Volume XLVII Number 474 Winter 1980/81 - NET

THE JOURNAL OF THE RNLI

Volume XLVII Number 474 Winter 1980/81 25p

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THELIFEBOAT

Winter 1980/81

Contents *»—«*-« »•Lifeboat Services 113

XLVII Lifeboat Services, June, July and August, 1980 118

474 Going alongside . . . and survivor recovery 119

January, 1881: three weeks of storms and blizzards just a hundred yearsago, by Ray Kipling, public relations officer 124

Chairman:THE DUKE OF ATHOLL

Two relief . . . one station . . . the naming of three lifeboats in September,

Director and Secretary: I98° 126

REAR ADMIRAL W. J. GRAHAM, CB M N I

Launching and Recovery—Part I: slipway stations, by Edward Wake-Walker, assistant public relations officer (London) 128

Shoreline 130

A Day at the Races: Ascot, September 26, 1980 131

£jjtor. Building the Fast Slipway Lifeboat—Part II: on the stocks 133

JOAN DAVIESSome Ways of Raising Money 134

Headquarters:Royal National Life-boat Institution, Letters 138West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH151HZ (Telephone Poole 71133). Books 139Telex: 41328

London Office: Index to Advertisers 144Royal National Life-boat Institution,202 Lambeth Road, London SE1 7JW(Telephone 01-928 4236).

COVER PICTUREWinter at Lowestoft: the 47ft Waveneylifeboat Frederick Edward Crick undersnow, January 1979. The photograph wastaken by Crew Member Michael Richford.

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 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 subcription 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 ofpostage to the country concerned.Write to RNLI, West Quay Road,Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ.

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

109

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NOTES OFTHE QUARTER

THE DUKE OF KENT, President of theInstitution, visited the RNLI headquar-ters and depot at Poole on Tuesdaymorning, October 7, attended by hisPrivate Secretary, Lt-Cdr RichardBuckley, and accompanied by HMLieutenant for Dorset, Col Sir JosephWeld, and the Chief Constable, Mr D.Owen. After the Royal Party had beenwelcomed by Vice-Admiral Sir PeterCompston, a deputy chairman of theInstitution, and by Rear Admiral W. J.Graham, the director, the Duke wasfirst taken on a tour of the depot, meet-ing and talking with staff employed inthe various workshops and storeswhich provide the back-up service tothe Institution's fleet of lifeboats.

Moving across the road to headquar-ters, the opening ceremony of which hehad performed in May, 1976, the Duke

called in at every department, takinggreat interest in the work of each.Then, before he and his party leftto fulfil other engagements in Poole,they were entertained to an informalbuffet lunch in the committee roomprepared by members of the staff andattended by representatives fromeach department.

At this gathering, which brought toan end what had been a happy andmuch enjoyed visit by the 'head of thefamily' , the Duke of Kent was pre-sented with a small brass scale modelof a propeller for the new Brede classlifeboat, still on evaluation trials, madeby Michael Randall, a fitter in thedepot.

Mountbatten lifeboat appealThe Mountbatten lifeboat appeal was

officially closed on September 30, hav-ing raised over £200,000. The appeal,details of which Earl Mountbatten hadagreed shortly before he was killed,was originally intended as a districtone, proposed by Romsey branch, withthe target of providing £100,000 to fundthe prototype RNLI Medina classlifeboat. However, the response was sogreat that two lifeboats of this class willbe bought and named Mountbatten ofBurma and Countess Mountbatten ofBurma. Contributions came in not onlyfrom all over the country but from allover the world. Numerous fund-raisingevents were arranged in support of theappeal and the stream of individualdonations quickly became a torrent.Many of these gifts, greatly appreci-ated, came from men who had servedwith Lord Mountbatten at sea or inBurma.

Touring RNLI depot andheadquarters at Poole onOctober 7, HRH The Duke ofKent, President of theInstitution, is shown the rig-ging loft (above left) by JoeSalmon and watches LenWlodek at work on a coirhow fender. He inspected apropeller measurement rig(above) with Norman Smith,foreman inspector, and (left)later called in on Shorelineoffice with Cdr Ted Pritch-ard, appeals secretary; inforeground, (I. to r.) EileenO'Pray, June Hearn andPeggy Smart.

The appeal chairman, Vice-AdmiralSir Peter Compston, wrote to thenational newspapers to thank every-body who had contributed and said:

'I feel sure this will be a fitting tributeto a great man. I know it is one which hisfamily warmly welcomes.'

Simon Hall is presented with his bronzemedal by Michael Vernon, a deputy chair-man of the Institution.

photograph by courtesy of Jeff Morris

Medal presented to teenage boyThe minimum age for joining a

lifeboat crew is 17, but of courselifeboatmen do not claim a monopolyon saving life at sea. So, when 16-year-old Simon Hall, of Robin Hood'sBay, Yorkshire, put out in an eight footdinghy in June, 1979 to rescue anotherteenager from a home-made raft, thecourage and seamanship he displayedwere recognised by the award of theRNLI's bronze medal. Simon could notattend the annual presentation ofawards last May as he was sitting an Olevel examination (which, incidentally,he passed). So, he and his parents wereinvited to Poole to witness the namingof the new relief 52ft Arun classlifeboat Edith Emilie.

Following the ceremony, MichaelVernon, a deputy chairman of theInstitution, presented Simon with hismedal. In the evening Simon was takento the Paul Daniels Show at the Pavi-lion Theatre, Bournemouth, and magi-cian Paul Daniels interrupted his showto read out the details of the rescue andhe asked Simon to stand to the warmapplause from the audience.

Old year, new yearAlthough the audited accounts for

1980 will not be available for sometime, early indications are that thegross target of £12 million will havebeen reached, and everyone who hashelped to make this fine result possibleis to be congratulated. However,expenditure for 1981, taking intoaccount necessary capital work on thefleet, is expected to be nearer £14 mil-lion. So, there is much hard workahead; but, while there can be no roomfor complacency, after such stalwartsupport in 1980 the Institution canenter the new year confident that thecontinued efforts of all who have thewellbeing of the lifeboat service atheart will carry it through into a suc-cessful 1981.

Second lifeboatA cheque for £300,000 was presented tothe Duke of Atholl, chairman of theInstitution, by Mrs Marie Winstone ather home in Sheffield on ThursdayOctober 30. Mrs Winstone had alreadygiven more than £300,000 to the RNLIto provide a new Arun and stationworks at Holy head, and the Arun wasnamed Hyman Winstone in memory ofher late husband by the Duke of Kentlast July. The latest £300,000 gift willprovide another Arun which will benamed after Mrs Winstone herself andwhich will be stationed at Fishguard.

Among those present at the cere-mony was Superintendent CoxswainBrian Bevan of Humber, the only manto have been presented with the gold,silver and bronze medals for gallantryat the same time. It was his appearanceon a television news programme at thetime these awards were made thatinspired Mrs Winstone to donate themoney to pay for the first lifeboat,Hyman Winstone. Also at the cere-mony were Coxswain William Jones ofHoly head, who has himself beenawarded the silver and two bronzemedals, the Bishop of Sheffield, theDeputy Lord Mayor of Sheffield, MrsHattersley, and representatives ofSheffield branch.

AGMThe 1981 annual general meeting ofgovernors and the annual presentationof awards will take place at the Royal

The Duke of Kent, President of the Institu-tion, visited Stornoway, Barra Island andMallaig on Thursday October 2, meetingcrew members and their families as well asstation branch officials and committeemembers of fund-raising branches andguilds. He was originally to have visitedthese stations in June but was preventedfrom doing so when weather conditionsgrounded his helicopter. The Duke was metat Stornoway by the Duke of Atholl, chair-man of the Institution, and is seen here, withCoxswain Malcolm Macdonald, embarkingin Stornoway's 48ft 6in Solent lifeboat HughWilliam Viscount Gough/or a sea trip. AtBarra Island, where the Duke went out onexercise in the station's 52ft Barnett lifeboatR. A. Colby Cubbin No. 3, Sir CharlesMcGrigor, Convenor of the ScottishLifeboat Council, was in attendance.photograph by courtesy of 'Stornoway

Gazette'

Mrs Marie Winstone in hergarden with the Duke ofAtholl after she had pre-sented to him a cheque for£300,000 to fund a 52ft Arunto be stationed at Fishguard.With them are (I.) Superin-tendent Coxswain BrianBevan of Humber and (r.)Coxswain William Jones ofHolyhead.

photograph by courtesy ofSheffield Newspapers Ltd

Festival Hall, London, on TuesdayMay 12, when the guest speaker at theafternoon meeting will be Lt-Cdr J. T.Fetherston-Dilke, RN (Retd), ChiefCoastguard.

St Paul's CathedralSeven Essex lifeboatmen attended theannual national service for seafarers atSt Paul's Cathedral on WednesdayOctober 22, at which the Prince ofWales, Honorary Commodore of HMCoastguard, was also present. Cox-swain Frank Bloom of Walton andFrinton was the RNLI's colour bearerat the service, accompanied by MotorMechanic James Berry and CrewMember Brian Oxley. Other membersof the party were Crew Members PeterBrand and Robert Ramplin from Har-wich and Crew Members Philip Sher-man and David Mantripp fromClacton-on-Sea.

Fastnet stormAmong awards for bravery for rescuesmade during the Fastnet Race ofAugust 1979, the Queen's Commenda-tion for Valuable Service in the Air wasawarded to eight Royal Navy helicop-ter crew members last spring: Lt CdrJohn Wingate, Lt Robert Simpson,Midshipman Stephen Lapthorn, Lt

Jeremy Gray son, Acting Petty OfficerAircrewmen Julian Grinney, Lt AlbertFox, Lt-Cdr Bernard Brock and Lead-ing Aircrewman Richard Burnett.

In October six crew members of theFrench yacht Lorelei, which had her-self been sailing in the Fastnet Race,were presented with 'Awards of Plate'by the British Department of Trade forthe rescue of the crew of seven of theBritish yacht Griffin.

In the violent Fastnet storm, thecrew of Griffin were forced to abandontheir yacht and take to a liferaft. It tookLorelei, attracted by flares, an hourand a half to reach the liferaft, againstwinds gusting at over 60 knots andenormous seas. For another 40 minutesthe five men and a woman on boardLorelei tried to get heaving lines onboard the liferaft while their own yachtwas constantly being laid over on herbeam ends. Twenty minutes later Grif-fin's crew were safely on Lorelei,although the yacht had to ride out thestorm for another nine hours before shecould set sail for Plymouth.

An inscribed barometer was given toeach of Lorelei's crew: AlainCatherinau, Thiery Rannou, GerardLaurent, Jacqueline Delorge, MarcLauras and Philippe Renault.

Men of the YearCoxswain Kenneth Voice of ShorehamHarbour, awarded the silver medal forthe service toAthina B in January 1980,was one of the guests at the 'Men of theYear' luncheon, held at the SavoyHotel, London, last November. After-wards, in a letter, he wrote:

'/ was given a most warm welcome .. .The citation for the Athina B service fol-lowed that of The Right HonourableLord Soames, boxer Alan Minter and SirAlec Guinness and I cannot deny that itwas a very proud moment for me ... Iam pleased to say that everyone that Ispoke to that day had the highest regardfor those connected in any way with theRNLI.'

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Eastern Division

Three rescuedTHE WARDEN of Burnham Overy YachtClub, Peter Beck, was told at 1100 onThursday April 17, 1980, that someonewas shouting for help in Overy StaitheHarbour. Mr Beck, who is also an aux-iliary coastguard, launched the club's12ft inflatable dinghy, which is pow-ered by a 20hp outboard engine, andtaking 16-year-old Robert Archer withhim as crew started down the channel.

It was a fine, clear morning but amoderate breeze, force 4, was blowingfrom the north and the spring tide hadbeen ebbing for two hours.

On his way down channel, PeterBeck saw two people on Overy Marshwho told him that a boat had over-turned off the harbour. He continuedon his way at full speed and thenstarted to search inside the bar, notthinking that anyone would go outsidein the prevailing conditions. The force4 northerly wind was meeting a 6 knotebb tide and there was a long north-westerly swell, so that a heavy, con-fused sea had built up around theshallow bar. However, seeing twochildren on the east side of Scole HeadIsland, pointing outside, Peter Beckheaded over the bar. Continuing hissearch, he sighted the casualty, a sail-ing dinghy, upright but dismasted andwaterlogged, drifting about a mile outto sea. He made for the spot, man-oeuvred alongside and took off threechildren who were on board; they wereall wearing lifejackets. They told himthat their father had been swept awaysome time before, but, although PeterBeck made several sweeps of the areadown tide, he could find nothing.

At about midday, and with the tidestill ebbing, he decided that, as thechildren were very cold and shocked,he should re-enter the harbour whilethere was still enough depth of waterover the bar. On his way back hepicked up the two children from ScoleHead Island and took them all to OveryQuay. Half an hour later a Sea Kinghelicopter, which had been alerted byGreat Yarmouth Coastguard after PeterBeck had telephoned them, found andrecovered the body of the missingfather.

The accident had happened after twomen and five children had set out that

morning aboard an 11 foot dinghyunder sail from Overy Staithe Quay.After landing one adult and twoyounger children aged nine and elevenon Scole Head Island, the other manset out over the bar with the threeteenagers (two 13 year olds and a 15year old). The conditions were worsethan expected and they were on theirway back when they got into difficul-ties. The boat capsized and was rightedby her crew four or five times beforethe owner, wearing no lifejacket,drifted away from his dinghy.

The other man had managed to raisethe alarm by getting a rower to take himacross Overy Cockle Strand and hethen ran across Overy Marsh andshouted to the quay for help.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Peter D. Beck and a vellumservice certificate was presented toRobert Archer.

Scotland South Division

Patrol vessel holedIN EASTERLY GALES early on ThursdayJanuary 31, 1980, fishery patrol vesselSwitha, bound for Leith, ran agroundon the rocks near Herwit Buoy in theFirth of Forth, a mile south east ofInchkeith Island. She was holed andranging badly in heavy swell.

The honorary secretaries of Queens-ferry and Anstruther lifeboat stationswere informed of the situation by ForthCoastguard just before 0500. The hon-orary secretary of Queensferry went tothe boathouse to assess the state of theweather and then called three of hismost experienced helmsmen by tele-phone to man the station's Atlantic 21rigid inflatable lifeboat: ThomasRobertson, Owen Roberts and DonaldQuate. The wind at South Queensferryat that time was easterly near gale,force 7, but during the 11 hours of thewhole service it was to reach full gale,force 8, and strong gale, force 9.Queensferry Atlantic 21 launched at0530 with Helmsman Thomas Robert-son in command.

