-ruary 15, 1979, Bridlington's 37ft Oakleylifeboat William Henry and Mary Kinglaunched in a blizzard and a violent north-easterly storm to help the German freighterSunnanhav, broken down and being driventowards Flamborough Head. The freighterregained power and the lifeboat was on herreturn passage when, with visibility down to

50 yards in the snow and the radar out ofaction, she had to turn hard to port to avoidrocks. She was struck by a huge wave andknocked over to starboard, the engine cut-out operating. The 'capsize switches' weremade and the engines fired first time. Forthis service the bronze medal was awardedto Coxswain Fred Walkington.

On that same morning Wells' 37ft Oakleylifeboat Ernest Tom Neathercoat launchedto stand by the disabled Romanian cargoship Savinesti which was in danger of run-ning aground on Race Bank or DockingShoal. In temperatures well below freezingand with huge seas washing right over her.this open lifeboat stood by until Humber's54ft Arun lifeboat City of Bradford IV hadmade the 37-mile passage from Spurn Pointand could take over the service. Wellslifeboat had to make the first part of herreturn passage at half speed with the droguestreamed and snow blowing directly into theafter cockpit; then, turning into the breakingseas, it took her two hours to make good thelast seven miles; she had been at sea forover 11 hours. Humber lifeboat, togetherwith the North Sea Ferry Norwave, eventu-ally escorted Savinesti to the safety of theRiver Humber after more than 15 hours atsea. For this service the silver medal wasawarded to Coxswain David Cox of Wellsand the bronze medal to SuperintendentCoxswain Brian Bevan of Humber.

and carried away our liferaft. We hadto turn around so that some of the crewcould go on deck to secure it. As theafter door was opened a big one cameover the stern and almost filled up thecabin. That was a fine start. Reportswere coming in that the ship Cantonadwas developing a bigger list all thetime; we knew we couldn't waste time,so off we went at full speed. The windwas on the beam as we steamed roundthe top of the island. We were nearly atthe position given, which was 30 milesfrom Guernsey, and I wanted to give amessage to the assistant mechanic whowas on the radio. I had to turn roundand look aft and just at that moment abig one came and threw us down, threwme out of the seat on to the deck. Twoof the other chaps fell on Chick Robil-liard and he fractured a couple of ribs.Anyway, after a few minutes we wereunder way again. The helicopters fromCuldrose beat us to the position byabout 15 minutes and they started todrop flares. They managed to winch upone survivor who was in a liferaft butthe rest were in the sea; they sent awinchman down, but he got halfdrowned, I think, in the breakingwaves. By this time the ship hadcapsized.

I went to the upper conning positionwith a lookout. It takes your breathaway when you go on deck, the cold.You couldn't feel your hands afterbeing up there five or ten minutes.When you get on top of a sea every-thing's flying—wind, snow, spume—then you go down into a trough and itis quite quiet. It's uncanny.

The helicopters dropped flares andthey helped a lot. We saw the twobodies we picked up in the light of theflares. They seemed to throw an orangelight down into the sea and you couldsee the bodies silhouetted in the water.We managed to pick up those two butonly after a great deal of difficulty. Itwasn't easy, in those seas, trying tomanoeuvre to keep alongside. Thecrew . . . one moment they were upforward, then they had to come aft,then they were halfway along the deck.They had to keep moving the wholetime in order to keep the casualties insight. It would have been a very dif-ficult job in our old Barnett and I doubtif we would have seen anyone in the

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Fred Walkington (I.) and BrianBevan. Fred Walkington joinedBridling ton lifeboat crew in 1965and was appointed coxswain in1975; he was awarded the bronzemedal in 1979. Brian Bevan was amember of Bridlington lifeboatcrew from 1967 to 1969, assistantmechanic of Humber lifeboatfrom 1969 to 1970 and wasappointed superintendent cox-swain of Humber lifeboat in 1975;he was awarded the silver medalin 1978 and the gold and bronzemedals in 1979.

water—certainly we would not havehad a chance to manoeuvre alongside.

. . . and on that February day . . .

Superintendent Coxswain Brian Bevan:The snow and the frost that morningwere the killers. It was freezing hard.At 10 o'clock in the morning, at theCoastguard station, eight degrees offrost was recorded. That was at mid-morning. Four hours prior to that it was14 to 16 degrees of frost. The handrailson the boarding boat were iced inchesthick all along. When we got startedour problem was navigation, becauseof the banks down in David's area. TheDecca was put out of action by thesnow. We thought the radar was, too,at first. Then we found it was iced up.We chipped that off and the radar wasall right. So we more or less went downon the radar, just getting a fix on theDecca when the snow eased enoughto get a signal through. Going to thejob . . . I don't think you will ever seeconditions worse. I have worked downthere quite a bit, further south of that aswell, fishing, and been caught out, but Idon't think I have ever seen such longbroken seas for as long. As one peteredout the next one was coming at you.You were even bringing the Arunround to meet them head to seabecause you could see them coming atyou like a house side. You were alwaysfrightened of the knock down. Youwere on course, then coming round tomeet a sea, then back on your course,even with the Arun. I have spoken toolder fishermen and older hands on theeast coast and I don't think you willever see any worse anywhere than itwas that day. There were ships andfishing boats that had rode it out stillcoming to the river three days afterwith their masts, rigging and even theirbows, where you would have thought itwould have been washed off, thick withice and snow. More like pictures thatyou see of the deep sea trawlers in Ice-land—not the sort of thing we areaccustomed to in the North Sea.

The Humber crew were in an Arun withan enclosed wheelhouse, but Wells andBridlington crews were in Oakleylifeboats, the steering position openexcept for a windscreen and canopy.

Coxswain David Cox: It was the worst

David Coxjoined Wells lifeboat crew in 1943and was appointed coxswain in 1960; he wasawarded the thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum in 1964 and 1973 and thesilver medal in 1979.

photograph by courtesy of Peter Hadfield

trip I've ever had. If my chaps weren'tall fishermen they might not have sur-vived as well as they did. They weremy regular crew, all fishermen. Eventhen, most of them were complainingabout the weather—the intense coldand the wet—by the time we got home.When I first left Wells Harbour I gaveher full speed. That wasn't too bad onthe harbour bar. But after we had goneoff about ten minutes, then we startedto meet it. We took a nasty one, so Ieased her back; it seemed a bit morecomfortable, but she was still takingthem green. Every time she took one itcame right aft, hit the bulkhead aft andslapped right into the cockpit—eventhe mechanics got drenched.

Coxswain Fred Walkington, Bridling-ton: It was like that for us when theradar went on the blink. That's justhow ours happened. A wave just tookon and went straight under the canopy.The radar went dead. That was the lastwe saw of that.

Cox: I will say this for the Oakley:although she was filling all the time, thewater was clearing very quickly. Shewas filling and emptying, as quick asthat.

The first object we saw that morningwas Savinesti. From the time we lefthome we saw no navigation buoys,nothing. The North Sea ferry gave us aposition for the South East Docking,but we never saw it.

When we started back for home, atabout 1500, I knew we had the worst tocome. I know what our place is like.There are no lights. You couldn't see

any landmarks at all. And I knew dark-ness was coming on. I was not veryhappy running in those seas. I wasn'tsure where I would end up but I knew itwould be west of Wells Harboursomewhere. First we were goingsouth-south-west but, even with thedrogue out, she was taking nasty season her quarter, so I altered course tosouth west and she was running fairand square, going with the seas. Wehad to come over the top of Race Bank.I have never seen the sea so piled up inmy life, running and breaking on thebank. I eased her up a bit and she tookit all right. By the time we nearly got inthat day it was after dark, round about6 or 7 o'clock. That was my most criti-cal time, because we had been outabout nine hours. We were just aboutall in, I would say. Yet we still had theworst conditions to contend with. You

fJohn Petit joined St Peter Port lifeboat crewin 1952 and was appointed coxswain in 1964;he was awarded the bronze medal in 1963,the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vel-lum in 1972, bars to his bronze medal in1975, 1977 and 1979 and the silver medal in1978.

photograph of courtesy of Peter Hadfield

see, when darkness came on weweren't quite sure, at times, whetherwe were running on to the main shoreor whether we were still at sea. Many atime the crew said, '// must be theshore,' and I said, 'No, I don't think so.It's somewhere deeper, somewhereabout the five fathom mark.' We wereon the banks. The first thing we spottedwas just a glimmer of light, and whenwe spotted it we were nearly in Bran-caster Harbour—we were nearly on theshore.Walkington: This is where we were atan advantage, if you can say that, com-ing home. We went for the high cliffsbecause you stood a better chance ofseeing the cliffs than you would havedone the low land to the south. Theseas were breaking full on SmithicSands and it was high water. Youwould have had a job to come acrossthe sands alone, but if you got acrossthem you would never have seen theshore before you were on top of it. Thisis why I went for the higher land.

What about visibility and keeping alookout in that weather?

Petit: While the helicopters were awayrefuelling we were searching downwindfor five hours; the tide was ebbingdown Channel and the wind was north

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easterly behind us. I was up on the fly-ing bridge, rotating the lookout, butyou couldn't see much. It was pitchblack.

Cox: For us, the visibility was justabout nil. Snow storms—blizzards ifyou like—are worse than fog in an openboat when you are heading into it allthe while.

Bevan: It was coming so hard, with thatwind strength, you couldn't even lookinto it, could you?

Cox: The windscreen wiper we havegot on the Oakley was on all the timebut it was snowing so hard it wasn'tgiving the wiper a chance even to gethalf way.

Walkington: We could have done witha squeegee . . .

Bevan: Our windows were steaming upinside as well. That was a full time jobfor a man, wiping the steam off thewindows so that you could see.

All four coxswains had stayed on thewheel throughout the service, thus notonly being in full control but also, withthe feel of their boats in their ownhands, maintaining that tenuousthread of mental dead reckoning vitalin weather so wild that formal naviga-tion was virtually impossible.

Petit: I steered all the time. The othersdo steer on occasions, but on a serviceof that sort I like to know where we aregoing and I can make sure that I dosteer that course.

Cox: Yes, I was on the wheel through-out, too. My second coxswain . . . Ithink he was only there about half anhour. I was quite happy, mind you,going off, because I knew within a littlewhere the ship was. Visibility was justabout nil and the radar had gone, so Iwas on a compass course. I wanted totake her because in my mind I knewwhere I was going. If we had switchedaround and they had all had a spell onthe wheel, my course could have beenall over the place. They can all take thewheel, I know, but on that particularday I thought, I am going to take thecourse I want to go for the time I havein mind.

We ran off for about an hour and 50minutes and then I eased down. Wehad a bit of a conflab and they allthought that we were east of where theship should be and that we shouldn't goany further off. I said, 'All right. Getthe drogue ready.' As the sea was thatday I wasn't going to just turn around.She might have caught one. Then, as Iwas turning, I spotted the ship. It wasonly because I went off north east fromWells Harbour that morning that Ifound her. They said Savinesti wasmore or less on our fishing ground,which was a great help—you know, itwas as though we were going fishing

because we kept the same sort ofcourse. And as luck would have it wespotted the ship.

Walkington: On exercise I leave it tothe crew and that's it; it's good thatthey should have the experience. Buton a job I prefer to keep on the wheelthe whole time.

Bevan: On a day like that it is the cox-swain's job to be at the wheel . . .

Cox: I would second that . . .

Bevan: . . . certainly going out to thecasualty. And even if you were notsteering the boat yourself, you wouldstill be looking over the back of theother chap's shoulder all the time.

How much of a strain was it,physically?