At just about the same time, 0526,Anstruther lifeboat, the 37ft OakleyThe Doctors, was launched under thecommand of Coxswain Peter Murray;she had to make an 18'/2 mile passagebefore the gale to reach the casualty.An RAF helicopter was also put onstand by.

Helmsman Robertson reportedrough, high and breaking seas but, atslow to half speed, the Atlantic 21headed into them well until she waswithin sight of Switha. Then, passingOxcars Lighthouse, with a half springebb tide running against the easterlygale, she encountered very short, steepseas. The Atlantic went through thecrest of one particularly large breakingsea at a steep bow-up angle, because ofthe short distance between crests, andeven though Helmsman Robertson

increased to full power to maintainheadway, the Atlantic was set backinto the following trough, submergingthe stern of the boat and both outboardengines to a depth of about two feet.The port engine stopped immediately.

Helmsman Robertson turned to runback to the lee of Inchcoln to makerepairs, but before the lee was gainedthe starboard engine also stopped. Thesea anchor was streamed so that theboat could be controlled. The plugswere then changed and the enginesexamined, but the outboards could notbe re-started. The Atlantic, now in theshelter of Inchcoln, asked for help.

James Christie, the skipper of HoundFerry, a 40ft steel service launch,offered help and at 0645 set out fromPort Edgar with Frank Rodgers andAlastair Liddle, one of the Queensferryshore party, as his crew. The Atlantic21 was successfully taken in tow backto Port Edgar by 0810 and she finallyreturned to station at 1500.

Meanwhile, Switha had reportedthree to four feet of water in her engineroom. A helicopter from RAFLeuchars had been scrambled at 0622to lift ashore non-essential crew fromSwitha and Anstruther lifeboat wasmaking her way to the casualty at bestpossible speed. Running up riverbefore the strong gale in very roughseas, The Doctors was at one timepooped by a sea which flooded herafter compartment. As she is virtuallyan open boat, most of the crew werewet through for most of the service;and the temperature that morning wasnear freezing.

The Doctors arrived on scene at 0733but with the ebbing tide there was notenough water for her to approachSwitha where she lay on the rocks. Sothe lifeboat stood by until all the casu-alty's crew had been lifted safelyashore by helicopter.

In three trips, the first in total dark-ness, the RAF helicopter from Leucarslifted off the first 13 of Switha's crew,landing them at the Naval Dockyard,Rosyth. A salvage officer was broughtback and put aboard the casualty toassess the situation. After some delib-eration it was agreed that she was faston the rocks and could not be movedand at 1058 a helicopter from RAFBoulmer was scrambled to take off thefishing patrol vessel's remaining 13crew members together with the sal-vage officer.

While the helicopter was on her way,Anstruther lifeboat put into Leith for ashort time to disembark a sick crewmember, but she was back, standingby, at 1200. The lift began just after1300 and was completed by 1320. At1325 Anstruther lifeboat was recalledto station. Arriving back in harbour at1615, she was moored alongside to waitfor the surge of sea on her slipway toabate. She was finally rehoused andonce again ready for service at 1730.

For this service letters of apprecia-tion signed by Commander Bruce

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Cairns, chief of operations RNLI, weresent to James Christie, skipper ofHound Ferry, and his crew, FrankRodgers and Alastair Liddle. Lettersalso signed by Commander Cairnsexpressing appreciation to HelmsmanThomas Robertson and Crew MembersOwen Roberts and Donald Quate ofQueensferry, and Coxswain Peter Mur-ray and his crew of Anstruther, weresent to the honorary secretaries of thetwo stations, Captain J. F. Kersley andWilliam L. Muir.

South Eastern Division

Two yachtsON SUNDAY June 1, 1980, at 1732, Port-land Coastguard reported to a deputylaunching authority of Swanage lifeboatstation that red flares from one or twoyachts had been sighted about fivemiles south of St Alban's Head.Maroons were fired and at 1740 the 37ft6in Rother lifeboat J. Reginald Corahwas launched under the command ofCoxswain/Mechanic Victor Marsh.

The weather was fine but the tide, inthe last hour of the ebb, was setting tothe south west at about 4 knots whilethere was a strong westerly breezegusting up to near gale, force 7, so thatthe lifeboat met some very big seaswhen passing Durlston Head. On thevery rough and wet eight-mile passageto the casualties the sea was on herstarboard beam.

A helicopter reached the yachts firstbut, finding that no one on board wasinjured, left again after guiding thelifeboat in. It was 1840 when J.Reginald Corah reached the yachts,the 22ft Belle Souris and the 20ftKaloma.

Belle Souris had a broken rudder andshe was shipping a lot of water; withKaloma standing by, her crew hadbeen trying to make repairs for sometime before firing flares. As she had nosteerage, it was impossible for BelleSouris to be brought head to sea, butafter several attempts, Crew MemberChristopher Haw managed to jumpaboard her as the yacht came up on thesame sea as the lifeboat. While a tow-line was got aboard and made fast, seaswere breaking over both boats.

Kaloma, which had been standingby, was now in difficulties herself be-cause her engine had failed. She, too,was taken in tow, astern of BelleSouris, and the lifeboat headed backfor Swanage. The tow was very dif-ficult, calling for considerable skill andingenuity. Belle Souris, the first of thetwo boats in the tow, with no rudder,was yawing badly in the rough, follow-ing seas. Crew Member Haw tried tobring her under control, first by stream-ing as many ropes as he could find andthen, as that was not effective, bystreaming the jib astern to act as adrogue; with the help of this jurydrogue, towing became much easier.

All was now under control. Andthen, when some distance had beencovered, Kaloma's towline parted. J.Reginald Corah went about and sug-gested that the yacht should hoist herstorm jib and run in company with thelifeboat. The tide was now turning andthe tow continued at about 3 knots withKaloma coming up about half a mileastern.

Belle Souris was brought safely tomoorings at Swanage and then thelifeboat went back and towed Kalomain too. J. Reginald Corah was rehousedand once more ready for service at2137.

For this service a letter expressingappreciation to Coxswain/MechanicVictor Marsh, Crew Member Chris-topher Haw and other members ofthe crew and signed by Rear AdmiralW. J. Graham, director of the Institu-tion, was sent to Swanage station hon-orary secretary, Captain D. A. N.Aldridge.

Eastern Division

Carried out to seaIN THE EARLY HOURS of ThursdayAugust 14, 1980, a 999 call to GreatYarmouth Coastguard reported awoman calling for help from the rivernear the North Pier opposite the Coast-guard lookout. Great Yarmouth andGorleston lifeboat station and thePolice were alerted immediately. It wasdark and the tide was ebbing, andalthough coastguards scanned thewater with an Aldis lamp right away,they could not see anyone.

The lifeboat station's Atlantic 21rigid inflatable lifeboat was launched at0310 under the command of HelmsmanH. E. 'Dilly' Appleton; his crew werePaul Mitchell and Richard Bell. It was aclear night with a gentle breeze blowingfrom the south west and a slight sea.Low water would be at 0536.

Initially the Atlantic 21 was asked tosearch the river in the area of theCoastguard lookout, but almostimmediately she was asked to return upriver to Spending Beach to search andto meet an informant. Then someoneon the quay told the lifeboat crew thatcries for help had been heard 15 to 20minutes earlier in the river. As the tidewas ebbing the Atlantic 21 searcheddownstream to the harbour entrance onthe west side of the river before return-ing to Spending Beach on the east side,but nothing was found.

Helmsman Appleton returned to theharbour entrance and, using parachuteflares to illuminate the water, carriedout a zigzag search three quarters of amile north of the harbour, but nothingwas found. He made a similar searchback to the harbour entrance; stillnothing. The search north of the har-bour mouth was repeated further offshore, but still there was no sign of themissing woman.

The lifeboat crew decided to extend

the search area and returned northalong the beach, where they saw aPolice car which attracted their atten-tion to tell them that cries had beenheard earlier off shore.

In view of this report and the fallingtide, the search area was extendedeven further. All the lifeboat's avail-able parachute flares had been used bynow, and so the search continued in thedark, the engines being stopped inter-mittently while the crew hailed andlistened.

Ultimately, an hour after the searchwas started, the woman was heard andfound about 1 'A miles north of the har-bour entrance and a quarter of a mileoff the beach. She was taken on board,a request was made for an ambulanceand the woman was given first aid forexposure as the Atlantic headed for sta-tion. She was landed at 0420 and thelifeboat was back on station and oncemore ready for service at 0430.

For this service a letter expressingappreciation to Helmsman H. E. 'Dilly'Appleton and Crew Members Paul M.Mitchell and Richard F. Bell and signedby Commander Bruce Cairns, chief ofoperations RNLI, was sent to Dr C. H.Brookings, the station administrationofficer of Great Yarmouth andGorleston.

Scotland North Division

Ditched helicopterWHEN ON THURSDAY July 31, 1980,Aberdeen Coastguard heard at 1213that a British Airways helicopterreturning from an oil rig in the ClydeField with 15 people on board hadditched in the sea a 'mayday' relay wasbroadcast on VHP channel 16 alertingall shipping in the area. Two RAFhelicopters were scrambled and Aber-deen lifeboat, the 54ft ArunBP Forties,had slipped her moorings by 1225 underthe command of Acting CoxswainJames Dickson.

It was a quiet day but foggy, withvisibility varying from two miles to nil.With lookouts posted, BP Forties setcourse for the casualty, 17 miles eastby north of Aberdeen,. making bestpossible speed. When she arrived onscene at 1333, eight of the survivorshad been lifted off by helicopter and theremaining seven had been taken aboardthe research vessel Corrella from aliferaft. These seven men were putaboard the lifeboat and, using BP For-ties' 'daughter' inflatable boat, theditched helicopter was taken in tow.

The weather had now cleared and thelifeboat with the helicopter in tow setout slowly for Aberdeen, maintaining aspeed of about 3 knots. During the tow,a Bristow helicopter winched downtwo flotation bags for the helicopterand two engineers to the rig supplyvessel Edith Viking, which was actingas escort; she then took off the sevensurvivors from the lifeboat, flying themashore. The inflatable dinghy was used

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July 31: Aberdeen lifeboat, the 54ft Arun BP Forties, helicopter in tow.photograph by courtesy of RNAS Lossiemouth

to take people to and from the helicop-ter as necessary and the tow continuedwithout incident. Both craft arrivedsafely in Aberdeen at 1920 and BP For-ties was back on her moorings by 1945.

For this service a letter expressingappreciation to Acting Coxswain JamesT. Dickson and his crew, signed byRear Admiral W. J. Graham, directorof the Institution, was sent to CaptainB. Atkinson, Aberdeen station honor-ary secretary.

Western Division

Stuck in mudA MAN stuck in the mud at the mouth ofthe River Taff was reported to SwanseaCoastguard by Cardiff Police at 2322 onSunday August 24, 1980. Three menhad been in a boat that sank. Two hadmanaged to reach shore, but the thirdwas in soft, deep mud about 200 yardsout. It was a fine, clear and calm nightwith little wind, but the tide which hadbeen ebbing for about five hours wasstill falling.

While the honorary secretary of thenewly opened Penarth lifeboat stationwas informed an attempt was beingmade to reach the man with a rocketline, but the attempt failed. Maroonswere fired at 2345 and at 0002 on Mon-day August 25 Penarth's D class inflat-able lifeboat launched on her first nightservice. She was manned by Helms-man Frederick Minchin and CrewMembers Richard Minchin and RobertRyan.

The River Taff was entered at about

0020, but there was very little water;even the channel was obstructed inplaces. When the depth became tooshallow for the outboard engine, thelifeboat was paddled up river. A smalldinghy was passed on the west mudflats, and when a white parachute flarewas fired, the Coastguard confirmedthat it was over the casualty.

By now the current was too strongfor rowing and the water too shallowfor the engine to be used, so the crewdisembarked and continued up river forabout another 150 yards pulling theinflatable lifeboat; then they saw thewaving arms of the man on the mud.

The lifeboat was anchored and whileCrew Member Ryan remained behindto tend the boat and man the radio,Helmsman Minchin and Crew MemberMinchin crawled across the mud. Find-ing the man naked to the waist, verycold and exhausted, they gave him anRNLI jacket and got him back to theboat where he was wrapped in a spaceblanket for warmth. A radio messagewas sent asking that an ambulanceshould come to the lifeboat slipway,and that crew members ashore shouldilluminate the beach with their carheadlights.

The lifeboat was then paddled downriver until the water was deep enoughfor the outboard engine to be started.On the return run the lifeboat struck anobstruction off Penarth Head, damag-ing her propeller, but she reached herstation safely at 0110. The ambulancearrived to take the casualty to hospitaland the lifeboat was washed down,rehoused and once again ready for ser-vice by 0215.

For this service a letter expressingappreciation to Helmsman Frederick J.Minchin and Crew Members Richard J.Minchin and Robert J. Ryan, signed byRear Admiral W. J. Graham, directorof the Institution, was sent to CaptainGraham Sommerfield, Penarth stationhonorary secretary.

South Western Division

One cat twiceHM COASTGUARD informed CoxswainThomas Cocking of St Ives lifeboat sta-tion at noon on Saturday August 16,1980, that a small catamaran beingsailed singlehanded had capsized twomiles east of the station. CoxswainCocking made the assembly signal forthe D class inflatable lifeboat andinformed the honorary secretary.Within minutes the inflatable lifeboatLion Cub I was launched, manned byHelmsman Eric Ward and Crew Mem-bers Philip Allen and Simon Oliver.

It was a cloudy day, but fine andclear, with a fresh to strong breeze,force 5 to 6, blowing from the south anda moderate sea. It was three hours afterhigh water.

Coming alongside the catamaran at1206 the lifeboatmen helped to right herand then, as the wind was freshening,Helmsman Ward suggested that one ofhis crew members should help to sailher home. The singlehanded sailor atfirst thought this would not be neces-sary, but after he had capsized twicemore, at 1212 and 1215, Crew MemberOliver joined him on board. Even witha crew of two the catamaran capsizedtwice more before she reached thesafety of St Ives Harbour at 1235. Theinflatable lifeboat was rehoused by1245.

A fortnight later, on Saturday August30, the same catamaran, out sailingwith a crew of three, was dismastedtwo miles north east of St Ives station.A moderate to fresh breeze, force 4 to5, was blowing on shore from the westand the sea was rough with a heavyground swell; the tide was in the firsthour of the flood, just after springs.

The D class inflatable lifeboat waslaunched at 1651 with William Bunn ashelmsman for the first time; his crewwere Simon Oliver and Anthony Car-ter. The station's 37ft Oakley lifeboatFrank Pen/old Marshall was put onstand by.

By the time the inflatable lifeboatreached the casualty nine minutes laterthe dismasted catamaran had been car-ried within 50 yards of Hevah Rock, anarea of heavy overfalls. The mast andsails were lashed on and the boat takenin tow by 1720. Ten minutes later twoof the catamaran's crew were takenaboard the inflatable lifeboat. Then, afew minutes later it was reported thatthe tow was not making headway in theheavy ground swell but was being

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Whit by, Sunday October 19,1980: At 1030 a converted ship'slifeboat was seen headingtowards the harbour entrance.Conditions were very danger-ous, with a very heavy swell andbreaking seas at the bar and inthe shallow waters of the bay; awarning was shouted butapparently not heard. Whitby's44ft Waveney lifeboat TheWhite Rose of Yorkshire slip-ped her moorings at 1047 underthe command of CoxswainPeter Thomson. Meanwhile theboat, on a fishing trip with twomen on board, capsized 100yards outside the entrance. Oneman managed to swim. He waswashed down the side of thewest pier and dragged out ofsurf by several people includingBen Dean, station honorarysecretary. The other man wasnot found although the searchby lifeboat and a helicopter con-tinued until 1210.photograph by courtesy of Eric

Doran

swept by the tide towards GodrevyIsland.

The hydrofoil Yizdiz Bez was by thistime standing by and Frank PenfoldMarshall, the 37ft Oakley lifeboat, waslaunched. However, by 1755 the inflat-able lifeboat with her tow had managedto get clear of the main flooding tidalstream and was making progresstowards harbour. Yizbiz Bez wasreleased and the tow was escorted in byFrank Penfold Marshall; by 1824 theinflatable lifeboat had brought thecatamaran safely to harbour.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Rear Admiral W. J.Graham, director of the Institution,was sent to Helmsman William Bunn.

North Western Division

Injured girlRAMSEY COASTGUARD asked Peellifeboat station honorary secretary at1520 on Monday August 25, 1980, if thelifeboat would launch immediately togo to the help of a girl who had fallenoff the cliffs between Niarbyl andWhite Beach; her injuries were notknown.

With the Neils Robertson stretcheron board, Peel's Atlantic 21 rigid inflat-able lifeboat launched at 1529 and setout at full speed. Helmsman GeorgeHavercroft was in command with PatBiggane and Colin Makin as his crew.It was a fine, calm day.

The girl had been walking along acliff path with a companion and threedogs when, going to the help of one ofthe dogs stranded on a ledge, she fell.Although visibility was excellent, herexact position among the rocky out-crops would not have been easy to findhad the lifeboat not been guided in byGeorge Grady. Mr Grady, a visitor

from the Wirral, had been on shore inthe area when he was told of the acci-dent by someone who had seen the girlfall. He immediately launched hisinflatable dinghy, found the girl andhelped and comforted her until thelifeboat arrived at 1543.

Because of the rock outcrops underthe water, and the ebbing tide, Helms-man Havercroft detailed Crew MemberMakin to remain with the Atlantic 21and keep her from grounding while heand Crew Member Biggane made theirway across the rocks to the 22-year-oldgirl. A broken pelvis and broken legswere suspected, and she was placed inthe stretcher. Her companion, a boy,had by now found his way down to therocks on a steep, narrow cliff path,with the three dogs.

Helped by George Grady, thelifeboatmen carried the stretcher to thewaterline, which had receded consid-erably with Crew Member Makin con-tinually paddling the Atlantic 21 intodeeper water to keep her afloat andclear of the rocky sea bed. GeorgeGrady offered his inflatable dinghy asthe easiest means of ferrying theinjured girl and the boy, who was suf-fering from shock, out to the lifeboat.Although wearing ordinary clothes, MrGrady did not hesitate to wade outwaist deep with the lifeboatmen to helpthem embark the two people and theirdogs.

Once the casualties were safelyaboard, the Atlantic 21 set out at slowspeed. When she arrived at the boat-house, at 1635, a doctor was waiting tosupervise the transfer of the injured girlto a waiting ambulance. The lifeboatwas rehoused, refuelled and ready forservice at 1655.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Rear Admiral W. J.Graham, director of the Institution,was sent to George Grady.

North Eastern Division

Search in fogA MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC reported toTynemouth Coastguard on SaturdayJune 14, 1980, that a ship's foghorn hadbeen heard east of Berwick Light-house. Berwick lifeboat station wasinformed at 1310 and five minutes laterthe station's Atlantic 21 rigid inflatablelifeboat was launched into dense fog.Helmsman William Shearer was incommand with Michael Ross, E. Dixonand Brian Cowan as crew.

Visibility was 50ft at best. There wasa gentle to moderate breeze from thenorth east, force 3 to 4, and the sea wasmoderate. It was two hours after lowwater.

After searching and listening forabout 15 minutes a quarter of a milesouth east of the lighthouse, the Atlan-tic 21 was told by the Coastguard LandRover that the ship's horn seemed to belouder north of Berwick. She put aboutand immediately came across twoyachts, Echteen and Scotch Mist, whichhad been sounding their foghorns towarn other shipping of their presencebut which were not in distress. Theyasked to be guided into harbour and alocal fishing boat that was entering portescorted them in.

The yachtsmen had said that therewere other boats in the area so thesearch was continued north ofBerwick. At about 1350, after followingthe shore line, the Atlantic 21 cameacross a stranded, holed yacht, Havoc,and then heard her crew sounding ahorn from nearby rocks. The lifeboatanchored and veered down, using oneengine to inch her way towards thesurvivors. Then Crew Member BrianCowan, a swimmer, went over the sideto help the three men and one womanthrough the three to four foot swell and

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into the lifeboat. They were taken backto Berwick and landed to a waitingambulance.

Meanwhile, Berwick Coastguard anda naval ship fixed the position of theyacht Kermit and gave her a course toBerwick Pier, where she was picked upby the lifeboat with bearings from thewarship and brought into harbour. Thesame procedure was followed foranother yacht, Guilding Star, and she,too, was escorted safely into port.

For this service a letter of apprecia-tion signed by Rear Admiral W. J.Graham, director of the Institution,was sent to Helmsman William R.Shearer, and Crew Members W.Michael Ross, E. Dixon and BrianCowan. A letter of thanks receivedfrom Havoc's owner was published inthe last issue of THE LIFEBOAT.

Scotland North Division

Cruiser founderedON THE NIGHT of Saturday June 21,1980, the motor cruiser Bay Monarchwith four people on board ran agroundon rocks and sank south of Swordaleon the Eye Peninsula, Isle of Lewis.The four survivors scrambled ashoreon a ledge at the base of 200ft cliffswhere they were stranded but safe. Allattempts to climb the cliffs were unsuc-cessful until one man eventually man-aged to swim round a headland to aplace where the cliff could be scaled.He made his way to Swordale villagefrom where he telephoned the Coast-guard, just before 0800 on MondayJune 23, 36 hours after the shipwreck.

The honorary secretary of Stornowaylifeboat station was informed immedi-ately and by 0824 the 48ft 6in Solentlifeboat Hugh William Viscount Goughhad left her moorings under the com-mand of Coxswain/Mechanic MalcolmMac Donald. The morning was fine witha gentle southerly breeze and a moder-

ate to choppy sea; it was four hoursafter high water.

The lifeboat picked up an inflatabledinghy on passage and at 0915 came insight of the three survivors strandedbelow the cliffs. Using the dinghy shewas able to take them off and bringthem aboard. Although the three menhad felt the cold, they were all well. By1000 they were safely ashore at the sta-tion and by 1030 the lifeboat was backon her moorings and once again readyfor service.

North Western Division

Disabled yachtA YACHT AT ANCHOR near Lune No 1Buoy, Morecambe Bay, but having arough time was reported to FleetwoodCoastguard by an auxiliary coastguardat Knott End at 1525 on WednesdaySeptember 10, 1980. It was learned thatthe yacht Water Baby had sailed fromGlasson Dock for Ireland the previousday with a crew of four but had beenanchored about three quarters of a mileinside Lune No 1 Buoy, at the mouth ofthe River Lune, since the previousnight; she had a rope round her propel-ler and a mast stay had parted, so thatshe could not move under her ownpower. Her crew were waiting for theweather to moderate.

About an hour and a half later, how-ever, at 1650, Water Baby called up onVHP Channel 16, asking for lifeboathelp; the weather was already bad withan onshore gale, force 8, blowing fromthe west, rough seas and squally show-ers, and the forecast was that worsewas to come. It was four hours afterhigh water.

The honorary secretary of Fleetwoodlifeboat station was informed at 1652and the 44ft Waveney lifeboat Lady ofLancashire slipped her moorings at1702 under the command of CoxswainWilliam Fairclough.

June 23: Stornoway crew, with borrowed inflatable dinghy, ferry three men, stranded for 36hours, from cliff foot to lifeboat. photograph by courtesy of 'Hebridean News Agency'

The lifeboat saw the yacht in brokenwater but could not get within threequarters of a mile to seaward, whereshe was in 10 feet of water. Called upon VHP, Water Baby said she was in 14feet; she had been anchored in thesame position for 24 hours and at lowwater she was in a lagoon. So thelifeboat then felt her way in through theshallow waters, the least depth beingeight feet.

The yacht was told to buoy and slipher anchor and was then taken in tow.Towing was slow in the high seas andconsiderable difficulty was experi-enced in shortening in the tow to makethe turn at the entrance to thechannel.Wave-smoothing oil was triedwith little effect, but eventually theturn was made and the yacht wasfinally berthed at Fleetwood at 1915.The lifeboat was moored in her pen andonce again ready for service by 2130.

For this service a letter expressingappreciation to Coxswain William I.Fairclough and his crew and signed byCommander Bruce Cairns, chief ofoperations RNLI, was sent to RichardT. Willoughby, Fleetwood station hon-orary secretary.

North Eastern Division

Two callsA RED FLARE was sighted off shore bythe honorary secretary of Withernsealifeboat station and a shore helper at2025 on Sunday July 27, 1980. Maroonswere fired and while the two men werepreparing the D class inflatable lifeboatfor launching two crew membersarrived. Within three minutes of thefirst sighting the lifeboat had launchedwith Graham White as helmsman andSydney Megson as his crew.

It was a clear, quiet evening but thetide was ebbing. The casualty wasfound to be a small boat from whichfour men had been diving on theCanada wreck. When they hadreturned to their boat at 1830 they hadnot been able to start the engine. Theyhad set out to 'swim' the boat back thethree miles to Withernsea but when,two hours later, they were no nearerthe beach and it was beginning to getdark they decided to fire a flare.

Withernsea inflatable lifeboat hadtowed the boat, with her four divers,back to the beach by 2110 and wasrehoused by 2145.

Three days later, on Wednesday July30, a message came to the honorarysecretary from the Coastguard at 1400that a bather was in difficulties offCowden, eight miles to the north. TheD class inflatable lifeboat was launchedby 1413, manned by HelmsmanThomas L. Wallis and Crew MemberGraham White; by 1440 she had joinedan RAF helicopter from Leconfield, anRN survey vessel and a Coastguardboat from Hornsea in a search for a15-year-old boy, Paul Ripley, who had

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gone to the help of a girl swimmer indifficulties. The girl had been rescuedby people on the beach, but the boywas missing.

The search continued until about1700 but nothing was found. Thelifeboat was back on station at 1750 andrehoused, once again ready for service,at 1815.

South Eastern Division

Dinghy capsizedA SMALL SAILING DINGHY capsized bythe Mulberry harbour, Littlestone, wasreported to Dover Coastguard at 1103on Saturday September 6, 1980. Hercrew, two young boys, were signallingfor help and it was later learned that thecapsize had been caused by a riggingfailure. It was a fine morning with aslight sea, but a moderate breeze, force4, was blowing from the south west.The tide was in the first hour of ebb.

Littlestone-on-Sea lifeboat stationhonorary secretary, who was at theboathouse, was informed at 1108, andtold that the report was being investi-gated. It was confirmed that help wasneeded and the Atlantic 21 rigid inflat-able lifeboat was launched at 1115manned by Helmsman Gerald Ellse andCrew Members Charles P. Reed andJohn Snoad.

The lifeboat reached the casualtywithin minutes and found the two boys,aged 10 and 14, sitting on the capsizedhull. They were taken on board theAtlantic, their dinghy was righted andthe mast and rigging unshipped andsecured. The lifeboat then returned tostation with the dinghy in tow, arrivingat 1148. The boys, both very cold, weredried and given warm clothing and hotdrinks. The Atlantic 21 was rehousedand again ready for service at 1215.

Lifeboat Services,June, July andAugust, 1980Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire54ft Arun: July 31Aberdovey, GwyneddAtlantic 21: June 25, July 18, 20, 28, 29 and31Abersoch, GwyneddAtlantic 21: June 7, July 18, 20, 24, August1 ,6 (twice), 12 (twice), 18 and 31Aberystwyth, DyfedD class inflatable: June 15 (twice), July 6,13 and 20Aith, ShetlandRelief 52ft Barnett: July 11 and August 17Aldeburgh, Suffolk42ft Beach: June 15 and August 3D class inflatable: June 14, July 6, August 3and 30Amble, Northumberland37ft 6in Rather: August 30D class inflatable: July 18 and 27Angle, Dyfed46ft 9in Watson: June 17Appledore, North DevonAtlantic 21: June 26, July 3, 20, 22, 28(twice), August 2 (twice), 5, 10, 15 (twice),16 and 31 (twice)Arbroath, Angus42ft Watson: June 14D class inflatable: June 1 and July 27Arklow, Co. Wicklow42ft Watson: July 29Arran (Lamlash), ButeshireD class inflatable: August 2, 19 and 24Arranmore, Co DonegalRelief 52ft Barnett: July 1952ft Barnett: August 16Atlantic College, South GlamorganAtlantic 21: June 3, July 30, August 11, 23and 26Ballycotton, Co. Cork52ft Barnett: July 24, 29, August 11 and 17Baltimore, Co Cork47ft Watson: July 9, 25 and August 25Bangor, Co DownD class inflatable: June 15 (twice), July 20,26, August?, 11, 12 and 21

ANNUAL AWARDS1979

The Maud Smith Award for the mostoutstanding act of lifesaving by alifeboatman during 1979 has been madeto Superintendent Coxswain BrianBevan for the rescue of the crew offour of the Panamanian cargo vesselRevi in a violent north-easterly storm,very heavy seas and snow storms onFebruary 14. Coxswain Bevan tookHumber's 54ft Arun lifeboat alongsidethe cargo vessel 35 times and took offher crew in extremely hazardous condi-tions with the ever-present threat of thecasualty rolling on top of the lifeboat;the last man, the captain, was rescuedminutes before the freighter sank. Forthis service Coxswain Bevan wasawarded the RNLI's gold medal.