Cox: You are standing in one positionfor a long time on those sort of days.You don't feel the effect until you gethome; then you are completely offbalance.

Walkington: I was fortunate because Ihave one of those pedestal seats; youdon't actually sit on it, you lean againstit, but the weight it took off my feet thatday was a great help.

Cox: The only thing about a seat—theyare good, I agree—but I like plenty offreedom round that wheel. We hadeight aboard that day and all my crewwere huddled up aft. There's two orthree below; there's two on the portside, two on the starboard side.

Walkington: No, you do have plenty ofroom. It's surprising. Everybody wasaft from the moment we left the beach,because we all clipped on and we wereall the aft side of the canopy.

Cox: Well, that would break it up a bit,because I was on my feet for 11 hours.You know, you are all tensed up underit, wet and cold.

Wet and cold . . . cold is an insidiousenemy and there is less chance of keep-ing warm if you are wet . . .

Cox: It was impossible to keep dry thatday. I had two jerseys on, I had mygreen zipper jacket and then I had thelifeboat trousers and jacket. And thewhole crew was the same. They all hadtheir own personal sea gear on as wellas the RNLI gear. When we got homewe were all soaked to the skin. In ourtype of boat, in that sort of weather, Idon't think anything would keep thewater out.

Bevan: Do you think you would havebeen in the dry with yellow oilskin topsand trousers? Fishing gear? We havethe Functional gear and we have alsogot the Vinco oilskin gear, which Ithink is more effective in wet weather.

Walkington: On this service everybodyhad Vinco trousers on. There wereonly two that wore the Functional jac-kets. They were the two mechanics,underneath. There were only two peo-ple that got wet in our boat; one wasthe lad who had his head in the waterwhen we got the knock down and onewas the second coxswain who got a seagoing up his oilskin smock and in thelow-slung trousers. Everybody elsewas dry. Usually the only place theoilskin smock will let you down isround the neck, and you can put a goodmuffler or scarf round there.

Cox: Mind you, the jackets are warm,the Functional jackets we've got now.But I like the old oilskin frock andsou'wester.

What about the dry suits used by someAtlantic 21 inshore lifeboat, crews, ifthey could be modified so that theycould be worn for long periods? Suitswith rubber neck and wrist seals tokeep the water out completely? Wouldthat help in bad weather?

Cox: Yes, I think so. Some of the ladshave spoken about these dry suits . . .

Petit: I think it would be a great thingmyself. In very cold weather they areabsolutely marvellous. The only thingthat bothers me, would there be chafingat neck and wrists on a long service?

All agreed that heat loss through thehead, which is appreciable, must beavoided, flat caps or sou'westers beingpreferred . . .

Cox: I always carry my own sou'westeraboard. I have always used one. Whenyou are looking to the weather in anopen boat you can't beat an oldsou'wester—she'll dodge all the water.

What about bump caps? The very lightweight padded ones with a little peak,now being issued, which give protec-tion against head injury as well aswarmth?

Cox: We haven't received ours yet, butquite honestly I don't think they wouldbe a lot of good in our type of boat. Notfor the chaps on deck. Maybe for thetwo mechanics . . .

Bevan: You haven't got yours yet,David. When you do get them you willprobably look at one, try it on andchuck it out of the boathouse. But afteryou have had one on for two or threehours, if you take it off, you feel thedifference straight away. It 's surprisinghow warm they are.

What about hands?

Petit: We had gloves on but youcouldn't feel your hands after aboutfive or ten minutes on the flying bridge.I have tried wet suit gloves but found

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them a bit too stiff. A supple pair wouldbe all right.

Cox: I carry oiled mittens—full lengthones that enclose your fingers. All thatday I was wringing them out and put-ting them on again, and my hands werekeeping fairly warm. You had to keepwringing the water out because other-wise they get sloppy and heavy and youcan't always feel the wheel move offcentre.

What about the motion of the boats inthose high seas?

Bevan: We haven't got all the luxuriesin a fast afloat boat because with twicethe speed you have got twice theknocking about and bouncing about,which is certainly more sharp andsevere than in a conventional boat.That day, on the way to Savinesti, itwas the slowest we have ever done:roughly 10 knots over a 37, 38 mile run.

Coxswain John Petit was in his father'screw for the service to Johan Collett onFebruary 5, 1963, the service for whichCoxswain Hubert Petit was awardedthe gold medal and John himself hisfirst bronze medal. On that service, the52ft Burnett Euphrosyne Kendal was atsea for about 15 hours in south-easterlyhurricane force winds and once again itwas snowing and very cold. So herewas a direct comparison between aconventional and a fast afloat lifeboatin extreme conditions. Were the effecton the crew equal?

Petit: It's a long time ago . . . but Iwould say the surface temperatures inboth services were about the same. Inthe Barnett you were more in the openand we had the spray to contend with;you felt the cold a lot more. When youwere up top it was bitterly cold; themost you could stand was about 15minutes before you started to feel itquite badly. In the Arun you are undershelter and you have got heaters. In aBarnett, except for the mechanics, youhave to stand to keep a look out,whereas in the Arun, of course, you areseated until you go on deck. Fromthose points of view, when you do goon deck you are more fit in an Arun.

On the other hand, of course, in afast boat you are thrown around quite alot more than you are in a Barnett and Ithink that you are worn down in thatway. It's the speed. I suppose they bal-ance each other out.

But it is just in head seas and a fewpoints either side where, in the fastboat, you are slamming about andreally hitting them hard. Anything abaftthe beam and there is no comparison:the Arun is a little ship, whereas in theBarnett you are rolling around. It's atotally different ride altogether. If youreduce speed in an Arun to 9 knots in ahead sea, then you are getting down toa similar sort of motion as the Barnett.

There's not much difference. In fact, inabove force 9 winds you can't bashthrough head seas in the Arun at morethan about 10 knots.

Did the Arun crews use their seat belts?

Petit: We didn't use seat belts becausewe were up and down like yo-yos to thetop steering position and it is an ardu-ous job strapping yourself in all thetime. I think a simple lap strap wouldbe quite enough to keep you in theseat—an aircraft type of strap with asimple release for getting in and out.

Bevan: I was the only one of our crewwho wore a seat belt—just the waist-band one. And it was rugged all right.On one occasion, going round the light-ship, we thought we had left theengines in 25 fathoms. I am almost cer-tain it would be better with seat beltson, but you feel a bit tied in.

How did the Oakley coxswains feelabout their boats?

Walkington: If it was at all possible,this service gave me greater confidencein the boat herself, the Oakley. We hadalways been used to a conventionalboat, a Liverpool. When we came intothe Oakley we found her a lot morecockley. But the services we have donein her, particularly in the last year,have given me a lot of confidence inher.

Cox: We used to have a Liverpool, butI can assure you, everyone up at Wellsputs a lot of faith in the boat we havegot now.

Bevan: Do you think you would havebeen better off if you had had awheelhouse, like a Rother?

Cox: I would like to have a Rother, ifthat is what you are getting at! I like theboat I have got now very much and Ithink the water ballast is superb. TheOakleys are good boats but you are stillexposed. I am told the Rothers aremove lively, but you would have awheelhouse.

So back to endurance. What are thesigns, when cold and fatigue start toencroach?

Cox: It is the first time I have knownmy crew to be very quiet. I think theextreme cold was getting everyone thatday. It was rough, we know, but it isthe intense cold that gets you. You arestanding there, taking everything thatcomes.

Bevan: That is a sure sign that theweather is getting really bad: the quiet-ness. Everybody can be talking andchatting away, probably for the first 20minutes, half an hour, and then conver-sations gradually dwindle away.

Cox: It's the time it takes to do a job,

too. When we were getting the drogueready . . . normally it would take twoor three minutes, but that day it tookabout quarter of an hour.

How important to morale and themaintenance of efficiency is the radiolink with the shore?

Petit: The more the crew is keptinformed the better. When there aremessages coming in all the time andyou are kept alive to the situation withfrequent reports it keeps everybodyinterested. It keeps the chap on theDecca Navigator fully employed; itkeeps the radar man fully employed;everyone. It is good. It keeps every-body keyed up and it's a great way ofhelping. When you get long periods ofsilence it can be deadly.

Cox: When the crew hear things comeon the radio . . . well, it is more chatty,I'll put it like that. When we were outthere we couldn't hear Wells Coast-guard. We could only work throughYarmouth. That was another thingwhich gave me an indication thatwe were getting nearer the coast be-cause we started hearing Wells Coast-guard coming through. All my chapsstarted to cheer up a bit thenbecause . . . well, I can honestly say itwas the worst we have ever been at

Bevan: I think you had had problemswith communications all day, becausewe had nearly reached you before wegot in contact, on the VHP anyway.

Cox: I heard you talk round about quar-ter or twenty past three.

Bevan: Yes, whereas in normal condi-tions we would have been able to hearyou when we left the river. We musthave been within ten miles before weeven got in contact with you, probablyless.

What about food and drink in weatherlike that?

Petit: If you can grab something to eat,all well and good; but if you can't it isnot essential. On a service half thecrew don't feel like eating. They'llprobably drink, if you can get it readyand a hot drink helps a lot. But veryoften you can't get it. Conditions aretoo bad. We have got a water heaterwith a tap on the bottom, but a drinkwould be spilled before it could be gothalf-way up the ladder.

Cox: We never used any of our storesat all that day. To make a drink was animpossibility. Mind you, the cigaretteswere used and we ran out of the boiledsweets we had on board. We find that ifyou are continuously taking salt waterin the mouth a boiled sweet is a greathelp. But nobody seemed to want to eatanything at all. Now, if you could stillget those tins of self-heating soups that

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used to be made, I think we could havebrewed those up, running home.

Walkington: That was one of the sur-prising things, looking back on it: noone in my boat even asked, or thoughtabout, food or drink. It wasn't untillater that someone said, 'We neverused that heater.' Normally we use itquite a lot, on escort jobs or when weare out for two or three hours. But thatday it was not mentioned at all.

Be van: You couldn't keep the water inthe boiler that day; even we couldn't.We never got a drink. Nobody wantedthe job of filling it up ...

Cox: We did have tins of cold drinksbut we didn't even touch them.

Walkington: We were the same. Wehad a dozen tins of Coke but we nevertouched them. I think the availability ofcigarettes was a good thing, for the menthat smoked. They were used.

Does seasickness detract from the abil-ity to do the job?

Petit: Most of our crew are not usuallyseasick. Just on a very bad serviceunder abnormal conditions they maybecome a bit sick. But once they havebrought it up they are fine again. Theyget on with their job. It hasn't put themout of business.

Bevan: We have a couple of lads whosuffer from seasickness from time totime, but they can still do the job. It'sone of those things. If, like David, youhave got a crew of people who are atsea all week, then seasickness neverbothers them. But any crew that mightbe weeks ashore at a time and then getchucked in on days like that, they'llsuffer from seasickness because theyare not at sea long enough or regularlyenough really to get over it. The Arunis pretty good for seasickness, for aclosed in boat. When you are steaming,well, nobody could live on deck, any-way. It's good for sorting the men out,when they get locked inside, with thedoor shut!

Cox: No direct air, that's the trouble.When you are in the open it is all right.

From 'British farce, from Travers toAyckbourn' by Sheridan Morley pub-lished in 'The Times', November 20,1979:

' Ben Travers . . . Sometimes you getstuck. I stuck on how to get Poppy onstage in the last act of 'RookeryNook' until by a sort of miracle ourdoor bell rang in Burnham and a ladycame in selling flags for the lifeboatfund and I thought right, that's howwe'll get her on stage. Sometimesyou need a bit of luck like that. I thinkI bought all the flags on her tray . . .'