The Ralph Glister Award for the mostmeritorious service carried out by thecrew of an Atlantic 21, 18ft 6in

McLachlan or D class inflatablelifeboat in 1979 has been awarded toHelmsman John Hodder and CrewMembers Colin Jones, Paul Wason andGraham Turner of Lyme Regis for theservice on August 13 to the yacht WhiteKitten. For the rescue by Lyme RegisAtlantic 21 of White Kitten and hercrew of five in a south-westerly stormand very rough seas, Helmsman JohnHodder was awarded a bar to hisbronze medal and Crew Member ColinJones the bronze medal; service certifi-cates were presented to Crew MembersPaul Wason and Graham Turner.

The James Michael Bower Fund mone-tary awards for 1979 have been made toSuperintendent Coxswain Brian Bevanof Humber, who received the goldmedal; to Coxswain Trevor England ofPadstow, who received a bar to hissilver medal; and to Coxswain MichaelGrant of Selsey and Coxswain DavidCox of Wells who each received thesilver medal.

Barmouth, Gwynedd35ft 6in Liverpool: June 20, 21, August 17and 19D class inflatable: June 12, July 29, 30 andAugust 30Barrow, CumbriaD class inflatable: July 13. 19, 27, August17, 23 and 27Barry Dock, South GlamorganRelief 46ft Watson: July 2Relief 44ft Waveney: August 17Beaumaris, Gwynedd46ft 9in Watson: August 13, 16 and 30Atlantic 21: June 7, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 30,July 5, 12 (twice), 29 and August 27Bembridge, Isle of Wight48ft 6in Solent: July 29, August 21, 29(twice) and 30D class inflatable: June 1, July 26, August10 (twice) and 29Berwick-upon-Tweed, NorthumberlandRelief Atlantic 21: June 14 (twice), 16, 17,July 5, 18, August 6 and 24Blackpool, LancashireRelief D class inflatable: June 3, 10 and 17D class inflatables: Ju ly 27, 28 (twice),August 2 (twice), 7,9, 14 (twice), 26 and 31Blyth, Northumberland37ft 6in Rather: August 10D class inflatable: July 31 and August 10Borth, DyfedD class inflatable: June 5, July 24, 28, 29,August 10 (twice), 11 and 12 (twice)Bridlington, Humberside37ft Oakley: July 20D class inflatable: June 14, 21 (twice), July20 (three times), 23, August 2, 5, 8, 10, 16,21 (twice) and 27Brighton, East SussexAtlantic 21: June 7 (twice), July 1, August23 and 28Broughty Ferry, Angus52ft Arun: June 14D class inflatable: June 5 and 21Buckie, Banffshire42ft Watson: July 9 and 24Bude, CornwallD class inflatable: August 13Burnhan-on-Crouch, EssexD class inflatable: June 12, 19, 22, July 6and August 10Burry Port, DyfedD class inflatable: June 8, 15. July 26 andAugust 29Calshot, Hampshire40ft Keith Nelson: June 8, 16, August 2, 3,29 and 30Campbeltown, Argyllshire52ft Arun: June 6, August 1, 10, 16 and 17Cardigan DyfedD class inflatable: June 3, July 11, 20,August 9, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 26Clacton-on-Sea, EssexRelief 37ft Oakley: August 9, 14 and 24D class inflatable: June 3, 22, July 5, 25, 28(twice), 29, August 8, 19, 20, 23, 26 (twice),30 and 31Clogher Head, Co Louth35ft 6in Liverpool: July 31Clovelly, North DevonRelief 71ft Clyde: June 12, July 1 (twice),July 25 (three times), August 13, 16, 24 and29Conwy, GwyneddD class inflatable: June 10, July 19 and 30Courtmacsherry, Co Cork47ft Watson: June 1, 15, 30 and August 2(twice)Craster, NorthumberlandD class inflatable: June 22 (twice) andAugust 2Criccieth, GwyneddD class inflatable: June 7, 26, 28 (twice),

continued on page 142

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Going alongside . . .and survivor recovery

WHEN A LIFEBOAT reaches a vessel indistress in gale or storm force windsshe has come to the heart of her prob-lem; how best the people on board maybe brought safely to shore. Can she goalongside and take off the survivors. Oris there a better answer? Now is thetime that leadership, experience andsheer seamanship crystallise into wis-dom as the choice of approach is made.Every rescue is different. No set of cir-cumstances will ever be repeated.

This was the theme of a discussionheld on the morning after the annualpresentation of awards last May bet-ween Lt-Cdr Roy Portchmouth, staffinspector (operational developments,trials and sea training) and four cox-swains who had been presented withmedals for gallantry the previous day:Michael Grant of Selsey, Trevor Eng-land of Padstow, Kenneth Voice ofShoreham Harbour and T. H. 'Harry'Jones of Hoylake. All four coxswainshad received their awards for services,described briefly below, during which,in extremely high winds and rough

seas, they had had to try to bring theirlifeboats alongside the casualty in anattempt to take off survivors or putcrew members aboard. So that is wherethe discussion began.

* * *

Coxswain Grant and Coxswain Eng-land had both launched to help a cargoship which was listing in storm forcewinds, gusting up to violent storm andeven hurricane force. Each was incommand of a 48ft 6in Oakleylifeboat . . . .Coxswain Michael Grant, Selsey: It isfar more difficult to go alongside a bigship, like Cape Coast, in that sort ofweather than anything else. If you havegot a boat more or less your own size,perhaps with two or three people onboard, you can usually run in andwithin a few minutes you have got themoff, come astern and got away. With aship, I like to keep at a bit of an angleso that not too much of my own boat isexposed to too much battering. I don'tknow about you, Trevor?

Coxswain Trevor England, Padstow:

Our problem was that at first a helicop-ter had started to lift off the crew ofSkopelos Sky, so the men had gone tothe after end where the deck was highand there were not so many obstruc-tions for the winchman. It was the bestvantage point for a helicopter lift,which was commonsense. The bestplace for us to take them off wouldhave been in the waist of the ship, bet-ween the hatches, but waves werewashing right over the decks amidshipsand it would have been impossible forthe men to stand there. If they couldhave stood there we could have gonein, as Mike says, bringing the bluff ofthe bow in about a third of the wayalong the vessel. They could possiblyhave jumped and we may have stood achance of taking them off. But from theheight of the after deck it was imposs-ible. We were coming up to a curvedstern and also running into the aftercut-up and it was very hard just to keepstation on the extreme after end of theship. Skopelos Sky was making aboutfive knots. When her stern went up intothe sea we were facing the boss of herpropeller, and the propeller was some20 foot away from our bow; but whenshe came down and we were looking atthe crew at eye level, we were justinches away from the end of the ship.

Service to Cape CoastSelsey lifeboat, the 48ft 6in Oakley CharlesHenry, launched at 0410 on January 10,1979, to go to the help of Cape Coast, aPanamanian cargo vessel with 20 peopleaboard in distress and taking water in herengine room two miles from Nab Tower offthe Isle of Wight. While making her way tothe casualty in a violent southerly storm,force 11, the lifeboat was hit by huge break-ing seas and, arriving on scene, she foundthat Cape Coast's decks were being sweptby heavy waves. The cargo vessel was drag-ging her anchor and two inflated liferaftswere blowing around the rigging like kites.The crew were advised to stay aboard untildaylight, with the lifeboat standing by. Atfirst light, with an easing of the wind tosevere gale, force 9, the lifeboat was takenhead to Cape Coast's starboard quarterthree times so that the 20 people on boardcould be snatched, one at a time, from apilot ladder. It was a very difficult operationwith the cargo vessel rolling and pitchingheavily and on several occasions large seaspicked up the lifeboat and drove her hardagainst the casualty's plating. For this ser-vice Coxswain Michael Grant was awardedthe silver medal. (Full report, THE LIFEBOATautumn 1979.)

Service to TruganiniThe 37ft Oakley relief lifeboat The Will andFanny Kirby, on temporary duty atHoylake, Mersey side, launched at 0926 onSeptember 20, 1979, to go to the help of the40ft catamaran Truganini. A westerly severegale, gusting to storm force 10, was causingvery rough seas and Truganini, anchored onWest Hoyle Bank in shallow water on a leeshore, was rolling and pitching violently inconfused and breaking 15-foot waves. As itwas too hazardous to try to take off the crew

of three, the lifeboat was taken alongside thecatamaran twice so that two lifeboat crewmembers could be put on board. Despiteheavy seas breaking over the catamaran'sbows, the lifeboatmen managed to secure atow line, then buoy and slip the anchor asCoxswain Harry Jones positioned his boatto start towing. Course was set for MostynHarbour but, until the comparative shelterof Point of Air was reached, it was a verydifficult passage with the casualty continu-ously surfing down wind and overtaking thelifeboat. Harbour was reached safely, how-ever, at 1055. For this service the bronzemedal was awarded to Coxswain T. H.'Harry' Jones. (Full report, THE LIFEBOATspring 1980.)

Service to Skopelos SkyPadstow's 48ft 6in lifeboat James andCatherine Macfarlane launched at 0952 onDecember 15, 1979, to go to the help of theGreek freighter, Skopelos Sky, listingdangerously in an onshore north-westerlystorm gusting to hurricane, force 12. Moun-tainous seas were met as the lifeboat setcourse for Newland Island and then, round-ing Newland, she found Skopelos Sky l'/2miles offshore in Portquin Bay. Helicoptersalready on scene lifted off three of the crewof 15 before a winchman hit the freighter'ssuperstructure three times and the lifeboatwas asked to take off the remainder of themen. So high were the seas that, although bynow no more than a quarter of a mile offshore, the lifeboat was lost to sight ofwatchers on the cliffs for many seconds at atime. Coxswain Trevor England succeededin taking her in to the casualty's stern fivetimes, but the freighter's crew could not betaken off, and on one occasion Skopelos Skyrolled heavily on to the lifeboat. The lifeboatthen stood by while helicopters lifted off the

rest of the survivors, the last man beinglifted clear as darkness fell and just beforethe freighter was driven hard on rocks.Throughout this nine-hour service Cox-swain England provided the only communi-cations link for the Coastguard and helicop-ters with Skopelos Sky. For this service abar to the silver medal was awarded to Cox-swain Trevor England. (Full report, THELIFEBOAT summer 1980.)

Service to Athina BShoreham Harbour lifeboat, the 42ft WatsonDorothy and Philip Constant, launched at0840 on January 21, 1980, to go to the help ofthe Greek cargo vessel Athina B, with 26people on board, in difficulties on a leeshore in a south-easterly severe gale whichwas to rise to storm force 10; violent seaswere breaking over her as she lay almostbeam on to tide and sea with her anchor outand her engines going slow ahead, alter-nately taking the ground and floating. Thelifeboat, on two approaches, took off twowomen and two children, who were takenback to Shoreham. Returning to the scene,11 more of the crew were taken off and putashore. When the request came for the restof the crew to be taken off night had fallenand Athina B was well aground in heavy surfsome 250 yards off the beach. Although thelifeboat was rising and falling 12 to 15 feet inthe surf, Coxswain Ken Voice held heralongside the cargo vessel while ten menjumped to safety. The last man jumped intothe sea and only prompt action by coxswainand crew saved him. Each time the lifeboatreturned to Shoreham with survivors greatskill was needed to navigate, with droguestreamed, into the harbour entrance. Forthis service the silver medal was awarded toCoxswain Kenneth Voice. (Full report, THELIFEBOAT summer 1980.)

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Trevor England joinedPadstow lifeboat crewin 1957, he becamesecond coxswain/assis-tant motor mechanic in1970 and was appointedcoxswain in 1978. In1977 he was awardedthe silver medal and in1979 a bar to his silvermedal.

T. H. 'Harry' Jonesjoined Hoylake lifeboatcrew in 1937 and wassecond coxswain from1963 until 1974 when hewas appointed cox-swain; he was awardedthe bronze medal in1979.

Lt-Cdr Roy Portchmouth,staff inspector (operationaldevelopments, trials and sea

training).

Kenneth Voice joinedShoreham lifeboat crewin 1964, he was secondcoxswain from 1972and was appointed cox-swain in 1976; he wasawarded the silvermedal in 1980.

photograph of Trevor Eng-land by courtesy of Mar-garet Murray, and photo-graphs of Kenneth Voice,Harry Jones and MichaelGrant by courtesy of PeterHadfield.

Michael Grant joinedSelsey lifeboat crew in1960 and was secondcoxswain from 1972until 1978 when he wasappointed coxswain; hewas awarded thethanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum in1978 and the silvermedal in 1979.

Grant: Cape Coast was an old ship.The bridge and accommodation wereamidships and her lowest part was herstern. They lowered a pilot ladder overthe ship, towards the starboard quar-ter. I went in with the port bow wellfendered to see what would happen.We got there and within two secondswe were away again, astern. So I sent aradio message to the skipper and saidwe could get them off. Then we went inagain, steadily. You can't go in tooslowly because you lose steerage way.We just put the bow in, with enginesfull ahead, and tried to hold her there.We got knocked away two or threetimes, but, mostly, it seemed to work.The 48ft 6in Oakleys are very heavyboats for their size, aren't they? andthey are pretty steady in the water. Ittakes a biggish sea to knock themaway.

Coxswain Harry Jones, Hoylake: I havebeen alongside ships and pilot boatshundreds of times and we find that thedrag of the big boat herself tends tohold you in.

England: We found that the seas wereso big that, putting men forward, wehad a chance of Skopelos Sky's canoe-shaped stern coming down and hittingthe lads. When she did eventually hitus, the men on the foredeck looked aftat us at the wheelhouse and didn'tknow whether to freeze or run. Theonly way we could manoeuvre was fullahead and full astern. It wasn't untillater on, when we were talking betweenourselves waiting for the helicopter tolift the rest of the crew off, that the ladwho was on the radio in the after end ofthe wheelhouse said, 'What were youtrying to do? Rip the gearboxes out?'Back near the tunnels he could hear hergoing full ahead, full astern, all thetime. Until he said that I hadn't really

noticed that that was what I was doing.But you had to do that to try to hold theboat in any position to let the survivorsget off.