Walkington: I am the only fisherman inmy boat—and that's part time—butnormally we have no problem.

Does age affect a man's ability toendure?

Walkington: I think so. The averageage of our crew on that launch was justover 36.

Cox: A couple of young lads jumpedaboard that morning, just kids. I justsaid, 'Out!' because I knew the sort ofday it was going to be. But I've got ayoung chap in my regular crew, he's 25or 26. He was the fittest one of all whenwe got home. He just went straight offthe quay into the pub and had two orthree rums! I'm afraid all I wanted todo was get home for a hot bath. So agedoes come into it.

Petit: I would say the middle aged manhas the advantage when it comes toendurance. He's got a lifetime'sexperience of endurance by that time.A lot of it is psychological—an attitudeof mind. I think an ideal age would beabout 45—after that you probably godown hill a bit.

Bevan: After services like that, can yougo straight home as normal and sitdown to a dinner put in front of you?

Cox: No.

Bevan: We can't. We find after jobs likethat that you seem to be 12 or 18 hoursbefore you are back to normal. You canprobably have a drink of tea or coffee.Everybody says you want a hot meal assoon as you get back, but the blokesjust can't seem to sit down and facethat meal.

Walkington: I think you are a good 24hours before your body really gets backto normal.

Bevan: You seem to come back off ajob absolutely dog tired. All you wantto do is drop into your bed, and withintwo minutes of your being in bed youcan't sleep. Everything is sort ofwound up inside you.

Cox: When I got home that night I juststripped off and got straight into a bath,and even then it took a long time tothaw out. When I got out of the bath, Istood there and my balance had gone.They all said the same thing the nextmorning. You are so tensed up throughcold and concentration, you don'treally sleep when you get to bed. Icouldn't relax at all until next day.

Was it worse for the coxswain than forhis crew?

Cox: I can answer that, because when Iwas a crew member I never got anyafter effect at all. I was younger, mindyou. When I was about 20 or 30 it neverused to worry me. I have been in Wells

lifeboat as crew on rough trips. I usedto come home quite fresh. I thinkresponsibility has something to do withit as well as age.

What did the younger coxswain'sthink?

Bevan: For my crew I think probablythe New Year's Eve job, the service toDiana Vt, was the worst in terms ofendurance. We had the engine job.After we had done about 25 or 30 mileswe had to come back to Grimsby onone engine with both mechanics downin the engine room trying to strip downthe broken pipe on the gearbox. Then,back at sea again, they fitted the pipeand we thought all our troubles wereover. We were back on two enginesand had set course at full speed. Thenwe had the no lights job. We were run-ning the boat with two torches. Wefinished at breakfast time on NewYear's Eve. I think for 24 hours or so Iwas so mentally and physically woundup that I was miles away—even duringthe New Year celebrations. I am in aworld of my own for 24 hours after ajob like that.

Walkington: That is the thing, whenyou come back: the responsibility.With this February job there was nobeach to re-carriage, so we went intothe harbour. I got the crew to go homeand have a warm drink and change intowarm clothing. I think everybody cameback slightly refreshed before we wentand re-carriaged. It was a difficult re-carriaging job, but we couldn't haveleft her in harbour because, at lowwater, she would have been 'off ser-vice'. She had to go back on stationbecause the weather was so bad thatthat boat might have had to go again.

And that's it, whatever the weather.Back on station . . . and ready forservice.

tService to Diana V: On the night ofDecember 30 and 31, 1978, Humber's 54ftArun City of Bradford IV rescued six of thecrew of the Dutch coaster Diana V, firstreported in distress 74 miles east by south ofSpurn Head in a strong easterly gale; hercargo of maize had shifted in the very heavyseas. After the lifeboat's mechanics hadrepaired under way an oil pipe which hadfractured, the Arun maintained full speed tothe casualty despite the fact that she wasreceiving a terrific pounding, during whichher lights failed. By the time she reached thecasualty the wind had risen to storm forceand, with the temperature -4°c, the seawater was freezing to deck and rails. Thelifeboat made three runs in, being thrownagainst the heavily listing coaster by thebreaking seas, before a 12-year-old girl, awoman and four men were all successfullytaken off. Together with HMS Lindisfarne,the lifeboat then escorted the disabledDiana V into the River Humber. When shereturned to her moorings she had been at seafor more than 13 hours. For this service thesilver medal was awarded to SuperintendentCoxswain Brian Bevan.

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Portrait of a lifeboat station

WELLSthe crew and those who back them up ashore

by Campbell MacCallum

22 19

1 Coxswain David Cox2 Second Coxswain Anthony Jordan3 Offshore lifeboat crew4 Lt David Case RNVR, station honor-

ary secretary5 Mrs David Case6 Lt S. C. Long RNVR, deputy launch-

ing authority7 Mr M. J. Hill, station honorary

treasurer8 Reverend David Chapman, chap-

lain

9 Dr D. W. Hoddy, honorary medicaladviser

10 Lord Coke, president and patron11 Branch committee representatives12 HM Coastguards and Auxiliary

Coastguards13 Inshore lifeboat crews14 Police15 Shipwrecked Mariners' Society

16 Life Guards17 Launching crew18 Brian Scoles, head launcher19 Richard Woodgett, maroon firer20 Ladies' guild committee members21 Ladies' guild members22 George Read, tractor driver

photograph by courtesy of the stationhonorary photographer

Logwatch, a new electronic naviga-tional instrument made by the marineequipment division of R. P. Jeffers andCompany, has recently been evaluatedby the RNLI design department. It isan electronic digital log with an integralchronometer and the additional optionof an anemometer. Time, distance run,speed through the water and, ifrequired, wind speed can all easily beread off and a special 'fix' device willgive distance run from an instant ofdemand to a Vioo of a mile. Being aself-contained unit there is less chanceof interference to or from other electri-cal and electronic equipment, but itsgreat advantage for lifeboat work is

that it requires no 'hole in the hull' .Most logs, except trailing types, needhull penetration for their sensors.

A set of Logwatch equipment fittedto an Atlantic 21 was found on trials togive good readings even when the ILB'flew' from wave to wave at speedsabove 15 knots and an experimental sethas now been fitted to an offshorelifeboat with most encouraging results.

The North East Research Group of theLifeboat Enthusiasts Society is nowproducing a newsletter devoted tonews from lifeboat stations of what wasthe Yorkshire coast. Membership is

growing steadily and new members arewelcome; the annual subscription is£1.25 (juniors 75p). Information fromDavid A. Greaves, honorary editor, 13Cypress Gardens, Ripon, North York-shire, HG4 1LT.

Flag sellers are urgently needed in Cen-tral London on Tuesday March 18, so ifyou live or work in the area bounded byPark Lane, Oxford Street, Kingsway,Charing Cross and Victoria and canhelp please telephone the Central Lon-don Committee secretary at 01-9285743 after January 28.

When you have read your copy of THELIFEBOAT, please pass it on.

239

Southampton Boat ShowThe eleventh Southampton Interna-

tional Boat Show was opened by SirAlec Rose on Monday September 17 inbrilliant sunshine, and in the week thatfollowed all exhibitors reported busi-ness beyond their expectations: orderswere almost equally divided betweenhome and export markets.

Members of Southampton lifeboatboard, with help from branches andguilds around Southampton, mannedtwo stands throughout the week. Themain stand in the Embassy Hall dis-played a full range of RNLI souvenirs,Christmas cards and calendars and soldtickets for the Southern District Saabcar competition. Shoreline staff enrol-led 333 new members and sold insigniaand, during the latter part of the week,Pilgrim Philatelies sold RNLI first daycovers. A separate, open air, competi-tion stand with the Saab car on displayproved a great money spinner.

Gross receipts for the week were arecord £7,471.12 and no fewer than23,189 Saab tickets at lOp each weresold. Following the show, Southamp-ton lifeboat board remitted £2,800 tothe Mountbatten of Burma appeal.

On the opening day cheques receivedby Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Compston,chairman of the Mountbatten of Burmaappeal, included one for £1,775 from

Captain 'Wally' Patch, master of the NorthSea Ferries MV Norwave, receives from LtAlan Tate, divisional inspector (NorthEast), a framed letter of thanks signed bythe Chairman of the RNLI. The presenta-tion was made in recognition of the consid-erable help given by Norwave when theRomanian cargo vessel Savinesti was in dis-tress in the North Sea in February, 1979.With them is Superintendent CoxswainBrian Bevan of Humber who was awardedthe bronze medal for his part in the service.

HEREand

THERE

Sir Alec Rose, who openedSouthampton Boat Show inSeptember, arrived withLady Rose for the openingceremony in Calshotlifeboat, the 40ft Keith Nel-son Ernest William andElizabeth Ellen Hinde. Thelifeboat was accompaniedby the frigate HMS Ardent.

Captain Peter Stewart, chairman of alifeboat ball held at Lacock Abbey inJuly, and one for £1,000 from MrsPearman, wife of the chairman of Gos-port branch: this amount was made upof £500 from Plessey Ltd and £500 fromthe sale of Saab car tickets.—S.C.G.S.Inshore

At a ceremony outside Amble WatchHouse on Sunday June 24, 1979,Southwell (Notts) Round Table handedover to Amble station branch the newD class ILB towards the cost of whichthey had donated £2,500.

Friday September 14 saw the officialhanding over ceremony of Brighton'sAtlantic 21 ILB, named Lions Interna-tional—District 105 SE. In addition tothe donation received from the LionsClub towards the boat, the cost ofestablishing this ILB station was sub-stantially defrayed by a very generousgift from Mr G. A. Hodgkins, president

On November 2 a delegationfrom the Spanish Red Crossof the Sea lifeboat societypaid a goodwill visit to RNLIHQ and depot at Poole,going on the next day to visitLymington and Yarmouth,Isle of Wight, lifeboat sta-tions and the ILB depot atCowes. With John Atterton(1.), deputy director RNLI,are (I. to r.) Captain Monies,Captain Pardo and Mr Los-sada, a naval architect.

Last October, Jimmy Savile,QBE, received the publicrelations statuette awardedto him for his most valuablehelp to the lifeboat servicefrom Vice-Admiral Sir PeterCompston, a deputy chair-man of the Institution. Thepresentation was made atthe Polygon Hotel, South-ampton, by courtesy ofHoover and Proctor andGamble who were sponsor-ing Jimmy on a run to helpthe Year of the Child andHelp the Aged. Jimmy latersigned autographs for chil-dren from Polygon School.

of Reigate and Redhill branch.On Tuesday October 2 a new D class

ILB was dedicated at Redcar. Its costhad been met by a donation from FredOlsen Lines on whose behalf it waspresented to the branch by CaptainKeighley.

The dedication of Littlehampton'snew ILB boathouse took place on Sun-day October 7, when the station honor-ary secretary, Peter Cheney, handed toVice-Admiral Sir Peter Compston, adeputy chairman of the Institution, acheque for £23,000; £10,500 came froma legacy and £12,500 had been raised inLittlehampton. The branch is workingto raise the full cost of the boathouse,£30,000, over and above its usualannual commitment.

Southend-on-SeaFollowing the fire which rendered

Southend pier railway unsafe, South-end Corporation has provided thelifeboat station with a custom builtemergency vehicle so that the crew canreach the RNLI boathouse at the pierend quickly when called out. Formaintenance visits to the boathouse,cycles have also been supplied by theCorporation at no cost to theInstitution.

BoulogneWhile on trials before taking up sta-

tion at Dover, the 50ft Thames lifeboatRotary Service visited Boulogne. Soimpressed were the French people withthe Functional protective clothingworn by the British crew that localRotarians are buying sets of this clo-thing for the Boulogne crew.

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BOOKREVIEWS

• As gracious as its subject, Salt-Water Palaces by Maldwin Drummond(Debrett, £8.95) recalls the halcyondays of the large private yacht and, inthe words of the publishers:

'. . . guides the reader gently below,down the carved companionway, wan-dering on rich carpet from saloon tostateroom, listening to the conversationsand looking about, through the mediumof logs, photographs and private arc-hives and the now rare memory of thosewho enjoyed such a life.'

A leisurely subject for leisurelybrowsing, maybe, but, as Lord Mount-batten pointed out in his introduction tothe book completed a few days beforehis death, such yachts have played auseful part in ship development andsome of the finest craftsmanship inBritain has been employed in theirbuilding.

The author, a cruising yachtsman ofgreat experience, is a member of theRNLI Committee of Management andalso a former chairman of the SailTraining Association.—J.D.

• Reed's Nautical Almanac 1980(Thomas Reed Publications) is nowavailable. The change of times of tidalpredictions to GMT throughout will begenerally welcomed as will the exten-sion of tidal and other information asfar as Gibraltar—a sign of the broaden-ing of cruising areas. The increase inprice to £6.95 may not be so welcomebut this in fact represents only 11 percent advance on last year. The descrip-tion of the change in use of RDFradiobeacons using the A2* system willexplain why some people thought theywere having difficulties in picking upsuch stations as Portland Bill.—E.J.

• In recording the history of Britishherring fishing in his book The Drifter-men (Tops'l Books, £5.50), DavidButcher has left the telling of the talelargely to the fishing folk of Lowestoft.It is, therefore, mostly their ownmemories, told first hand in their ownwords—and all the more valuable andenjoyable for that. A glossary helps thereader with specialised local, technicaland nautical words and the book is wellillustrated with line drawings by SydBrown and with photographs.—J.D.

• West Mersea is a young station,dating from the introduction of inshorelifeboats, so that by writing its story inFive Minutes to Launch A. H. 'Tony'Purnell has laid an unusually goodfoundation for the compiling of adetailed history as the years go by. The

story begins with the formation of alocal Mersea Rescue Service in 1960and goes on to tell of the establishmentof an RNLI ILB station in 1963 with aD class inflatable, to be superseded in1972 by an Atlantic 21.

The booklet is available from theauthor at 7 Victory Road, WestMersea, Colchester, Essex CO5 SLY,price 75p plus 15p postage and packing:all proceeds to the RNLI.—J.D.

• It is a pity that the winter issue ofthe journal comes out after Christmasbecause a number of books whichwould make good presents have beenreceived. Regular readers of yachtingmagazines will be familiar with thename and cartoons of Mike Peyton. Hisfourth book Finish with Engines (Nauti-cal Publishing, £2.45) gives a further,humorous look at some of the predica-ments in which yachtsmen may findthemselves.

Up the Creek with Old Harry by J. D.Sleightholme, (Adlard Coles, £1) isanother lighthearted book. The hilari-ous antics of Old Harry, who makes themost mundane of tasks and situationstake on a whole new light and meaning,have once again been collected intobook form, to give sailors and landlub-bers alike immense enjoyment.

Lovers of old nautical photographswill find Sailing Fishermen and SteamFishermen, (Tops'l Books, £1.75 each)of great interest. Photographs, somebefore unpublished, from the FordJenkins collections and a narrative byColin Elliot, give a detailed insight intothe fishing industry around Lowestoft,from the late 19th century almost up topresent day.

Ark Royal was the pride of theBritish fleet from 1955 until she waspaid off in February last year. PaulBeaver has produced a fine pictorialhistory of the Royal Navy's last con-ventional aircraft carrier, which was, ofcourse, commanded from 1975 to 1976,by Rear Admiral W. J. Graham, nowdirector of the RNLI. The book is titledsimply Ark Royal (Patrick StephensLtd, £4.95).

Reminiscences of peace-time sailingand wartime air sea rescue service withthe RAF have been brought togetherinto Airman at the Helm, by EricBlackman (Kenneth Mason, £6.95).The author's descriptions of the work

of RAF high speed rescue launchesincluding the rescue of seven of anine-man crew of a Flying Fortress willbe of interest to all those concernedwith saving life at sea.

As it is so easy to make expensivemistakes, A. A. Painter's book, Con-sumer Protection for Boat Users,(Nautical Publishing, £3.45), will bewelcomed by anyone buying, selling orowning a boat. The book covers suchsubjects as making a good contract;buying a second-hand yacht; employ-ing a surveyor; buying on credit; andgoing to court.

Practical Sailing by Wendy Fitzpat-rick, (Ward Lock, £4.95), not onlygives clear, useful advice to inexperi-enced sailors on the rules of sailing,how boats work and how to forecastthe weather, but also delves into thecomplex world of the classic yachtraces. Colour plates and photographsmake the book as interesting to look atas it is to read.—S.J.G.

• Lloyd's Register of Shipping hasproduced a new booklet, Marine andIndustrial Services, which summarizesall its activities in the fields of shippingand industry. Addresses of its principaloffices are also given. Available fromLloyd's Register of Shipping, 71 Fen-church Street, London, EC3M 4BS.

ObituariesIt is with deep regret that we

announce the following deaths.May 1979

Robert Johnson, motor mechanic ofLonghope lifeboat from 1929 to 1965.Bob Johnson first went out in thelifeboat in 1916 and served as assistantmechanic from 1926 to 1929.September 1979

Miss Minnie Brazington, a foundermember of Knowle and Dorridgeladies' guild who only in 1979 collected£50 in the house-to-house collection.October 1979

Air Marshall Sir Brian E. Baker,KBE, CB, DSO, MC, AFC, who W3Sawarded the silver badge in 1965 andhonorary life governorship in 1971. SirBrian became honorary secretary of StAndrews branch in 1952 and had been astrong supporter of the lifeboat servicefor many years before that.

HAVE FUN FUNDRAISING

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PEEKS OFBOURNEMOUTH

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241

Fordingbridge branch held a Cricketers v Celebrities cricket match at Godshill last August.Among those who helped to raise £400 for the lifeboat service were (1. to r.) Brian Tirnms(Hampshire and Warwickshire), Leslie Thomas (Lords Taverners), Alan Knott (England andKent), Jim Standen (Worcestershire), Jim Parks (England, Sussex and Somerset), RoyMarshall (West Indies and Hampshire), Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart and Colin Milburn (Englandand Northamptonshire).

photograph by courtesy of'Western Gazette'

(Some

Although there was a damp andmisty start to the day it did not deterabout 5,000 people from joining in thefun at last autumn's annual Hartlepoolharbour fete, which is organised by thelocal branch and its many friends. Thehighlight of the day was the sponsoredraft race which this year attracted 13teams, and a member of the crackRothmans' Acrobatic team put on asolo display in a Pitts Special. Later inthe day there was an exercise by a SeaKing helicopter from RAF Boulmerand Hartlepool lifeboat The Scout withCaptain Alex Kirk, station honorarysecretary, being plucked from the deckof the lifeboat. Hartlepool Atlantic 21,Guide Friendship III, and CrimdonDene ILB also joined in the displaysand at the end of the day almost £4,000had been raised.

Fleetwood lifeboat week, organisedlast August jointly by the ladies' guild,the crew and the station branch com-mittee, proved to be both a financialand a social success. A house-to-housecollection, a flag day, fresh fish stall,(what else from fishy Fleetwood?), aballoon race, a dance and a giant raffle,helped to raise the grand total of £3,500for the RNLI. One man, Jim Beattie, a73-year-old retired publican, collectedon his own the fantastic sum of £300 intwo days.

Mrs Edith Rose Taylor, although 87and only partially sighted, has beenmaking small Welsh lady and otherlavender dolls for sale at Abersoch ILBhouse. In just over a year these dollshave raised over £150.

Having made a new year resolutionto lose weight, Police Constable PaulFisher of the Isle of Man decided tosupport his favourite charity and,sponsored to the tune of £300, he haduntil Easter Monday to lose two-and-a-half stone. On August 26 Paul wasable to hand over to John Hudson,honorary secretary of Port St Marylifeboat station, a cheque for £300, oras it was pointed out, 'one filling of fuelwhich could be used on one rescue'.

In July Glenkens ladies' guild, Scot-land, held a coffee evening and flowerarranging competition. Guild membersand friends made floral arrangementswhich 'the public' judged by puttingcoins in front of the arrangements theythought the best. The competitionraised £14.60 and, with the sale ofsouvenirs, the evening raised £209.

Uttoxeter ladies' guild has received asplendid donation of £330 fromAbbotsholme School, Derbyshire, as aresult of a Chapel collection and asponsored swim by a member of staff.This has come about because thechairman of the guild, Mrs Knight, islibrarian at the school, and her husbandteaches there.

A few yards from the City of Londondistrict office is The Underwriter, runby John Francis, who in the four yearssince he moved to this public house hascollected from his customers £1,000.56for the lifeboat service. In addition tohis efforts in London, Mr Francis isactively involved in the RNLI at Mar-gate and many of his city customers areregular visitors to the station.

A Son et Lumiere on the lifeboat ser-vice raised £40 for Longton ladies'guild. A coffee morning raised £125 butan unfortunately wet fete day raisedonly £30. A lone collector in nearbyWalmer Bridge, Mr Rostron, last yearcollected £89.39.

Mr and Mrs G. Trafford, landlords ofThe Prince of Wales, Steeple Claydon,kept a collecting bottle in their barwhich raised £128.36'/2 last year forBuckingham and District branch; afurther £16.50 was added as the resultof a competition to guess the amount inthe bottle. Also from Buckinghamcame over £288 from a sponsored sailby members of Great Moor SailingClub, and £203 from a wine and cheeselunch, run by Mrs C. Bolton.

An auction in the Town Hall of theancient Cinque Port of Hythe last Juneraised over £400 due to the generosityof many lifeboat supporters. It was fol-lowed by flag week in July which raiseda record sum of £914.00 of which£102.00 was collected by the persona!efforts of Major J. B. Worts.

Bury St Edmunds must have beenbright and cheerful last summer, when355 primary school children took partin a sponsored tallest sunflower com-petition which raised over £2,600 forthe RNLI branch. The winner wasCatherine Smith whose sunflower grewto the height of 350cm (about l i f t ) .Catherine's prizes included a trip inHarwich lifeboat. In the five yearssince it was re-formed five years agoBury St Edmunds branch has raisedjust over £12,000.

Gift vouchers from Marks andSpencers were the prizes in a draworganised by New Milton/Barton-On-Sea branch. Tickets for the draw weresold all through the summer at localhotels, pubs and holiday sites. Thevouchers, ranging in value from £50 to£5, made the draw attractive toholidaymakers, who knew that theycould be used anywhere throughout thecountry. In all, the draw raised £700 forthe branch.

One of the tasks set for conferencedelegates who come to Balmer LawnHotel, Brockenhurst, is to invent agame. One week in September thegame was so successful that it wasplayed around the hotel among theguests and £30 was collected for chari-ty. Coverdale Organisation, which runsthese conferences, asked for it to bedonated to the RNLI.

242

One of the attractions of Yeovil and district branch's stand at YeovilFestival of Transport was a radio controlled model Waveney lifeboatbuilt by John King, chairman of the branch. Visitors to the show wereinvited to sink a saucer with coins, and were then rewarded with ademonstration by the model. During the two days of the show £66 wasraised in this wav.