Grant: I put the mechanic on the throt-tles because it gave me more scope touse the wheel and he said afterwardsthat he reckoned there must have been150 different moves of the throttles inthe half hour we were taking them off.He was really giving the gears a terribletime. Full ahead, full astern, just tokeep the boat on the foot-wide ladder.

Lt-Cdr Roy Portchmouth; staff inspec-tor: How would you have felt if youhad been going alongside a small vesselas opposed to a big one in the same sortof seas?

Grant: It would have been a differentworld. I have been out on two or threeroughish services to small boats andreally haven't had any problemsbecause you could get in and away soquickly. If you are alongside a big shipit doesn't matter which way you go,either ahead or astern, it still takes timeto get away. But with small craft, a fewseconds and you are clear.

England: With a big ship there is somuch ship to pass . . .

Coxswain Kenneth Voice, ShorehamHarbour: When I am going in to a bigship, what is going through my mind is,how can I protect my lifeboat? But if Iam going in to a yacht, it is how I canprotect the yacht? To me, that is thebasic difference between the two jobs.

Jones: Nine times out ten the big fel-lows are in deeper seas while yachtsare usually closer in where the seas aregenerally shorter. The sea behaviour is

different and there has to be two differ-ent drills. Going alongside a big fellowyou can hold her there a bit better.With a yacht you cannot hold her therein the same way. You don't get anyshelter at all from a yacht because youare bigger than she is. You have got tohave a very fast, nimble crew when youare dealing with small boats.

Portchmouth: If you have to tow youhave probably got to put a crewmember aboard to secure the tow . . .

England: That is the most importantthing, because on so many small boatsthere is really nowhere to secure a line.Put it on a cleat and it just pulls out.

Jones: The old type of wooden boatshad big sampson posts, but modernyachts, which are designed to moor inharbours and marinas, have no strongpoint for towing.

Voice: I try not to waste time. You havegot a call to go to the assistance of ayacht. You know that she has fired aflare but you really do not know, halfthe time, what is the matter with her.You don't know if she has got a hole inher, or if she has got no steerage; youdon't know if the crew are all sick; youdon't know the position. We think thatthe right thing to do first is to get a manaboard with a line, even if we are goingto have to take the people off and leavethe boat. And we don't waste time pas-sing the line, because you don't knowwho you are passing it to. I am not pay-ing any disrespect, but you don't know.The skipper can be a very good sea-man, but he could have been seasickfor 12 hours and he is not the sameman. But I know the calibre of Joe thisor Fred that, and can say, 'Right, get

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aboard and put a rope round the maststraight away'. So for us, it is a manaboard, line round the mast and youhave got him. Sometimes you don'teven have to manoeuvre the boat tocome back alongside to take someoneoff; you can pull the boats together ifneed be.

Portchmouth: And your crew memberhas probably done it before a fewtimes . . .

Voice: Oh yes. You have got to put agood man on board and, if it is possible,put a younger man with him and thenhe can literally learn the ropes.

England: You can't always say take aturn round the mast. One yacht we hadto tow from the 1979 Fastnet Race hadbeen over three or four times and hermast was wobbling. It was only step-ped on deck, so the chances were wewould have pulled that one out. Oncethe mast has gone, where do you makea tow fast?

Voice: I am always wary of cleats onthe foredeck. Many, many times, witha day cabin cruiser, it's get a loop rightround the back of the coachroof. Get ahold on something fairly substantialsomewhere and you can make youradjustments afterwards.

The services to Athina B and Truganinihad been in shallow water, the one insurf, the other over sandbanks. Whatdifference did that make in handlingthe lifeboats?

Voice: Athina B was in the heaviest surfI have ever experienced and anyoneconnected with the sea knows thatonce you get into surf your boat actsquite differently. The surf is full of airand the props are not gripping. Youcan't steer the same and you haven'tthe same power. You are in the lap ofthe gods, make no mistake about it.

Jones: In surf you have got a movementwhich is going, say, from offshore tothe mainland. On a sandbank, the sea ishitting the bank and being bumped upinto the air. The water is more con-fused. It tends to throw the boat arounda lot more. In surf we find that you canrun along parallel with the shore, buton a bank you can come at the casualtyfrom any angle and as long as you havegot just enough water under you, youcan get away with it. But you are suck-ing the bottom all the time and yourboat will not manoeuvre anywhere nearas well as she would in deeper water.

Voice: Any boat will smell the bottombefore you can. The wheel just goeslike a load of jelly in your hands,doesn't it? You can feel it. You don'thave to look at the echo sounder.

Portchmouth: We have more or lessconcluded, I think, that if you can tow

a small vessel it is often preferable totrying to get people off and that if youhave to go alongside a small boat it isnot usually an enormous problem. Onthe other hand, with a large vessel youhave a got a pretty well guaranteedproblem. Do you have any thoughts,starting with you, Mike, on any specialprocedures which you would recom-mended as standard? Or indeed haveyou any thoughts on any new methodsor equipment in the lifeboats whichwould help in solving this problem?

Grant: Going alongside a large ship in astorm is always going to be a problem. Idid prefer the old fashioned rope fen-ders, for fendering up. We still carryabout four aboard. We put those overthe bow before approaching CapeCoast and they were still there whenthe new fenders were blowing. We didcut through them in the end. CapeCoast was an old ship and you canimagine tearing up the side of a shipwith a load of rivets sticking out; it wasgoing to do a lot of damage. CapeCoast rolled down on top of us at onestage, when we had got round prettywell broadside on to her. She camedown and it was a bit frightening, at thetime. In fact she bent our whip aerials.We went full astern and away foranother attempt. That is why I alwaystry to keep at an angle so that when youcome full astern you know you areactually going away from the vessel.

Voice: I do exactly the same thing, justput the shoulder of the boat in, to pro-tect my propellers and rudder. You areno good to anyone unless you havesteerage on the boat. Apart from that,the least wood you have got touchingmetal the better.

Portchmouth: Do you feel that youcould do with a lot more power underthose conditions?

Grant: Well, it may depend on theboat, but no, I don't think so. I don'tthink all the power in the world is goingto keep you in that position against aship when a mountainous sea comesalong. Cape Coast was riding atanchor, head to sea. So there was nolee. The sea was sweeping along bothsides. We have got some 200 horse-power in the 48ft 6in Oakley but I don'tthink 2,000 horsepower would havekept you in that position when a sealike that actually hit you.

Voice: I would connect power withmanoeuvrability. A 42ft Watson'shorsepower is not great, but her propel-lers are right and she has got a lot ofpower. You have got yourself a littletug there; you have got the power but itis slow to build.

Portchmouth: It is not instant power.

Voice: No. What you want is not somuch the power as the instant power.

On this service i ««,,,board shoulder of the lifeboat againstthe port side of the ship. That was theattitude I was trying to lay, but some-times a nasty sea creeps in between thelifeboat and the ship and puts yourhead out. Now, what I would haveliked would have been extra powerfrom the port engine, to throw the bowin.

Portchmouth: That is, of course, theenormous advantage the fast afloatboats have. Every coxswain of a FABwill tell you that. There is nocomparison.

Jones: Going back to services to smallboats, our biggest difficulty was power.We certainly had not got the powerwith the 37ft Oakley—we had a relieflifeboat on station when we went out toTruganini—to tow the catamaran headto sea. Besides, I do not think it isadvisable, once you have picked thecasualty up, to tow her head into sea.Nine times out of ten you will smashher up. Once we had got the towingwarp aboard, I found it was better topay off to port and gradually try to towher across the sea until the sea came onour starboard shoulder, to ease thework that the lifeboat was doing. Thenwe could tow her. And another thing: ifa yacht has been anchored and you slipthe anchor warp, it is advisable to getaway from that area as quickly as youcan; with modern cordage of man-madefibres, you have got to watch yourprops. You want the power for man-oeuvrability, not for speed. Power insome of the smaller boats, if anything,could be a disadvantage. We find inshallow water that if you open up yourengines too much you tend to squat,and this is when the trouble starts. Youhave got to have a coxswain with agreat deal of experience to know justwhen he can use the power.

Portchmouth: It is manoeuvrabilityrather than speed we are thinking aboutin this context. Any thoughts on that,Trevor?

England: Yes. There was one timewhen we had the throttles right backbut even then we couldn't get awayfrom Skopelos Sky. Now, I do notknow whether she was coming towardsus at the same time as we were goingastern or not, but we couldn't get awayfrom her. She was coming down on topof us and it didn't seem as though any-thing was happening. I didn't look overthe side to see whether we were goingastern or not because my eyes werejust glued to that lump of steel comingdown on top of us and the three blokesup on deck who were looking back atyou with frightened looks saying,' Well, are you doing what you are sup-posed to be doing back there?' Becausethey are relying on you. We didn'tseem to move at all, not for seconds.Then all of sudden we came

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apart . . . But I will say, the amount oftimes I shifted that wheel, I don't thinkI could have stayed at it for so long if ithad not been power assisted. And Ididn't want to put that wheel in anyoneelse's hands, not that day. I'm notbeing big headed now, but that was it:me and the wheel were one.

Jones: I think in the Rother the steeringis hard. I'm pretty tough, but if I havebeen out in her for four or five hours,manoeuvring in shallow water, when Icome back I know about it.

England: And the closer the throttlesare to the wheel, the better.

Jones: I should hate to go back to thedays when you had two mechanicsworking the throttles. It is the time lag.When you are working the throttlesyourself, you unconsciously use yourengines without even knowing you aredoing it. It just comes to you likesomeone walking along the road.

Voice: I don't like steering and I knowthe lads like to have a go; but when youget bad conditions, in my opinion, it isthe coxswain's job to be on the wheel.You are the one who has got to makethe decisions and you have got to reactvery quickly. As Harry says, you aregoing through the movements and youdon't even know you have done them.You cannot give those sort of orders.

England: That is why I like to have thethrottles close and be able to use themmyself. It is all very well having some-one there to help you. You have stillgot to relay what you are thinking.

Jones: The coxswain has got to bethere.

Grant: I don't think I would ever handover the boat, when the weather is likethat.

Portchmouth: When the chips are reallydown you want to take her.

Voice: At the same time, it is part of thecoxswain's job to get his crew to doeverything, whenever possible.

England: Oh yes, and there is nothingnow that could happen at Padstowwithout our crew taking that boat out tosea, and they are going to do a firstclass job.

Conversation turned to drogues . . .

Jones: When you were running did youhave your drogue out at all?

England: That morning, when we wentout to Skopelos Sky, it was the firsttime we have ever had to ease the boatdown in any sea. In a gale of wind, asyou know, Mike, that boat is like a tug,she just steams on and nothing reallystops her. She will fall into a trough and

I have only ever heard her enginesshudder once.

Jones: Well, things are different in dif-ferent areas. Our station boat is a 37ft6in Rother. She is a fine boat and wecannot find a fault with her, but wehave got to ease her down in a big fol-lowing sea and we have got to have thedrogue out. But we work, sometimes,in as little as nine feet of water. Wecome in from the Bar Lightship, on theedge of the 12 fathom line. Now if youhave to get straight in to the shore,where a lot of casualties are, you areoften in nine feet of water and the bot-tom is as flat as this table. We mayhave to run five, six miles before anorth-westerly gale. We have got towork the drogue. You couldn't man-oeuvre without it.

England: We would use a drogue inthose conditions, but the sea we werein that morning was big and it was onthe bluff of the bow. We had to ease herback and head into every sea weencountered. Normally we just say,'Hang on boys, we'll shoulder thisone.' But that morning it was every seawe came to. Then we got to a positionfrom where we had to run down to thecasualty, and all we knew about herwas that she was out of command.Rather than waste any time, I asked thechaps to fender up on the bluff of thestarboard bow, and they told me after-wards that as they were kneeling on thedeck tying on the fenders, the feeling ofacceleration as they were going down asea was like being on a Mallabu board.They said the speed was terrific.

Jones: It wants some believing, butwhen we have been running with anorth-westerly gale we reckon that theRother and 37ft Oakleys have touched20 knots. The engines have literallybeen howling and that is when we putthe drogue out. I can almost feel theboat tending to screw round.

Voice: I always put the drogue out onceI feel that I am beginning to lose con-trol. The only way you can steer a boatin these conditions is through yourrudder and you have got to have wayon. If the stern is sticking out of thewater, then that's it; you cannot steer.And the only way you can counteractthat, certainly with our 42ft Watson, isto stream the drogue.

Grant: I like to have the drogue out ingood time, because running before asea is the worst thing there is.

England: We did have a short run,maybe three quarters or half a milelong; we wouldn't have had time to putthe drogue out and get it in again. Bythe time the lads had got those fendersall up on one side, we were there. Thenwe found that the coaster had done acomplete turn and was heading theother way. So I had to tell the lads,

fenders all the other side. Then one ofthe lads in his quickness to try and get afender fixed, lost it overboard. So I say'Now we'll go and pick it up'. And hesays, 'What's this, then, a man over-board drill?' I thought it was just aswell to see if we could pick up a manfrom the water in those conditions, ifnecessary. So we went round andpicked the fender up. No bother at all.If someone had jumped overboard fromthe casualty, we could have picked himup.

Voice: It's the crew who are up on theopen deck. I am full of praise for mycrew. We have been given an award,but I never forget, and I am sure noneof you do, that it takes seven or eightchaps to pull off what we did on theboat. You don't do it on your own.Although the coxswain has got the ini-tial responsibility it is only if everybodyis doing his job right that the service isa success . . .

England: I would endorse every wordKen says about the crews, and wouldadd the importance of the work of therecovery crews of the boats when weget back . . .

Jones: This is something we all realise.It is team work and we could not do ajob without them, right down theline . . .

Grant: That's right . . .

Voice: . . . and my lads were utterlyexposed. Now, a lot of people havesaid to me, 'When you were alongside,did your crew have lifelines on?' Theanswer was no, not when they wereactually taking the survivors off theboat. I was going to put the starboardshoulder of the lifeboat alongside, so,going in, I had all the crew on the portside. Directly you are holding somesort of station your men have got to goforward and get the people off. Youcannot tie on properly, because withbods falling on top of one another linesare a nuisance. There is an old saying,'One hand for the boat and one foryou'. But you cannot take people off aheaving deck with one hand. You havegot to have two and you have got to letgo. On a lifeboat, if lifelines are madefast to the guardrail you cannot movemore than three or four feet becauseyou are checked by the stanchions. Iwould like to see on lifeboats a singlechain, or wire, going from stem to sternso that a man can hook on and he cango forward and move about freely andsafely. And if he should fall over youare not going to lose him.

Portchmouth: If he was secured to acentral line, fore and aft, he could duckunder that. He could start off on theport side and cross under it to star-board still with his lifeline secure.

Jones: We only use the lifelines todayfor putting the drogue over the side or

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something very abnormal. Otherwisewe do not use them. You are just toorestricted.

Grant: The only time we ever use themis if crew members are going down onthe scrambling net to pick somebodyout of the water.

Portchmouth: We are putting fore andaft lifelines along the sides of the super-structures of the fast afloat boats. Fromwhat you have said, we ought also tothink of a central lifeline down acrossthe fo'c'sle.

Grant: It would give you about 20 footof scope, wouldn't it, at least?

Portchmouth: A very valuable point. Ithink we are all more or less agreed thatin bad conditions it can be pretty dif-ficult thing to get alongside a large ves-sel. In those circumstances, what doyou think about the philosophy of get-ting the crew to abandon ship first andthen retrieving them either fromliferafts or from the water itself?

Grant: The crew of Cape Coast hadinflated their liferafts but the comman-der of the frigate which was standingby, a top notch fellow, told them on noaccount to get into those liferafts. Idon't know whether they had thrownthem into the water or inflated them ondeck; all I can tell you is that when wegot there the liferafts, and they were12-men liferafts, were flying around therigging.

Jones: If a casualty is close to theshore, the crew could be jumping out ofthe frying pan into the fire. I presumethe liferafts would be made fast to theship?

Portchmouth: We must assume that.

Jones: What if the painter parts? It'sBob's your uncle then, isn't it? If thecasualty is offshore, then they couldprobably abandon ship. But in theLiverpool Bay area, where I am, youwould have them on the beach withinminutes.

England: Towards the end of the after-noon Skopelos Sky had anchored butshe was dragging and we were facedwith the situation where the ship wasclosing on a lee shore and we were fastrunning out of water; you could feel theheave coming. Your neck begins to goa little clammy. The helicopter hadtaken off three of the five men left onboard. The he came in and picked up afourth man—and went. And wethought 'Has he made a mistake?Doesn't he know there is a fifth manthere?' Then another helicopterappeared and he had to send downsomebody who hadn't been downbefore. The boat was now in completedarkness and light had gone and she

seemed to be closing faster. And it wasgetting to the point where we could notgo in without anchoring and veeringdown on top of her.

Jones: Well, if he had put his liferaft outthen, he would have been in lumber,wouldn't he?

England: It was too late. But at the lastminute the helicopter did take the manoff.

Portchmouth: It would certainly havebeen too late to use the liferaft then,but further out it might not have been.

England: Earlier on that morning, withplenty of daylight, as I said earlier, wepicked up that fender with no trouble atall. If they had jumped on the clearerside of the ship with the propeller goingahead, then we could easily havepicked them up.

Jones: As you say, with tons of water,room to manoeuvre and time to pickthem up, then perhaps you can advisethem to abandon ship. But not in shal-low water.

Grant: It must be easier for somebodyto get into a liferaft from a yacht thanfrom the deck of a ship, which isperhaps 20, 30 feet up in the air.

Voice: I think we would possibly allagree, especially when talking aboutsmaller boats, that the time to leave theboat is when your navel starts gettingwet and not before. Stick with it. Alifeboat is low in the water and youhave got much more chance of seeing aboat, even if she is half submerged,than you have somebody in the waterwhether he is in a dinghy or just in thewater with a lifejacket on. If, withlarger ships, you come to a situationwhere you feel you cannot get the crewoff for some reason, you should forgetthe liferaft and ask the men to jump ingroups tied together, ideally in groupsof four or five. If they are tied togetheryou are not going to lose anyone; if youhave got one, you have got the rest.But if they are dotted around all overthe place, you have got manoeuvringproblems and it is all too easy to losesight of someone.

Portchmouth: One of the first rules forsurvivors is, stay together.

Voice: And being together, talking,singing, even swearing together, helpsto keep up the will to stay alive and berescued.

Can a breeches buoy be used from alifeboat in extreme weather?

Voice: There are no rules. I did con-sider the breeches buoy with Athina Bbecause there was no way I could goalongside on the seaward side and atfirst, in the dark, I was not sure

whether there was enough room for usto go between the ship and the shore.The Coastguard did try to get a lineacross from the shore, but it was toofar. In heavy seas a breeches buoy hasgot a lot of problems. It is going to be arough, cold journey for the men, get-ting them back, and if you have got alot of rope in the water, it is floating ontop and a hazard to your props. Forme, on my patch, it is a last resort.

England: I don't think we could haveused a breeches buoy. If we had put abloke in the breeches buoy and the twovessels had come together and partedin those conditions, he would havegone up in the sky.

Grant: I can see occasions where it isthe only possible thing. From what yousay, Harry, your bit of ground is a bitlike mine. I can get out and stand up sixmiles off. We have got four feet ofwater. If anything drives in on that, inany heavy swell, there is no way youcan get the lifeboat in. What else couldyou do but attempt the breeches buoy?

Voice: We have been fortunate enoughto have been given a little inflatabledinghy which we carry on board, so wecan veer that down for that type of job.

Portchmouth: Do you like the idea ofthe inflatable in lieu of the breechesbuoy?

Jones: Yes, we use an inflatable.

Portchmouth: What method do you useto secure it to the endless whip?

Jones: We think of it as a shopping bagand tie it right round.

Portchmouth: You parcel it up? Youput the line right round the whole boat,both ways, and secure it fore and aft,with one end of the veering line on thestern and the other end on the bow?You use it exactly like a breechesbuoy?

Jones: Yes. But it is much bigger thanthe breeches buoy and the wind tendsto help you a lot. And we find we donot get the same twist in the water. Weuse an inflatable dinghy in this waywith our sailing club rescue launchmore than with the lifeboat. We havegot some cliffs close to us; if a dinghygoes on the cliffs, you cannot take thebig club launch into the surf, so we usethe inflatable dinghy. Basically, it is agood way of getting a line down wind.

Portchmouth: I presume you would putone of your own crew in it?

Voice: Certainly. Possibly two.

Portchmouth: There is one aspect ofsurvivor recovery on which I wouldlike your views, and that is the means

(Continued on page 125)

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January 1881THREE WEEKS OF STORMS AND BLIZZARDS

JUST A HUNDRED YEARS AGO

by Ray KiplingPUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER RNLI

A CENTURY AGO lifeboat crews werenearly all fishermen who spent most oftheir time working at sea and were wellused to long periods of exposure inharsh conditions. Their lifeboats,although the best of their day, weresimple open boats with no power butoars and sails and offering virtually noprotection to the crews. Remarkablefeats were achieved in these lifeboatsand during January 1881 the determina-tion and stamina of a number of lifeboatcrews was tested most severely.

For the first 20 days of 1881 stormsand blinding blizzards lashed Englandand Scotland and, up and down the eastcoast, brigs, smacks, schooners, bar-ques and fishing vessels were drivenashore, dismasted and sunk. Duringthose 20 days, 148 lives were saved in25 successful services and sevenlifeboatmen were lost.

CapsizeThe RNLI had suffered its worst dis-

aster to date in October, 1880 whenWells lifeboat capsized with the loss of11 of her crew of 13. The lifeboat was aself-righter but righting was delayed bythe anchor fouling and the foremast hit-ting the sea bed.

Harwich lifeboat was also a self-righter and on January 18, 1881, she putout in a strong gale and capsized half amile from shore. All the crew regainedthe lifeboat but one man later died fromcold and exhaustion. On the samemorning Great Yarmouth lifeboatlaunched into the gale and heavy break-ing seas to take four men off a Frenchketch which had run aground on thenorth beach. A few hours later aschooner was sighted, stranded on thesouth beach. Once again the lifeboatput out and took off the only man onboard. She was then hauled towardsthe land by a rocket line worked by thepeople on the shore, but was capsizedby a heavy sea. Six lifeboatmen and thesurvivor were lost.

Such was the faith of the Harwichcrew in their lifeboat that three daysafter the capsize they performed anoutstanding rescue, taking seven Dutchseamen from their wrecked steamer.The men had been lashed to the riggingfor four nights and three days in freez-ing conditions and to reach them thelifeboatmen were out for 16 hours, row-ing continuously for eight hours.

OverlandThe blizzards caused a different

problem at Whitby on January 19.

A telegram was received stating that aship had sunk in Robin Hood's Bayabout six miles to the south but withthe tremendous sea running, a north-easterly gale and the intense snow andhail, there was no chance of rowing thelifeboat to her aid. The only alternativewas to take the boat the six miles over-land, up a road which climbed steeply500 feet above sea level, ran along themoor and then dropped sharply backinto the bay.

The snow had drifted to seven feetdeep in places and Captain Gibson, thehonorary secretary, gathered a team of60 men to cut through the snowdrifts.As they worked, more joined them andeventually the lifeboat was being pulledby 18 horses with the way being clearedby some 200 men. A team from RobinHood's Bay worked up the hill to meetthe people of Whitby and, after adangerous descent down the steep andnarrow road into the bay, the lifeboatwas launched little more than twohours after she had left her station.

The lifeboat crew had been workingwith everyone else to clear the snowbut, although they were tired, they setout straight away, struggling for anhour to row to the casualty. They werenearly swamped several times and asthey approached the ship's boat a hugewave struck the lifeboat and snappedthe steer oar and six other oars. Theyhad to put back to the shore and Cox-swain Henry Freeman called for volun-teers to replace the exhausted menwhile the second coxswain found newoars. The lifeboat set out again with adouble crew of 18 men. This time theywere successful and rescued the sixshipwrecked sailors.

Further south, Ramsgate lifeboat hadthe advantage that she could be towedby a steam tug to the area of a casualty.On the night of the Whitby rescue she

was out helping a collier which wasdismasted. It was a rescue two weeksearlier, however, on January 5 and 6,which took the Ramsgate lifeboat Brad-ford and her coxswain, Charles Fish,into a particularly honoured place inlifeboat history.

Indian ChiefThe 1,238-ton ship Indian Chief had

set out from Middlesborough on Sun-day January 2 bound for Japan with ageneral cargo. On board were 28 sea-men and a north country pilot. By 0230on Wednesday she was in sight ofKentish Knock Light, about half wayacross the mouth of the Thames Estu-ary: an area later described by her mateas 'just a network of shoals'. Althoughheavy gales had been blowing from thenorth and east for two days, they hadmoderated and all appeared well. Thenthe wind shifted to the east, fresheningquickly, and during a rain squall IndianChief started drifting towards LongSand. Her crew tried to put her aboutbut before her sails could fill again shehad struck the ground broadside on. Agreat flare was kindled and distressrockets fired; signals which were ans-wered by both the Sunk and KnockLightships.

'But all the while,' in the words of themate, 'the wind was gradually sweepingup into a gale—and oh, the cold, goodLord! the bitter cold of that wind!'

It was not until noon that the newsreached the shore and lifeboats fromAldeburgh, Clacton and Harwich to thenorth of the Thames Estuary andRamsgate to the south all set out. LongSand is about 30 miles from Ramsgateand the tug Vulcan with the lifeboatBradford in tow took almost five hoursto reach the area. The seas were sorough that Coxswain Fish later saidthat Vulcan was thrown up like a ball,and her starboard paddle came clear ofthe water high enough for a coach topass underneath. The tow was head towind and within minutes the lifeboat-men were soaked and any shelter theytried to rig was immediately blownaway. Coxswain Fish described thewind as the coldest he had known,more like a flaying machine than anatural gale of wind, giving a feeling inthe face like being gnawed by a dog; hecould only wonder that it did not freezethe tears it forced from his eyes. The

Whitby lifeboat on the way to Robin Hood's Bay, January 19, 1881.picture by courtesy of Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society

124

men in the tug were little better off astheir wheelhouse provided only ameagre shelter.

By 1700, night was closing in andKentish Knock Lightship was sighted.The men gave a bearing for the wreckand then signals from Sunk Lightshipwere seen, but the wreck could not befound in the darkness. Although theywere already cold, soaked and tired,the lifeboatmen and the crew of the tugresolved to stay by Long Sand untildawn.

For the next 14 hours the lifeboat-men sought what little comfort theycould find as the waves swept overtheir open boat in the howling gale. Asthe lifeboat pitched and tossed, tenmen would huddle together forwarmth, while two, secured bylifelines, acted as lookouts. The nightwas a test of physical stamina as thecrew, heaped on top of each other,gradually felt the pain of the cold creep-ing into their limbs. Their provisions,chocolate and biscuits, had beenreduced to pulp and the only drink wasa nip of rum.

As dawn rose, one of the crew spot-ted the wreck and the lifeboat immedi-ately cast off her tow rope and hoistedher sails. The seas around Long Sandwere a boiling fury and had carriedaway all but the foremast of IndianChief. The master and 16 of his crewhad perished during the night and theirbodies were tangled in the wreckage ofspars, rigging and torn canvas. Withgreat difficulty the lifeboat came inclose to the wreck and as seas swept

Illustration from THE LIFEBOAT, February 1881, of the wreck of Indian Chief: Ramsgatelifeboat, Bradford, in tow of the tug Vulcan.

right over her the survivors were takenaboard, one by one. The lifeboat thenset out to rejoin the tug through suchfearful seas that some of the rescuedmen thought that perhaps they hadbeen safer lashed to the rigging of thewreck.

Eventually, Vulcan and Bradfordentered Ramsgate Harbour, 26 hoursafter setting out, to be met by a crowdwho could hardly believe the physicalsuffering and anguish on the survivors'faces. Stirring accounts of the rescueappearing in The Daily Telegraph werean inspiration to the whole nation, andCoxswain Charles Fish's statementafter the rescue surely reflects a senti-

ment which will always be with lifeboatcrews:

7 know in my heart, and say it withoutfear, that from the hour of leavingRamsgate Harbour to the moment whenwe sighted the wreck's mast, there wasonly one thought in all of us, and thatwas that the Almighty would give us thestrength and direct us how to save thelives of the poor fellows to whose assis-tance we have been sent.'

The gold medal of the Institution wasawarded to Coxswain Charles Fish,while the silver medal was awarded toeach of his crew as well as to the mas-ter, engineer and crew members of thetug Vulcan.