Members of the Spalding Sub-Aqua Club took part in an underwatersponsored 'fin' along the 2 lh mile Coronation Channel—a flood reliefchannel in Spalding. The 'fin' was swum in darkness, starting at 7pm,and over £100 was raised for Spalding and District branch.

photograph by courtesy of Lincolnshire Free Press

Poppleton ladies' guild celebrated itstenth anniversary in 1979. In those tenyears, together with the luncheon clubwhich was formed in 1972, it has raised£5,130. The guild's annual strawberryand cream teas, which have raised£809, are a feature of Poppleton villagelife.

The generous gift of a new. ful lyequipped Mirror dinghy and trailerensured the success of the grand springdraw organised by Wadhurst andTicehurst branch. Local peopledonated many other prizes but the din-ghy was the 'star attraction', and it waswon by an elderly lady who had neverbeen in a boat and had no intention ofstarting now! Fortunately the matterwas resolved when a member of BewlValley Sailing Club, who was lookingfor a dinghy, bought it from the lady. Asponsored skip-in by local Browniesprovided the branch wi th a further £70bringing the total for the year to £ 1,300.

When Bentalls Ltd opened their newstore in Chatham a limited edition of2,000 miniature replicas of the localgreen buses, made by Matchbox, weresold at 25p each, with all the proceedsgoing to the RNLI . At the end of threedays £564 had been raised, some peo-ple having jiven more than the 25p.The counterfoil of each sale then wentinto a draw, first prize of which was atoken for £50, plus £25 for the runnerup, to be spent at Bentalls.

The newly constructed wish-ing pool in Ramsgate ModelVillage raised £263 duringJune, July and August.Harry Lawford, a DLA atRamsgate, who built thepool, gave all the moniescollected in it to Ramsgatelifeboat. He handed over acheque to Coxswain RonCannon (I.) actually in thewishing pool.

photograph by courtesy of'East Kent Times'

Two charming postcards, with silhouettesand an old Breton fisherman's prayer 'DearGod be good to me. The sea is so wide andmy boat is so small', have been drawn andproduced by Mrs Pat Langton of Bourne-mouth. To date the cards, sold at lOp each,have raised £25 for Bournemouth guild.

On Saturday August 18 Mrs JoanLake, landlady of the Ty-newydd Inn,Barry, organised and joined one of hersponsored walks, from Cardiff back toBarry Island, all proceeds to BarryDock lifeboat. Collections in bucketsand sponsorships raised over £500. MrsLake has averaged almost £500 for thepast three years.

Last summer Molesey branchorganised an evening garden partywhich took its mood from the IvorNovello era wi th his music and songsperformed on the lawn in front ofenchanted guests, who feasted onchampagne and strawberries. There

A working, scale model of a typical northwest Durham coal mine has been made byMr J. C. Robinson ofMedomsley. The mod-el, which is in Mr Robinson's garden, took15 years to build and every unit works. Withthe help of seven assistants, Mr Robinsonholds an open day each year in aid of theRNLI, this year the total collected being£133.20.

Mrs Instance, one of the Falmouth ladies'guild's most ardent collectors, and motherof one of the committee members, wasphotographed with lone atlantic yachtsman,Gerry Speiss, shortly after his triumphantarrival at Falmouth. Falmouth flag day thisyear raised£2,385, and a new souvenir shophas taken £2,100.

243

A sponsored row from Bristol to Appledore which wasattempted by crew members from Appledore, unfortunatelyhad to be abandoned after about 20 miles due to strong windsand aggravation to an old hand injury of one of the rowers.

, . Despite the setback £1,727 has been raised and the CoxA summer afternoon strawberry tea at the home of Mrs Doreen Beste, honorary brothers, Des (second left) Ian, Peter and Jackie (to the right)treasurer of Coventry ladies' guild, raised £100.

R.N.L.I

FILEY LION

/"RAFFLE

A sponsored swim under-taken by pupils of WintonJunior School, Bournemouthin April raised £432.Anthony Oliver, DOS(South) demonstrates a linethrowing apparatus to someof the children at the school,while Mary Kosewarn andTom Glasson, whoorganised the swim, look on.

photograph by courtesyof 'Evening Echo',

Bournemouth

hope to try again in March or April next year.

was even a fashion show of perioddresses, and with the help of a raffleand a treasure hunt the evening raised£260. A further £269 was raised when,on the busiest weekend on the Thames,all those river travellers using MoleseyLock and waiting for the water level torise, were lured towards a souvenirstall. Those who did not buy somethingcould not avoid a collecting box, andevery boat load was able to continue onits watery way knowing it had sup-ported the lifeboats.

A colourful souvenir standwas erected and manned byWalton and District branch,at the Weyland Show, Nor-folk, in September and £181worth of sourvenirs wassold.

An 850cc Mini was the prizein a lottery run by FileyLions Club throughout thesummer on the Coble Land-ing, Filey. A cheque for£5,350, being 50 per cent ofthe total raised, was handedover to Commander P. E. C.Pickles, (centre) a deputy-chairman of the Institution,by Mr B. Wood (I.) chairmanof Filey Lions, on September22. Mrs B. Wright and Mr R.Wilson, (r.) chairman ofFiley branch, look on.

photograph by courtesy ofD. Waller

In its first year, Walton and Frintonladies' guild raised and presented to thebranch £1,500. The ladies also pre-sented to the crew a new standardwhich was dedicated on Lifeboat Sun-day by the Reverend K. Williams,padre to the branch.

A midsummer supper held at Lul-worth Castle organised by Warehamand District branch raised over £700.With a coffee morning run by MrsDuncombe Anderson, which raised£50; a showing of lifeboat filmsorganised by Mrs Farrant, wife of theformer chairman of the Institution,which raised £97.67; the sale ofsouvenirs, largely organised byBrigadier Sir Frederick Coates, whichshowed a profit of £323; subscriptions,donations and collecting boxes, thebranch was able to send a cheque for£2,259.21 to head office.

When the yacht Alcyone went on atwo week cruise, a collecting box, hungunderneath the mainhorse, acted as aswear box at 2p per swear. Indemnityto the next port of call cost 50p and thetotal amount collected for the RNLI,including the winnings of some hilari-ous games of dominoes, was £5.17.

When customers of the Marquis ofLome public house, Lowestoft, lostpounds, they made pounds for the locallifeboat. The 18 people concerned weretaking part in a sponsored slim andbetween them raised £450.

244

Martell continues to help the RNLI by not only supplying freebrandy for the survival kit on board every lifeboat, but also bydonating US gallon bottles of brandy for branches to raffle.During the past few months such bottles have been raffled atthe Isle of Sheppey raising £300 for the Sheerness lifeboat; atHastings raising £250 for the station and in Cornwall raising£850 for Pads tow lifeboat station. Geof Collins, MatthewClark and Sons'iMartell's UK agents) area manager (I.) withthe son of the winner, Mrs Danford of Woodlands Hotel,Treator, Padstow, president of the Licensed Victuallers'Association Padstow branch, Mr Prideaux-Brune, Mrs CliveLean of London Inn, Padstow, who drew the winning ticket,Mr H. Lobb, chairman of Padstow branch and Surgeon-Captain F. W. Baskerville, RN (Ret' d) a vice-president of theInstitution.

Burton-on-Trent branch's annual bonfire and firework party in September was aroaring success. For the grand draw there were 30 prizes, the main ones being75, 50 and 25 gallons of petrol. By buying a ticket you also gained admission tothe party. Twenty-two side shows were also run and the whole event raisedabout £1,000. photograph by courtesy of ' Burton Daily Mail'

In about one-and-a-half hours Little-hampton branch's annual coffee morn-ing, organised by its honorary secre-tary, Susan Cheney, raised £1,105.90.Her Grace Lavinia, Duchess of Nor-folk, Lord Lieutenant of the countyand patron of the branch, came to drawthe winning raffle tickets and cake,plant, antique and bric-a-brac stalls allhelped to bring in the money which was£350 up on last year.

A sponsored walk organised byHolsworthy and District branch onApril 1 raised £861.05.

With the closure of Durrants, thefamily butchers, Petworth branch islosing valuable support for when cus-tomers asked for dog bones they wereasked to subscribe to the RNLI collect-ing box instead of paying. The scheme,under the guidance of ex-CPO BillMatthews, has raised nearly £100 sinceJuly, 1977.

Two eight-pint collecting bottlesfrom Bell's Whisky, which were filledby customers of the First In-Last Outpub in Bath, were broken open by SirAlec Rose on June 22 and were foundto hold over £400. Peter Shaw fromBell's and Ian Walker, of the FirstIn-Last Out helped Sir Alec crack openthe bottles. The money was collectedfor Falmouth lifeboat.

At last August's three-day NewForest Ideal Home Exhibition a standwas manned by Hythe and Districtbranch members. A competition toguess the number of people travellingbetween Southampton and Cowes onthe hydrofoil during August was wonby Mr Parker from Totton whose prizewas a day for two in the Isle of Wight.Together with the sale of souvenirs,over £100 was raised.

Pocklington ladies' guild,which has already cele-brated its 50th anniversary,held an antique valuationevening last autumn, raising£350. (1. to r.) Mrs Derby-shire, honorary treasurer,Mrs Price, honorary secre-tary, Charles Hook of Halt-by, valuer, and Mrs Wil-liams, president.

photograph by courtesy ofAndrew Dane

Boys and girls of NewmarketSwimming Club, aged fromsix years upwards, took partin a sponsored swim duringMay in aid of the RNLI. As aresult Derek Blyth, swim-ming club instructor, handedover a cheque for £600 toMrs Elizabeth Cundell,president of Newmarketbranch.

photograph by courtesy of'Newmarket Journal'

Yatton branch, Avon, topped the£1,000 mark for 1979. Flag weekaccounted for £580 and the year's suc-cessful efforts were brought to an endwith a delightful cheese and wine partyheld at the home of the president, PeterBaldwin, which produced a further£250.

A marathon chip eating contestraised £297.46 for Broadstairs branch.Of the 38 sponsored contestants, thewinner devoured seventeen 4oz por-tions of chips in 15 minutes. The chipswere kindly supplied by local fish barowner, Ed Doody, who also organisedthe event.

In one year customers of SeagraveArms, a public house at Weston Sub-edge, raised more than £1,200 to pro-vide a small inflatable dinghy for anArun class lifeboat together with vari-ous items of equipment. Their effortsincluded a trolley race down a verysteep hill outside the village, a Maydance and a pig roast. The cheque waspresented by the licensee, Mrs EileenWixon, to Cdr Peter Sturdee,DOS(SW), last August.

Plymouth lifeboat took part in har-bour displays during Plymouth NavyDays, from August 25 to 27, and, by

245

kind permission of the Royal Navy,Plymouth branch and guild members,lifeboat crew, Sea Cadets and membersof the Girls' Nautical Training Corpsmade collections around the dockyard,raising £1,121 for the lifeboat service.

During the summer months a photo-graphic display, paid for by the crew, isput up in St Ives boathouse and anup-and-over platform is erected so thatholidaymakers can look at the lifeboat.This year £2,750.61 was collected. InAugust, as many as 1,000 visitors a dayhave been to the boathouse.

Leeds branch raised £230 on a per-fect summer afternoon on July 29 whenMrs S. P. Spencer opened her beautifulgardens at York Gate, Adel, to nearly600 enthusiasts and supporters. MrsSpencer and her son, Robin, createdthis haven in North Leeds with 30years sustained effort. The gardenswere recently featured in a BBC TVseries with Geoff Smith and are openonce a year for the National GardensDay in June. Committee members andtheir families ran refreshment andsouvenir stalls which contributed to theproceeds.