Going alongsidefrom page 123

of getting a survivor directly out of thewater. How many men does it take toget one man out of the water?

Jones: We picked up two men a monthago, and one of them was completelyunconscious. We put the scramblingnet down; two men went over the sideand helped two more of the crew pullhim aboard.

Portchmouth: It took four all together.

Jones: I have picked up dozens anddozens of chaps and it is amazing whathard work it is. It is fantastic. I can lift12 stone up easily ashore, but, at sea,you try and lift a 12-stone man aboard.

Voice: It is very hard work. They arevery, very heavy. I agree with Harry.You have got to have that scramblingnet down because otherwise your mencannot get down low enough. If theylean over the guardrail and start pul-ling, they are going to go over as well.

Grant: We get two chaps down on thescrambling net, one of them with a

good rope to get a bowline round theman in the water. Then you can get acouple of blokes up on the top of the48ft 6in Oakley and they can get areally good pull.

Portchmouth: Would you think, insteadof a bowline, it would be a good idea ifall lifeboats carried a helicopter rescuestrop?

Voice: Definitely. Even if a man washalf dazed he could see what wasexpected of him and would help himselfinto it. And it is comfortable.

Jones: Yes. You imagine, maybe ayoung lady in the water who is not sobig boned as a man . . . a rope willalmost cut her shoulders to pieces. Buta rescue strop, now . . .

Voice: I think that would be a most use-ful item on board the boat. Not verycostly, and no stowage space requiredfor it. You deliver one to Shoreham,and we will use it!

England: There is one thing we haven'tdiscussed and to us it was of paramountimportance that morning when we wentout to Skopelos Sky. Before we wentdown the slipway we had seen the sea.

We had listened to the wind all nightand it was frightening. We never, everexpected to launch in conditions likethat, and if we had not had a self-righting lifeboat, I don't know that wewould have launched that morning. Ithought that no way were we going toget away for any length of time at seawithout that boat turning over. Wefully expected it to happen. And know-ing she is supposed to come up the rightway is very reassuring. I think greatthanks ought to be given to the generalpublic and the Institution for trying toget all these lifeboats self-righting by1980, after the two Scottish lifeboatshad been lost, as they were, in 1969 and1970. And then, only what? eight ornine years later, two Scottish lifeboatswere turned over in 1979 and bothcame up; and one, with an airbag, wasa Barnett, which to me was one of thefinest boats the Institution ever built.

Portchmouth: Well, gentlemen, wehave talked about a number of pointswhich are vital aspects of rescue at sea.I hope this discussion serves to stimu-late further thought in those directions,not only by ourselves and our lifeboatcolleagues, but also by any other sea-farers who appreciate that thinkingahead usually alleviates any crisiswhich may occur.

125

Two relief,.. one station,

THE NAMING OF THREE LIFEBOATSIN SEPTEMBER 1980

w i'.

The 52ft Arun relief lifeboat Edith Emiliemoored at the RNLI Poole depot quay forher naming.

Relief WaveneyLIFEBOATS OF THE RELIEF FLEET arevitally important and can be busier thanstation lifeboats, but as they have nopermanent station their naming cere-monies can take place inland. In 1966the RNLI's first 70ft lifeboat, whichsubsequently joined the relief fleet, wasnamed by Princess Marina at StKatharine's Dock just by the Tower ofLondon. This year the dock was thevenue for the naming of another relieflifeboat, a 44ft Waveney, and represen-tatives of Wavy Line Grocers from allover the country were present.

Wavy Line started to support theRNLI ten years ago, organising afund-raising raft race from Sheringhamto Cromer, and has since added annualraft races at Southsea and Southend.The races raise thousands of pounds,and a special promotion of Wavy Linegoods with a donation being made tothe RNLI for labels returned to thestores added to the money to providethe lifeboat.

A competition was run among WavyLine's own members to find a namer,and so on the afternoon of WednesdaySeptember 3, 1980, Mrs Barbara Laird,wife of a Wavy Line grocer from Hart-ley Wintney, pressed the button whichsent a champagne bottle crashing overthe bows of the lifeboat Wavy Line.

Derek Abbott, chairman of WavyLine Grocers, officially handed thelifeboat to Vice-Admiral Sir PeterCompston, a deputy chairman of theInstitution, who paid tribute to thesupport which Mr Abbott and hisassociation had given the RNLI. SirAlec and Lady Rose were present atthe ceremony and Sir Alec, who hadvisited many of the grocery shops dur-ing the promotion, endorsed the deputychairman's thanks and mentioned theefforts of the individual shopkeepers.

(Left) Champagne breaks over the bow ofthe 44ft Waveney relief lifeboat WavyLine, and (below) a bouquet is presented toher namer, Mrs Barbara Laird, by Sir AlecRose.

photographs by courtesy of Jeff Morris

126

Great Yarmouth and GorlestonMen of the Royal Navy lost when

HMS Barham was torpedoed in 1941were commemorated in the naming ofGreat Yarmouth and Gorleston's new44ft Waveney lifeboat on WednesdaySeptember 17, 1980. More than half thecost of the lifeboat was provided by abequest from Colin A. S. Stringer ofWalton-on-Thames, whose brother wasone of the 859 men who died when thebattleship was sunk; representatives ofthe 405 who, miraculously, wererescued from the sinking ship were atBreakwater Promenade, Gorleston, forthe naming of the new lifeboat RNLBBarham last September.

A large legacy from Mrs A. Gerald-ine Miles of Southbourne helped tomake up the total cost of the boat andamong those who gave donations toprovide equipment were the Barham

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston's new 44ftWaveney lifeboat, Barham, with Lowestoftlifeboat, the 47ft Watson Frederick EdwardCrick in attendance.

photograph by courtesy of 'YarmouthMercury'

After her naming at Breakwater Prom-enade, Gorleston, Barham casts off for ademonstration of her manoeuvrability.

photograph by courtesy of Jeff Morris

Although there was not enoughspace in the dock for the lifeboat to beput through her paces, the platformparty did look over her and were suffi-ciently impressed for Wavy Line topledge its continued support to theRNLI through its raft races.

Relief ArunThe first 52ft Arun to enter the relief

fleet was named Edith Emilie at theRNLI depot quay in Poole on MondaySeptember 22, 1980. She was the gift ofMrs E. E. Currie, whose family hadfounded a firm of timber merchants inPoole. Among other guests for theceremony were the Mayor and Admiralof the Port of Poole, Councillor FredHarris, the Mayoress, Mrs Harris, theSheriff, Councillor Mrs Edna Adams,Mr Adams and representatives ofnearby RNLI branches and guilds.Also present were visitors to Poolefrom Icelandic and Australian lifeboatsocieties, and young Simon Hall, thereto receive his bronze medal for gallan-try (see page 111). The director of theInstitution, Rear Admiral W. J.Graham, welcomed them all, togetherwith members of HQ and depot staffand their families.

While being escorted to the platform,Mrs Currie was presented with a bou-quet of flowers by Nicola Baker, thesix-year-old daughter of Tony Baker, afitter in the depot. But it was anexchange of gifts, because Mrs Curriehad brought a big woolly dog for littleNicola.

The lifeboat was accepted from MrsCurrie by Michael Vernon, a deputychairman of the Committee of Man-

agement, on behalf of the Institutionand there then followed a service ofdedication. It was conducted by theLord Bishop of Sherborne, the RightReverend John Kirkham, assisted bythe Reverend Anthony Carter, Assis-tant Rural Dean of Poole, the ReverendR. David Laidler, Methodist Ministerand Chairman of Poole and DistrictCouncil of Churches, and FatherEamonn McGivern, Parish Priest of StMary's Roman Catholic Church.

Coming to the naming itself, MrsCurrie, who as a girl had often sailedwith her parents from the River Ham-ble to Poole Harbour, said,

'It has given me so much happiness togive this lifeboat.'

Then, as she pressed the button tobreak the bottle of champagne,

'It gives me great pleasure to namethis lifeboat after myself, Edith Emilie.'

Poole lifeboat, the 44ft WaveneyAugustine Courtauld, was in atten-dance, dressed over all, and as EdithEmilie set off for a demonstration tripwith Mrs Currie and other guests onboard, a helicopter from HMS Daedalusflew past streaming an RNLI flag. Thusended a very happy morning.

Survivors Association and Weybridgebranch.

The new lifeboat was handed over tothe RNLI by Mr J. Guillaume, solicitorfor the Stringer Trust and also presi-dent of Weybridge branch. She wasaccepted on behalf of the Institution byVice-Admiral Sir Arthur Hezlet, amember of the Committee of Manage-ment who had himself once served inHMS Barham. He in turn delivered thelifeboat into the care of John Leech,honorary secretary of Great Yarmouthand Gorleston station, who, receivingher on behalf of the branch, told theassembled company that she hadalready been out on service eight times.Then, with the traditional breaking of abottle of champagne on the bows, MrsAngela Guillaume named the newWaveney lifeboat Barham.

A service of dedication was con-ducted by the Reverend Coh'n Cooper,Vicar of St Andrew's Church, Gorles-ton, assisted by the Reverend PatrickMcCluskey of Magdelene WayMethodist Church, Gorleston, andFather John Hyland, St Mary's RomanCatholic Church, Great Yarmouth.Music was provided by a naval bandfrom HMS Calling-wood.

127

Recovery at Padstow: watching the keel likea hawk, head launcher Pat Raby waits forthe right moment to throw the heaving line.

photographs by courtesy of Mark Dancy

Winchman Ernie Bennett activates thewinch which, with a V-shaped bridle of spe-cial flexible wire, hauls the lifeboat clear ofthe water.

Launching and RecoveryPART I: SLIPWAY STATIONS

by Edward Wake-WalkerRNLI ASSISTANT PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER (LONDON)

IN THE ACCOUNT of the service by Pad-stow lifeboat to the coaster SkopelosSky which appeared in the summer edi-tion of the journal, there was anunusual addendum. Unlike mostreports that begin with words to theeffect that 'the lifeboat launchedat . . .' and end 'returned to station' or'was rehoused at' whatever time, theSkopelos Sky report ended with anaccount of how the men responsible forrecovering the lifeboat had the frighten-ing task of securing the winch wire andhauling the James and Catherine Mac-farlane to safety in exceptionally roughseas. Coxswain Trevor England whohad been at sea for over eight hours inconditions reliably described as 'theworst in living memory', is prepared toadmit that he was happier to have beenaboard the lifeboat than among theshore crew during that particularrecovery. Here, and in the followingtwo issues of the journal, it is hoped bystudying the vital and often dangerousrole of shore helpers, the full implica-tions of the words launch and recoverywill emerge.

There are three basic methods oflaunching conventional lifeboats, eitherdown a slipway, or by tractor and car-riage or on skids over a beach. Eachmethod requires considerable skillfrom the launchers, built up over yearsof experience and passed down thegenerations. When generalising aboutany type of launch, it is important toappreciate that every station pridesitself on its individual interpretation ofthe slipway, carriage or beach launchand recovery methods. These small dif-ferences are determined by local condi-tions, traditions and the class of boat atthe station; however for the purpose of

these articles, three stations are fea-tured: Padstow (slipway), St Ives (car-riage) and Walmer (beach).

PadstowPadstow lifeboat, James and

Catherine Macfarlane, a 48ft 6in Oak-ley, is housed at the foot of the cliffs onthe east side of Trevose Head. A nar-row rocky spur stretches out to seaparallel to the slipway on the north sidemaking this an ideal location as it pro-tects the launching area from the worstof the Atlantic swell, although on thenight of the Skopelos Sky rescue seaswere breaking clean over the top of this60 foot natural barrier.

When there is a 'shout', headlauncher Pat Raby and winchman ErnieBennett with their team of helpers mustreach this remote site as rapidly as thelifeboat crew themselves. A slipwaylaunch is the quickest way of getting ahoused lifeboat to sea; once the creware aboard the winchman hoists thelifeboat a foot up the slipway to takethe strain off the preventer chainswhich secure the lifeboat to the slipwaywithin the boathouse. These chains aredetached and the lifeboat is lowereddown to its original position; theengines are started, propellers spinningin preparation for the first contact withthe sea, and at the whistled signal fromthe coxswain, the retaining pin is ham-mered out by the head launcher and thelifeboat accelerates quickly away,rumbling over the rollers which providethe initial speed at the top of the slip-way. The lifeboat's strangely slowmotion impact with the water is a spec-tacular climax and one of the mostfamous sights of the RNLI.

Once the lifeboat is high and dry, quarter stoppers support her entire32 tons as the bridle is dismantled . . .

. . . the winch takes the weight, the quarter stoppers are removed andsteadily the lifeboat is hauled up the slipway.

128

Patience must be one of a shorehelper's chief attributes; there can beno way of telling how long the lifeboatwill be on service; together with thehonorary secretary the launchers mustwait for messages from and to thelifeboat. Head launchers and winch-men have often had sea experience,some have been lifeboat crew mem-bers; many of their helpers are futurelifeboat men. They will all only be ableto use their imagination as to what isgoing on aboard the lifeboat. Hugh Wil-liams and John Williams, respectivelythe head launcher and winchman atPorthdinllaen station, North Wales,were once asked whether they wouldnot rather be out with the lifeboat her-self during a rescue. They agreed thatalthough they had both spent manyyears at sea as merchant seamen, theirexperience with the winch wire madethem of more value to the station onshore than at sea. Certainly the headlauncher's role is a highly responsibleone and the essence of the successfulrecovery of a lifeboat back on to herslipway is dependent on his judgmentand the teamwork that exists betweenhim and his winchman.

At Padstow the lifeboat prepares forrehousing by picking up two breastingbuoys, one to starboard and one to portof the bow, passing a line through eachand moving slowly astern on these twolines towards the slipway. Les Vipond,inspector of lifeboats for the southwest, describes this manoeuvre as 'themost unnatural thing to ask a seamanto do. It goes against all his instincts todrive the stern of his boat straight at arigid slipway'. However, the fortifiedkeel of a lifeboat and her housed prop-ellers are specially designed for thistreatment and although it takes consid-

erable skill by the coxswain, a secondattempt at 'finding the keelway' is veryrare indeed. It is now up to the headlauncher's skill; he will be standing atthe foot of the slipway, watching thelifeboat keel like a hawk, ready tothrow the heaving line to the crew atthe right moment. This can beextremely tricky in bad weather withnothing to hold on to when it is slipperyunder foot and with waves and strongwinds threatening to sweep you offyour feet at any moment. CoxswainTrevor England at Padstow will knowthat all is well if he hears nothing. Theysay about Pat Raby 'he won't say aword if it's going okay; if he yells, youknow there's something wrong'. Theheaving line is thrown aboard; attachedto this is the V-shaped bridle, made ofspecial flexible wire, which in turn isattached to the winch wire. The twoends "of the V are secured to bollardsaboard the lifeboat and at the blow of awhistle and what seems to be a tele-pathic message from his head launcher,Ernie Bennett activates the winchwhich hauls the lifeboat clear of thewater. This is a dangerous moment foranyone on the slipway; particularly if itis rough; the winch wire is now at thelevel of the lifeboat gunwale, highabove the heads of the recovery crew.If a wave forces the lifeboat to surge upthe slipway as she is half in and half outof the water, the wire will slacken thentauten and as it waves around, laun-chers have to be careful not to bestruck by it.