Hornchurch branch ran a raffle dur-ing the two-day borough show onAugust 26 and 27. The gross amounttaken on the stall and in the raffle was£148.87. The winner of the lottery,drawn by carnival queen CarolynBrown, was a young girl, Alison Blogg,who later wrote a letter of thanks whichread:

'Dear Lifeboatmen,I would like to thank you for the time

you give in saving thousands of livesevery year. We enjoyed the fete at Har-row Lodge and thank you for my prize.'

Thirteen-year-old Andrew Simpsonof Yeovil, organised a mini fete at hishome on August 25. Helped by fourfriends Karen Baker, Maureen Smith,Jane and Claire Parsons, they sold ice-cream, clothing, books, cakes, ran atombola and other competitions. At theend of a wet, but highly successful day,£67 had been raised.

Glorious weather and magnificentsurroundings helped Bournemouthladies' guild raise £200 on July 14,when the Marchioness of Salisbury,president of the guild, kindly allowedan open day to take place in the gar-

dens of Cranborne Manor. Guild mem-bers ran raffles and cake, souvenir andbring and buy stalls, which all helped tomake the day a success.

It took Ronnie Graham from Hud-dersfield only six days to cycle fromLand's End to John O'Groats. Not putoff by continuous rain and lack ofsleep, Mr Graham, who is 58, raisednearly £3,500 towards the cost of anILB.

Members of the small Buckfastleighbranch sat down one afternoon in Sep-tember and had a mammoth 'stick in' ofCo-op stamps. The local Co-op storehas a charity box in which customersare invited to put their dividendstamps. The charity selected is invitedto stick the stamps in books which thestore then buys, usually adding £5 inevery £50 of stamps. Mr A. Mason,branch honorary secretary, and asturdy band of workers stuck 180,000stamps into 159 books which were thenturned into £79 by the Co-op. When thecheque was handed over at a specialcoffee morning, a further £65 wasraised by a raffle, bring and buy andsouvenir stall.

Letters...Understatement of great magnitude

We are grateful to L. J. Robertsonwho, in his letter in the autumn journal,puts so succinctly our own feelingstowards the manner of the rescuereports: '. . . understatement of greatmagnitude . . . unvarnished descrip-tions of hair-raising feats . . .'

What is never mentioned is themind-numbing noise of gale forcewinds and seas on rocky coasts. Wemarvel the men can think clearly atall.—MARY K. CASHMORE, 19 Charing-worth Road, Solihull, West Midlands.

Helicopter rescuesI have recently received and read

with high interest your spring issue ofTHE LIFEBOAT, including the commentson helicopters and lifeboats in PatrickHowarth's 'Notes of the Quarter'.

In 1978 the US Coast Guardresponded to nearly 78,000 calls forassistance ranging from the routine tolife threatening incidents. Our rescuestations responded to 69 per cent of thecases with lifeboats while air stationsaccounted for nine per cent. Despitethese disproportionate figures we havefound that the helicopter has indeedadded a very valuable asset to therescue business. Our experience showsthat it performs well as an entity but

even more so as a team in concert withthe lifeboat. Our planning includesacquisitions of both lifeboats andhelicopters. Patrick Howarth correctlyconcludes that the lifeboat is hardlyobsolete. I appreciate his kind wordsdescribing the US Coast Guard as'highly efficient'. However, do notshort yourselves. The RNLI has anenviable record of performance andequipment, and deserves the respect oflifesaving organisations worldwide.—EARLE L. SULLIVAN, Captain, USCoast Guard, Acting Chief, Search andRescue Division, US Coast Guard,Washington DC, USA.

From a letter written by Captain Sullivanto John Atterton, at that time actingdirector of the RNLI.—EDITOR.

Women's Work . . .I have read with great interest Ray

Kipling's article in the last issue of THELIFEBOAT on the part played by womenin the history of the RNLI and notedhis reference to a reserve crew ofwomen at Coverack during the firstworld war. As you know, I am deeplyinterested in all aspects of lifeboat his-tory and know of at least three occa-sions when women have gone out onservice in offshore lifeboats.

The first occasion was at Newcastle,Co. Down. Before she named Newcas-tle's new lifeboat, Farnley, in 1882, theCountess Annesley recalled the timewhen the station's lifeboat had beenlaunched with a scratch crew to go tothe help of a fishing boat; in thatscratch crew she herself had taken thehelm.

The second occasion was whenPenmon lifeboat was launched on ser-

vice on September 26, 1911, with MrsBurton, wife of the local honorary sec-retary, taking the tiller and acting onthe instructions of Coxswain Pritchard.

The third occasion was at Lowestoftwhen the lifeboat was launched on ser-vice on August 28, 1946, with a womanvolunteer making up the crew. Thelifeboat went to the help of a yacht withseven people on board; the yacht,which was being swept by heavy seas,was escorted into harbour.—JEFFMORRIS, 14 Medina Road, Foleshill,Coventry.

Would it not be nice if all lady crewmembers were collectively known as'RNLI's Grace Darlings'?—GERALDBYSH, 7 Apple Tree Lane, TunbridgeWells, Kent.

Part of the RNLII would like you to know how much 1

appreciated the welcome given to meby the coxswain of Selsey lifeboat,Michael Grant.

By chance I happened to be in Selseywhen a practice launch was takingplace. 1 mentioned to someone that Iwas a Shoreline member. Shortlyafterwards this splendid silver-medalled coxswain came up, shook meby the hand and asked if my husbandand I would like to come to the boat-house at the end of the slipway towatch the launch. I was thrilled. Therewas such a friendly feeling among themall and it was wonderful how they madeyou feel part of the RNLI. Thankyou.—JEAN SNOWDON, Mrs, GentianCottage, Old Mill Place, Pulborough,Sussex.

246

Lifeboat Servicesfrom page 230

the trawler. He was landed at WalneyAirfield at 0102 and transferred toNorth Lonsdale Hospital.

The honorary medical adviser andtwo lifeboat crew members remainedaboard the trawler because of the seaconditions and both boats returned toBarrow; then the three men were trans-ferred back to the lifeboat off the sta-tion and the trawler went on to hermooring. The lifeboat was once againready for service at 0240.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Rear Admiral W. J.Graham, director of the Institution,was sent to Mr J. H. Kilshaw, honorarymedical adviser of Barrow lifeboatstation.

South Eastern Division

Thick fogTHE HONORARY SECRETARY of Dover

lifeboat station received a call from HMCoastguard at 1649 on Saturday May12, 1979, telling him that a motor boathad been reported aground but that thesighting was being checked. Just overan hour later, at 1759, came confirma-tion that a motor cruiser was agroundon rocks in the vicinity of Copt Point,Folkestone, and it was requested thatthe lifeboat should launch.

Although there was little wind or seathick fog had reduced visibility to nil. Itwas one hour before high water.Folkestone Coastguard mobile hadgone to investigate, but could seenothing from the land.

Faithful Forester, the 44ft Waveneylifeboat at that time on station atDover, launched immediately with Cox-swain/Assistant Mechanic AnthonyHawkins in command. Search wasjoined with Folkestone pilot launch andFolkestone Yacht and Motor Boat Clubsafety boat, but in the dense fog thestranded boat could not be found. Thelifeboat, searching round the rockswith her radar, put her dinghy ashorewith three crew members who checkedon shouts heard, but it was found thatthe shouts came from bait diggers. Thedinghy party remained ashore, how-

Regattas for model lifeboats

Sunday, April 27: Kingfisher ModelPowerboat Club Regatta, Farn-borough, Hampshire. Information fromKeith Bragg, telephone number Fleet28504.Sunday, June 15: Crosby and DistrictModel Club's National Model LifeboatRally and Regatta, Coronation Park,Crosby, Liverpool. Information fromDes Newton, 29 Westminster Avenue,Bootle 10, Merseyside L30 5QY.

ever, and with Folkestone mobile andthe Coast Rescue Company, formedthree separate search parties. It wasnot until about 2000 that the casualty,Al Rosanjo, was eventually sighted byan auxiliary coastguard.

The lifeboat, having recovered herdinghy, closed the casualty and lightlines were passed to her. The boat washigh and dry and Coxswain Hawkinsordered an inspection of her hull to seeif she could be taken in tow; her threecrew could not reach safe ground and itwas considered too hazardous toembark them on the lifeboat.

The tide was rising; when there wasenough water, at about 2145, thelifeboat passed a tow line to the motorcruiser and two lifeboatmen were putaboard her. She floated off at about2200, was found to be sound and wastaken into Folkestone Harbour. Hercrew were put ashore at 2230 and by2335 Dover lifeboat was once againback on her moorings and ready forservice.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Cdr Bruce Cairns, chiefof operations, was sent to Coxswain/Assistant Mechanic Anthony G. Haw-kins and his crew.

Scotland South Division

OverdueLATE ON THE EVENING of ThursdayJune 14, 1979, Fife Police informedForth Coastguard that a flashing lightwas being investigated in Largo Bayand that a 9ft dinghy with three anglerson board had been reported overdue.Police and Elie Coastguard mobilestarted a search ashore and at 0019 onJune 15 the help of Kinghorn D classILB was requested. Vessels in the areawere asked to keep a sharp lookout forthe missing dinghy.

It was a bright moonlight night, sothat visibility was fair. A moderatebreeze, force 4, was blowing from thenorth east, the sea was choppy and thetide was low water springs.

Manned by Helmsman F. Bostonand Crew Member G. Tulloch, King-horn ILB launched at 0040 and hadreached Largo Bay 20 minutes later.By 0234 a helicopter from RAFLeuchars was airborne and the tide hadrisen enough for Anstruther lifeboat,the 37ft Oakley The Doctors, to launch.

An initial research area was estab-lished between the lines Methil to Fidraand Bass Rock to Elie Ness and a co-ordinated search was begun byAnstruther lifeboat, HMS Stubbington,the lighthouse tender Pharos and thehelicopter, while Kinghorn ILB con-tinued her search of Largo Bay and theadjacent coastline. North BerwickCoastguard lookout was manned andDunbar mobile searched the coast fromDunbar to Fidra.

At 0458 HMS Stubbington reportedthe recovery of two bodies a few miles

to the north west of Bass Rock. Athorough search was made of the areaand at 0720 North Berwick D class ILBwas launched to search CraigleithIsland, Bass Rock and the North Ber-wick foreshore. No sign was found ofthe missing third man, however, and at0753 the search was abandoned.Lifeboat and ILBs returned to their sta-tions, Kinghorn ILB being once morerehoused and ready for service at 0820,North Berwick ILB at 0850 and TheDoctors at 0920.

For this service a letter signed byRear Admiral W. J. Graham, directorof the Institution, was sent to Dr R. M.L. Weir, honorary secretary of King-horn ILB station, conveying theappreciation of the Institution toHelmsman F. Boston and CrewMember G. Tulloch, who were at sea,engaged in the search for survivors, formore than seven hours.

Services by OffshoreLifeboats, June, Julyand August, 1979Aldeburgh, SuffolkAugust 9Amble, NorthumberlandJuly 4Angle, DyfedJune 2, 24, July 3, 8 and August 15 (twice)Anstruther, FifeJune 15 and August 28Appledore, North DevonJune 10 and July 31Arklow, WicklowJuly 12, 18, 21 and August 16Arranmore, Co. DonegalJune 4, 29, July 4 and August 6Ballycotton, Co. CorkJune 28, July 5, 28 and August 14 (twice)Baltimore, Co. CorkJune 23, 28, August 5, 6, 13, 14 and 16Barmouth, GwyneddJune 2 and August 3Barra Island, Inverness-shireJuly 7Barrow, CumbriaJuly 8, 16 and 26Barry Dock, South GlamorganJune 1, 10, July 1, August 20 and 30Bembridge, Isle of WightJune 14Bridlington, HumbersideAugust 14Buckie, BanffshireJune 15 and July 4Calshot, HampshireJuly 22Campbeltown, ArgyllshireJuly 6Clacton-on-Sea, EssexAugust 16Clogher Head, Co. LouthJune 11 and July 7Clovelly, North DevonJune 10, July 7, 12, August 9, 14, 15 and 25Courtmacsherry Harbour, Co. CorkJuly 7, 8, 15 and August 14 (three times)Cromer, NorfolkJune 6 (twice) and 20Donaghadee, Co. DownJuly 16, 22, August 19 and 31Douglas, Isle of ManJuly 29Dover, Kent

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June 10, 13, July 1, August 5, 8, 9, 14, 15and 23Dungeness, KentJuly 14, 28, 29 and 30Dun Laoghaire, Co. DublinJune 9, 15, 29, August 1 and 22Dunmore East, Co. WaterfordJune 7, July 8, August 14 (three times), 15and 23Eastbourne, East SussexJuly 20, August 9, 13 and 19Exmouth, South DevonJune 28, July 29 and August 13Falmouth, CornwallJuly 15, 30 (twice), August 13, 14 (threetimes) and 16Filey, North YorkshireJuly 15Flamborough, HumbersideJune 15, July 30 and August 27Fleetwood, LancashireJune 6, 10, 15, August 3 (twice), 4, 9 and 13Fowey, CornwallJune 24, July 16, August 5, 12, 14, 15, 20and 23Fraserburgh, AberdeenshireJune 3 and 30Galway Bay, Co. GalwayJune 8, July 8, 13, 16 and 30Girvan, AyrshireAugust 10Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, NorfolkJune 16, 19, 24, August 16, 26 and 27Hartlepool, ClevelandJune 3, 12, July 18, August 4 and 19Harwich, EssexJuly 21, August 9 and 13Hastings, East SussexJune 17, July 19 and August 10Hoi)head, GwyneddJune 25, 30, July 28 and August 27Hoylake, MerseysideAugust 12Howth, Co. DublinJune 24, 30, July 7, 21, 30, August 11 and26Humber, HumbersideJune 2, 5, 13, 17, 25, July 6, 24, August 14,25, 28 (twice) and 29 (twice)Islay, ArgyllshireAugust 1 and 27Kilmore, Co. WexfordAugust 21Kirkwall, OrkneyJune 28, 21, August 17 and 19Lerwkk, ShetlandJuly 28(twice), 31, August Band 19The Lizard—Cadgwith, CornwallJune 2, 26, July 30, August 5, 12, 13, 15 and19Llandudno, GwyneddJuly 8Longhope, OrkneyJuly 18Lytham—St Anne's, LancashireJuly 2Margate, KentJune 3, 24, July 12 and 13Moelfre, GwyneddJune 7, July 8, 28, 30 and August 18Montrose, AngusJune 30Newcastle, Co. DownAugust 19Newhaven, East SussexJune 2, 10, 14, 20, 21, 24 (twice), 25, July 7,8, 25, 31, August 5, 9, 19, 29 and 30Oban, ArgyllshireJune 9 and August 2Padstow, CornwallJuly 1, 25, August 10, 14 (four times) and 15Penlee, CornwallJune 2, 10, July 7, August 2, 16 (twice) and27

Plymouth, South DevonAugust 3, 9, 14, 28 and 29Poole, DorsetJuly 25, 29, August 10, 24, 25 and 27Port Erin, Isle of ManAugust 6, 25 and 30Porthdinllaen, GwyneddJune 22, July 4, 31 and August 7Portpatrick, WigtownshireAugust 3 and 31Portrush, Co. AntrimJune 13Port St Mary, Isle of ManJuly 16 (twice) and July 1Ramsey, Isle of ManJune 28 and July 29Ramsgate, KentJune 2, 3 (three times), 4, 20 (twice), July23, 26, 28, 30 and August 26Redcar, ClevelandJune 3, July 22 and August 7Rhyl, ClwydAugust 19Rosslare, Harbour, Co. WexfordJune 10 and August 2St Helier, JerseyJune 14, 24, July 7, 8, August 16 and 25St Ives, CornwallJune 9, 12, 30, July 6, 25 and August 14(twice)St Mary's, Scilly IslandsJune 21, August 8, 11, 14 (four times) and25St Peter Port, GuernseyJuly 13, August 15, 23, 24 and 26Salcombe, South DevonJune 13, 24, 30, July 1, 14, 29 and August31Scarborough, North YorkshireAugust 4, 14 and 27Selsey, SussexJune 20, 21 (twice), July 29, August 9, 14and 17Sennen Cove, CornwallAugust 4, 14, 16 and 26Sheerness, KentJune 10 (twice)Sheringham, NorfolkAugust 26Skegness, LincolnshireJuly 10 and August 14 (twice)Stromness, OrkneyJune 28Sunderland, Tyne and WearJune 17, July 1 (twice) and 18Swanage, DorsetJune 3, 16, 19, July 9, 13, 18, August 9(three times), 11 (twice), 17, 22, 26 (twice)and 27Tenby, DyfedAugust 22 (twice), 28, and 29Thurso, CaithnessAugust 2Torbay, South DevonJune 2, 10, July 22, August 9 and 14Troon, AyrshireJune 9, 10, 18(twice), July 3, HandAugust 11Walmer, KentJune 5, 20, 25, July 20, 21, August 9, 10 and14Walton and Frinton, EssexJune 9, 22, August 2, 9 and 29Weymouth, DorsetJune 10 (twice), July 29, August 9, 10, 12and 24Wick, CaithnessJune 8, July 29 and August 13Wicklow, Co. WicklowJune 9, 10, July 8 (twice), 22, August 1, 18,19 and 20Workington, CumbriaJuly 27 and August 20Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

June 4, 24 (three times), July 7, 8, 26, 27,31, August 6, 8(twice), 9, 12, Hand 24Youghal, Co. CorkJuly 27 and August 15

Services by InshoreLifeboats, June, Julyand August, 1979Aberdovey, GwyneddJune 2 (twice), 15, July 12, 22 (twice), 26,28, 29, August 15, 26 and 30Abersoch, GwyneddJune 22, 27, July 21, 30, August 2 (twice),7, 9, 16, 23 and 26Aberystwyth, DyfedJuly 6, 29, August 19 and 29Aldeburgh, SuffolkJune 22Amble, NorthumberlandJuly 4, August 8 and 13Appledore, North DevonJune 10, 26, 29, July 9 (twice), 23, 27, 31(twice), August 1, 6 and 16Arbroath, AngusJune 8, 29 and August 22Arran (Lamlash), ButeshireJune 24, July 7, 15, 17, August 4, 8, 17 and27Atlantic College, South GlamorganJuly 12 and August 15Bangor, Co. DownJuly 15 and August 9Barmouth, GwyneddJune 2 (twice), July 8, 16, 28, 31, August 1,5 and 29Beaumaris, GwyneddJune 2, 3, 18, 23, July 8, 26, 30, 31, August6 and 10Bembridge, Isle of WightJune 7Berwick-upon-Tweed, NorthumberlandJuly 3, August 12 and 20Blackpool, LancashireJune 3, 19 (twice), July 2 (twice), 23, 29, 31,August 11 (twice), 12, 18 and 19Blyth, NorthumberlandJuly 17 and 19Borth, DyfedJune 9, 17, July 21, 22, 27 (twice), 28(twice), 29, August 5 and 27Bridlington, HumbersideJune 10 (twice), July 17, 18, 23, 29, August8 and 12 (twice)Brighton, East SussexJune 13, 30 and July 30Broughty Ferry, AngusJuly 1 and 23Bude, CornwallJuly 3, 12 (twice), 24 and August 4Burnham-on-Crouch, EssexJuly 19 and 24Burry Port, DyfedJune 11, 13, July 2, Sand 22Cardigan, DyfedJune 3, August 1, 6 (twice), 13 and 21Clacton-on-Sea, EssexJune 10 (twice), 30, July 17, 27, 31 andAugust 26Conwy, GwyneddJuly 28 and August 5Craster, NorthumberlandJune 17Criccieth, GwyneddJuly 31 and August 21Crimdon Dene, Co. DurhamJune 12, August 5 and 13Cromer, NorfolkJune 11, 22, July 6, 16, 22, August 5(twice), 6, 20 and 28

249

Cullercoats, Tyne and WearJu ly 2, August 7 and 15Dunbar, East LothianAugust 6Eastbourne, East SussexJune 7 (twice), 25, July 18 (twice), 20, 28,August I, 5, 19, 26 (twice) and 28Exmouth, South DevonJune 1, 10, July 1, 16, 23, August 18 and 20Filey, North YorkshireJune 15 (twice), 23, 24, July 22, August 6and 28Fleet wood, LancashireJune 15, 24, August 1 and 3 (twice)Flint, ClwydJune 11Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, NorfolkJune 1 ,11 , 20, 24, 28, July 8, 16, 17, 20, 30,August 4, 13, 14, 20, 27 and 29Happisburgh, NorfolkJuly 14Hartlepool, ClevelandJune 25 (twice), 30. July 1, 2, August 4 and5Harwich, EssexJune 18, 24, and August 12Hastings, East SussexJune 8, 16, 22, July 7, 11, 13 (twice), 28,August 10 and 31Hay ling Island, HampshireJune 9, 10, 24 (twice), July 12, 21 (twice),31 (twice), August 5 and 11 (twice)Helensburgh, DunbartonshireJune 2 (twice), 21, 29, July 12, 18 (twice),August 5, 7, 14, 21 and 26Holyhead, GwyneddJune 3, 24, July 29 and 30Horton and Port Eynon, West GlamorganJune 27, July 14, 19, 21, August 7, 12, 23and 26Howth, Co. DublinJune 20, 24, July 7, 10, 30, August 13, 19and 27Humber Mouth, (Cleethorpes), HumbersideJuly 11 (twice) and 24Hunstanton, NorfolkJuly 8, 15, 22, 28, August 7, 14, 22 and 27Kinghorn, FifeJune 15, July 1.2 and 12Kippford, KirkcudbrightshireJune 2, August 10, 12 and 27Largs, AyrshireJune 2 (twice), 3 (twice), 24, July 1, 15(twice), 18, 29, August 3, 8, 12, 13, 16 and20Little and Broad Haven, DyfedJuly 23, 27, August 2, 6 (twice), 11 (threetimes), 12 and 19Littlehampton, West SussexJune 3, 10 (twice), 21, 24, July 8, 23,August 5, 6 (twice), 8 (three times), 12, 16,26 and 30Littlestone-on-Sea, KentJune 24, July 1, 29, 30, 31, August 2, 6 and27Llandudno, GwyneddJune 27, July 4, 11, 15, 16, 28, August 1, 1522 and 28Lyme Regis, DorsetJune 15, 29, 30, July 4, 5, 21, 29, August 5(twice), 10, 11, 13, 15, 18and 22

Lytham—St Anne's, LancashireJune 30, 31 and August 10Mablethorpe, LincolnshireJune 24, July 2, 24, 25, 26, August 1(twice), 6, 12 (twice), 16 and 21 (twice)Margate, KentJune 6, 8, 24 (three times), July 7, 12, 21,28, 30, August 7 and 16Minehead, SomersetAugust 12, 20 (twice) and August 5 (twice)Moelfre, GwyneddJune 18, 22, July 8, 9, 25, 28 (twice), 31,August 1, 5 (three times), 12 (three times)and 15Morecambe, LancashireJune 30, July 15, 22, 23, August 9 and 11The Mumbles, West GlamorganJune 2, July 6 and August 11New Brighton, MerseysideJune 22, 25, July 17, 28, August 7, 12 and14New Quay, DyfedJuly 24, 26, 28, 31, August 17 and 29Newquay, CornwallJune 9, 13, 26, 30, July 25, August 6 and 8North Berwick, East LothianJune Hand 15 (twice)North Sunderland, NorthumberlandJuly 22Oban, ArgyllshireJune 9, July 30 and August 2Peel, Isle of ManJuly 7, 28, August 13 and 26Plymouth, South DevonJune 11, 22, July 2, 22, August 12, 18, 22,28 and 29Poole, DorsetJune 3, 21, July 25, August 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10,14 (twice), 25, 27 and 29Port Isaac, CornwallJune 10, July 8, 9 (twice), 13, 14, 30,August 12, 15 (three times), 21, 23 and 26Portsmouth, (Langstone Harbour),HampshireJune 23 (three times), 24 (twice), July 4, 7,8, 28, 29, August 6, 8 (twice) and 16Port St Mary, Isle of ManJuly 30 and August 26Port Talbot, West GlamorganAugust 22Pwllheli, GwyneddJune 8, July 4 and 15Queensferry, West LothianJune 1, August 16 and 27Ramsgate, KentJune 5, July 14, 25 and 27Red Bay, Co. AntrimJune 21 and August 6Redcar, ClevelandJune 3, 12, 14, July 8, 22 and August 9Rhyl, ClywdJune 10 (twice), 17, 19, 23, August 5(twice), 12, 19, 20, 25 and 26Rye Harbour, East SussexJune 1, July 1 ,13 and August 23St Abbs, BerwickshireAugust 8St Bees, CumbriaJuly 6 and August 20St Ives, CornwallJune 16, 17, 27, 30, July 3, 9, 10, 18, 29

(twice), August 1, 17 (twice) and 25Scarborough, North YorkshireJune 14, 20, July 21, 26, 27, August 5, 22.23 and 24Selsey, West SussexJuly 5, 18 and 21Sheerness, KentJune 10 (twice) and 25Shoreham Harbour, West SussexJune 10, July 7 (twice), 10, 17, 28, 30,August 5, Sand 18Silloth, CumbriaJuly 14, 22, August Sand 26Skegness, LincolnshireJune 1, 30, July 7, 17, 28, 31 (twice),August 2, 4, 21 and 24Southend-on-Sea, EssexJune 2, 15, 17, 19, 24 (three times), 27, July7 (twice), 8 (three times), 15 (twice), 21, 22,27, 29(twice), 31, August 2, 9, 12, 29and30Southwold, SuffolkJuly 15, 26, 29, August 9 and 26Staithes and Runswick, North YorkshireJune 23, July 1 and August 9Stonehaven, KincardineshireAugust 12 and 26Stranraer, WigtownshireAugust 9, 17 and 25Sunderland, Tyne and WearJune 3 and July 1Tenby, DyfedJune 7, 23, July 1, 6, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21,25 (twice), 31 (three times), August 1, 5(twice), 8, 9, 14, 15 (twice), 17, 18, 19, 20,21, 22, 23, 27, 29 and 30Tighnabruiach, ArgyllshireJune 30 and August 6Torbay, South DevonJune 5, 15, July 10, 13 and August 8Tramore, Co. WaterfordJune 7 and July 18Trearddur Bay, GwyneddJune 2, July 1, 28, August 4, 5 (twice), 9and 28Tynemouth, Tyne and WearJuly 2 and 7Walmer, KentJune 18, 20, 24 (twice), July 7, 12, 21(twice), 22 and August 9Wells, NorfolkJuly 9, August 3, 4 and 6West Kirby, MerseysideJune 11 and 12West Mersea, EssexJune 24 (twice), July 12, 14 (four times), 21(three times), 27, August 11, 16, 17, 29 and31Weston-super-Mare, AvonJune 11 (twice), 24, July 7 (twice), 14,August 4 (twice), 7, 11 (twice), 12 (twice)and 20Whitby, North YorkshireJune 10 (twice), 26, July 4, 6, August 5 and21Whitstable, KentJune 3, 19, 21, 22 and 24 (twice), July 6, 8(twice), 13, 29, 31 (twice), August 7, 8, 25and 29Withernsea, HumbersideJuly 1, 2, 24 (twice) and 29

SERVICES AND LIVES RESCUED BY OFFSHORE AND INSHORE LIFEBOATSJanuary 1, 1979, to October 31, 1979: Services: 2,292; lives saved 943

THE STATION FLEET(as at 31/10/79)

132 offshore lifeboats 127 inshore lifeboats operating in the summer50 inshore lifeboats operating in the winter

LIVES RESCUED 105,197from the Institution's foundation in 1824 to October 31, 1979

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M. A. Bigland (Preparations) LtdInside Front Cover

Even Sailwear Lid 257Functional Clothing 247David Jolly (Tiller Master) 252Maritime Book Society 218Marlell Brandy Back CoverMercantile Credit Inside Back CoverNECO Marine Ltd 252Peeks of Bournemouth 241RNLl Kensington Branch 25/Temple Insurance 25/C. P. Witter Ltd 252

Classified AdvertisementsAll Classifieds are subject to pre-payment at25p per word, minimum ten words.

ACCOMMODATIONNORTH CORNWALL. Luxury self-catering cottages in peaceful Cornish coun-tryside, near moor and coast. Beautifullyfurnished, colour TV, etc. Reductions twopersons out of main season. Also well-appointed character farmhouse. Excellentfarmhouse fare, including full English break-fast and five-course evening dinner. From£48 per week. Brochure; Tel: 0208 850728,Mr and Mrs R. Curtis, Park Farm, Michaels-tow, St Tudy, N. Cornwall.

APPLEDORE, NORTH DEVON. Sea-man's cottage to let—adjacentestuary—superb view of AppledoreLifeboat. Sleeps four adults plus two chil-dren, crew discount. Send s.a.e. for fulldetails: Foley, 3 The Ridgeway, Potters Bar,Herts. Tel: Potters Bar 57644.

THE OLD HALL HOTEL, RUSWARP,WHITBY. Delightful Jacobean Hall border-ing the glorious North Yorkshire Moors andbeaches. Ideal for fishing, boating, walkingor relaxing. Residential proprietors ensurewarm hospitality and good food. Twentybedroom family hotel, radio and baby listen-ing system, lounge, television lounge,restaurant, bar. Brochure—Whitby (0947)2801.

ABERDOVEY/TYWYN. Self-cateringfour- and six-berth cedarwood chalets forhire situated in secluded, wooded and pri-vate valley, one mile from sea. All mod consincluding TV, fridge, bathroom. Ideal for arelaxing, peaceful holiday. Contact: Mikeand Norma Short, Happy Valley LeisureHomes, Tywyn, Gwynedd. Tel: 0654710175.

BRIXHAM, DEVON. Beside outer har-bour, comfortably furnished self-cateringholiday apartments each with lounge/diner,fridge, television and modern electricfacilities for two-six persons (children oversix years). Please send stamp for details.Resident proprietors, G. A. Smith, "Har-bour Lights", 69 Berry Head Road, Brix-ham, Telephone: (08045) 4816.

ILFRACOMBE: for comfort, cuisine, viewsand close to harbour, visit this Georgianhouse, set in 2lh acres of grounds. Childrenwelcome. Ample parking. Easy access allamenities. Also self-catering lodge availa-ble. Open all year from Easter 1980.Enquiries to Mrs C. Biggin, Laston HouseHotel, Hillsborough Road, Ilfracombe, N.Devon. Tel: 0271 62627.

PORT ISAAC, CORNWALL. A warm wel-come awaits you at Dunoon Guest House,overlooking Port Isaac Bay on the NorthCornwall footpath route. Bed and breakfast,evening meal optional. Cornwall TouristBoard approved accommodation. Propriet-ress Mrs K. Castle, 12 Tintagel Terrace,Port Isaac. Telephone: Port Isaac (020888)383.

FOR SALEDRASCOMBE LUGGER, with SeagullSilver Century Outboard, overall and cock-pit covers, trailer. GRP. £2,250. Call 01-7366026.

MISCELLANEOUSFISHERMAN'S SMOCKS, navy drill. Allsizes £5.95 delivered. Rockall Wear, 138Narrow Lane, Halesowen B62 9NX.

LIFEBOATS, SAILING BARGES ANDYACHTS IN MINIATURE

Retirements, Presentations and Trophies.Full detailed replicas of individual boats,with crews, mounted on realistic sea basesin perspex showcase. Each a tiny gem pro-viding a truly 'live' unique miniature.Details: Brian H. Williams, Marine ModelArtist, 'West Rock', The Cleve, Kingsand,Nr Torpoint, Cornwall PL 10 INF (0752)822638.

MEDITERRANEAN VIA CANALSAdvice, information or delivery. Write Cap-tain Ward, 4 Graydon Avenue, Chichester.Tel: 0243 784700.

PAINTINGSYOUR LIFEBOAT IN OILS. On canvas36" x 28". s.a.e. Lee, 9 Esplanade,Weymouth, Dorset.

NEOOMARINETHE AUTO

PILOTPEOPLE

Automatic Pilotfor

Commercial Craft

Electronic CapstansElectronic Instruments

Anchor Windlasses

Dinghy HoistsNECO MARINE LIMITED

I Walton Road, Eastern Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, England ITel: Cosham (0705) 372231 Telex: 86149

THE ORIGINAL

T I L L E R M A S T E Rcelebrates 10 years of Ocean crossing

We stock LOCAT, the powerfulBritish personal Radio DistressBeacon that saved the life of

Atlantic rower, Ken Kerr.

Wind, water and solar batterychargers available.

DAVID JOLLYLong Range and Emergency Radio Consultant

3 Little Russel, Lytchett Minster, Poole, Dorset BH16 6JD.Tel: 0202 622142 TELEX: 41495.

TOWINGBRACKETS

Approved by car manufacturers and issued withfitting Instructions. Also shock absorbers stabiliserand couplings.

Please save a little for the peoplewho save a lot—give generously tothe R.N.L.I.

C. P. WITTER LTD. CHESTER Tel. 0244-41166

252

New!for shorelinememberssailing loans atreduced rates

Now, as a Shoreline member, you're in a privilegedposition when it comes to financing your sailing.

Shoreline Sailing Loans are now available atspecial preferential interest rates. One of them canprovide the cash you need to buy a boat, to refit, or evenfor major annual expenses like insurance. Then you canspread the cost over monthly instalments and so sail ona budget.

Help the R.N.L.I. as you help yourself.Shoreline Sailing Loans will provide a valuable

source of revenue for the R.N.L.I.,as well as saving youmoney. Each loan granted will provide a donation to theInstitution, without the deduction of promotion,administration or other costs.

Non-members can apply for loans and joinShoreline simultaneously, and have their first year'smembership paid for them. Mercantile Credit, who arearranging the loans, will make a £5 donation to Shorelinefor each advance made to non-members, entitling themto family membership for one year.

You can pick up a Shoreline Sailing Loan leafletat your local branch of Mercantile Credit [see yourtelephone directory for the address) or write toMercantile Credit, (Shoreline Loans), FREEPOST,

London WC2B 5DX. No stamp needed.

When you're saved from the drink.For those who'll need a pick-me-up, there's a bottle of 3 star cognac

on board every RNLI lifeboat. Courtesy of Martell.