Once the lifeboat is high and dry—usually about a third of the way up theslipway—the winch is stopped, twothick ropes called quarter stoppers aresecured to the slipway at one end andto the port and starboard quarters of

The preventer chains are re-attached backin the boathouse.

the lifeboat at the other. These supportthe entire 32 tons of lifeboat as thebridle is dismantled and the winch wiresecured to the keel extension at thebase of the rudder. As the winch takesthe weight of the lifeboat the quarterstoppers are removed and steadily thelifeboat is then hauled up the remaininglength of the slipway into the boat-house where the preventer chains arere-attached. During this entire exercisethe winchman must be alert to everysignal from the head launcher, ready toreact instantly to each one and aboveall to be conscious of his wire and howit is behaving, especially when theweather is bad.

From the instant a coxswain hasmanoeuvred his lifeboat to the bottomof the slipway the responsibility of theshore helpers begins and a coxswainneeds tremendous faith in his headlauncher and winchman. It is impos-sible to doubt Trevor England when hesays that his recovery crew are the fin-est in the land, except that there are 40slipway stations and therefore 40 cox-swains who are likely to have the sameesteem for their own launchers.

(to be continued)

ObituariesIt is with deep regret that we

announce the following deaths:

AugustWilliam Braund, coxswain of

Clovelly lifeboat from 1956 to 1968. Hehad joined the crew in 1922 and servedas bowman from 1935 to 1936, as assis-tant mechanic from 1936 to 1940 andthen, after war service, from 1945 to1955, and as second coxswain from1955 to 1956. William Braund wasawarded the bronze medal in 1949.

SeptemberMrs E. A. Harris, who was awarded

honorary life governorship of the RNLIin 1980. Mrs Harris, who had workedfor the lifeboat service since 1931, washonorary secretary, first of Connah'sQuay, Shotton and District branchfrom 1941 to 1951 and then of Hawar-den branch from 1951 to 1973. Shebecame chairman of Harwarden branchin 1973 and president in 1979.

John Stonehouse, coxswain ofTeesmouth lifeboat from 1946 to 1965,

after serving as bowman from 1935 to1939 and second coxswain from 1939 to1945. He was awarded the bronzemedal in 1961.

John Tallon, coxswain of ClogherHead lifeboat from 1946 to 1965, afterserving as bowman from 1933 to 1938and second coxswain from 1938 to1946.

OctoberMrs M. R. Auckland, who had been

a committee member of Scarboroughladies' guild since 1940, becoming hon-orary treasurer in 1952. She was laterpresident both of the guild and of Scar-borough ladies' lifeboat luncheon cluband was awarded a statuette in 1971.

Harry K. Barron, a founder memberand past president of Sunbury-on-Thames branch of which for manyyears he was the mainstay.

Glyn Bateman, coxswain of Fish-guard lifeboat from 1968 until his death.He had joined the crew in 1954.

Lt William Henry Bennison, cox-swain of Hartlepool lifeboat from 1939to 1942 and from 1945 to 1957; he hadserved as bowman from 1930 to 1934

and as second coxswain from 1934 to1939. Coxswain Bennison was awardedthe thanks of the Institution inscribedon vellum in 1941 and the gold medalfor the service to Hawkwood in 1942.While serving in the RNVR during thewar he was awarded the COM andmedal militaire.

Norman Clive, appeals secretary ofPangbourne branch who, in six years,was the prime instigator in raising over£25,000 for the lifeboat service. He waspresented with a framed letter ofthanks in 1979.

NovemberCecil Launcelot Grunnil l , who joined

Skegness lifeboat crew in 1921 and wasassistant mechanic from 1932 to 1965.

Lifeboat tea: Look out for LifeboatTea, a new brand being packaged byWarnford Tea Trading Co of South-ampton, for which, in long-term sup-port of the lifeboat service, 2p will begiven to the RNLI for every packet(250 gms) sold. Lifeboat Tea will firstbe on sale in the south east.

129

ShorelineSection

ANOTHER YEAR has come to an end,and what a good year it has been forShoreline. In the 12 months of 1980,12,000 new members were enrolled—the largest number so far in any oneyear. That such a fine result wasachieved is due to the great support wereceive from our existing members,and all our efforts were given a greatboost by the special BMW car lotterythat was held in the early part of theyear.

* * *One Shoreline member whose con-

tinued work on the RNLI's behalf hasborne great fruit is Jim Mead, honorarysecretary of Molesey branch, Surrey.When the branch was formed inOctober 1975, Jim set himself the addi-tional task of enrolling 20 newShoreline members each year. Thatwould mean 100 members in five yearsand, almost to the day, he signed on hishundredth member, Kathryn Watson,last October. Kathryn, 18 years old,had just completed her secretarial train-ing and she paid her first Shoreline sub-scription out of her first pay packet.

Over and above his work in his ownarea, Jim Mead is a regular member ofthe Shoreline team on RNLI stands atboat shows and at the Ideal HomeExhibition.

For a number of years, Fred OlsenLines have been very good friends tothe RNLI, collecting money for thelifeboat service from passengers cruis-ing to Portugal and the Canary Isles inthe two Norwegian luxury liners MSBlenheim and MS Black Watch. As aresult, in 1977 Fred Olsen provided£3,000 for the 16ft D class inflatablelifeboat which is stationed at Redcar,and last October Fred Olsen's pas-senger director, Peter Robinson, vis-ited Poole HQ to present a cheque for£18,500 to Vice-Admiral Sir PeterCompston, a deputy chairman of theInstitution, to pay for an Atlantic 21lifeboat; she is to be called Blenwatch,combining the names of Blenheim andBlack Watch, and she will be stationedat New Brighton.

Now in 1981, Fred Olsen are makingan offer from which both the RNLI andShoreline members can benefit. ForShoreline members there is the chance,next March, of getting away from theBritish climate to a little bit of sun on a13-day cruise to the Canary Islands inBlack Watch at a 15 per cent reduction;for the RNLI there will be a 5 per cent

donation from each fare paid by aShoreline member.

Fred Olsen's hospitality is second tonone, the ships are superb and they arecrewed by British and Norwegianofficers. More details can be found onpages 140 and 141, and a booking formcomes to you with this journal.Accommodation is limited so, if youare interested, it would be wise to get inearly.

* * *Shoreline clubs are going from

strength to strength and we now havethree with the possibility of two moregetting under way in 1981. The latestaddition is RNLI Shoreline Club No. 3at Southend-on-Sea. The honorary sec-retary is Mick Holland of 83 Walsing-ham Road, Southend-on-Sea, and Mickwill be delighted to hear from anyShoreline member in the area whowould like to join the club.

* * *Shoreline member J. P. G. Mum-

mery, a retired Merchant Navy officer,is making a collection of maritime capbadges and associated 'shore-based'cap badges such as those of port and

111

Jim Mead, honorary secretary of Moleseybranch, enrols his hundredth Shorelinemember, 18-year-old Kathryn Watson.

photograph by courtesy of John Eagle

Blenwatch, the Atlantic 21rigid inflatable lifeboatdonated to the RNLI byFred Olsen Lines, was pre-sented to (I.) Vice-AdmiralSir Peter Compston, adeputy chairman of theInstitution, by Peter Robin-son, Fred Olsen's passengerdirector, at Poole lastOctober. She will bestationed at New Brighton.

pilotage authorities. For every badge,old or new, sent to him by a Shorelinemember, Mr Mummery will make adonation to the RNLI. His address isMowbray, 54 Hawkewood Road,Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex.

* * *On two evenings last autumn a

number of the boating people of Gorey,in Jersey, got together at The CastleGreen Hotel for a darts competition. Ithas to be admitted that on the finalevening, when the ladies played themen, the outcome became rather con-fused. For a start all the ladies dressedas men and . . . yes, you are right, themen dressed as ladies. Then, no onereally knew who won, because thescorer apparently kept getting hisfathoms and his metres mixed.Nevertheless there was no doubt thateveryone had a very good time and atthe end Mr J. McDougal presented a£150 cheque to Mr R. J. Jesson forShoreline. Darts players, whoever youwere, we are most grateful to you.

* * *Don't forget that, if you have any

Green Shield stamps to spare they canbe put to very good use if sent to NoraNeill, who is a member of Edgbastonand Harborne ladies' guild and who hasalready raised more than £3,600 forShoreline by collecting Green Shieldstamps. Mrs Neill is still appealing forstamps to be sent either to her at 95Fitzroy Avenue, Harborne, Birming-ham B17 8RG, or to RNLI West Mid-lands District, 16 Harborne Road, Bir-mingham B15 3AA.

* * *A happy and prosperous 1981 to you

all from all of us in Shorelineoffice.—PETER HOLNESS, membershipsecretary, RNLI, West Quay Road,Poole, Dorset, BH15 I HZ.

To: The Director, RNLI, West Quay Road1 enclose subscription to join Shoreline as a:

MemberFamily MembershipMember and GovernorLife member and Governor

Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ.

£3.00 (minimum) D£5.00 (minimum) D£15.00 (minimum) D£150.00 (minimum) D

Send me details of how I can help with a Legacy. D

Name _

Address

Over 106,000 people would have been lost without the lifeboat service.

130

A

Day at

The RacesASCOT

SEPTEMBER 26, 1980

THE TIDE WAS HIGH for the RNLI onSeptember 26, bringing lifeboat peoplefrom round the coast, and many inlandcities, towns and villages as well, tojoin with racegoers for this year'sAscot Charity Race Day. The six'maroons', between 2.15 and 4.50,were for the horses on a beautifulautumnal afternoon, with a slight hazeto soften the sun, little wind and visa-bility of—well, quite enough furlongsto see the runners approaching rightround the course.

By mid morning people were begin-ning to gather and already members ofAscot branch were at the entrancegates with collecting boxes, while thesouvenir caravans manned by Ascotand Central London Committeebranches were doing brisk business. Inthe area just behind the Grand Stand,where an Atlantic 21 was on display.Southern District branch membersscarcely paused all day in the sale oftickets for their District raffle for a Minicar (result, page 132).

An auction luncheon, for which theDuke of Atholl, chairman of the Institu-tion, was host, was held in one of theRoyal Enclosure restaurants. Most ofthe lots were stallion nominations fromleading studs and the auction, con-ducted by racing commentators PeterO'Sullevan and Lord Oaksey, raised awonderful £35,000. The luncheon hadbeen organised by a sub-committeeunder the chairmanship of Vivian May,chairman of Bridport branch, andguests were also invited by youngmembers of the Mermaid Committee totake part in a £5 draw.

Before racing began, the Royal NavyLadder Display Team gave a perfor-mance opposite the Grand Stand, andas their display ended, the RoyalMarine Band began playing in theGrand Stand bandstand.

2.15: And they were off! the first fourraces, all handicaps, were sponsored:the Ewar Stud Farm Stakes forApprentices, won by Sir Michael (J.Black); the Lintas: London Stakes,won by Spanish Dancer (Pat Eddery);the Tote Charity Stakes, won by Mis-sed Blessing (J. Reid), and the Pains-Wessex Handicap, won by Oh Simmie(W. R. Swinburn). They were followedby the Mornington Stakes, won byCenturius (W. R. Swinburn) and theKensington Palace Stakes, won by Dol-lar Pocket (D. Atkinson).

Second race, 2.45: Run up for the runners inthe Lintas: London Stakes; No 3 Jubilee Bill(T. Rogers) followed by No 5 Mashmoor(Joe Mercer), who was to come third ...

. . . while (right) there was a close finish forfirst and second place between No 2 Span-ish Dancer (Pat Eddery), and No II MrLucky (Willie Carson).

When racing ended, the RoyalMarine Band struck up again, to cheerwinners and losers alike as they dis-persed after what had proved to be notonly a most delightful day, but also amost successful fund-raising event forthe lifeboat service. In just one day£63,000 had been raised, and this figureis expected to be even higher when thefinal total is known.

photographs by ShelleyGinever

Among the honoured guestswere (I. to r.) CoxswainCharles Dowry ofSheerness,Coxswain Derek Scott, BEM,of The Mumbles, Mrs PatScott, Mrs Frances Pattenand Coxswain Len Patten ofNewhaven. The three cox-swains, all medallists, madetelevision appearances dur-ing the afternoon.

Lester Piggot on No 5 GoTotal entering the winnersenclosure after the Pains-Wessex Stakes, followed byNo 1 Gypsy Dancer (PatEddery) who was third homein this fourth race.

131

City of London appeal

The launching of an appeal for fundsfor a prototype 47ft fast slipwaylifeboat to be named City of Londonwas held at Fishmongers' Hall by theRiver Thames on the evening ofNovember 25, 1980. Welcoming theguests, Lord Inchcape, chairman of theappeal committee, reminded them thatthe RNLI had been founded at a meet-ing in the City of London Tavern in1824 and, in the speech that followed,Col Sir Ronald Gardner-Thorpe, theLord Mayor of London and patron ofthe appeal, pointed out that when, in1824, the RNLI had taken over, 25 ofthe existing 39 lifeboats had in factbeen operated by Lloyds.

The appeal is for £750,000, not onlyto help fund the building of the first fastslipway lifeboat and the extensiveoperational trials necessary for the pro-totype of what is a new and revolutio-nary lifeboat design, but also to help

Lord Inchcape, chairman ofthe City of London appeal,escorts the Lord Mayor ofLondon, Col Sir RonaldGardner-Thorpe, GBE ID,up the beautiful staircase ofthe Fishmongers' Hall to thebanquetting hall. With them(centre front) is John Nor-ton, the Fishmongers' PrimeWarden and vice-chairmanof the appeal.

provide for her future maintenance.Already substantial support has beenpromised, but the appeal will run forfive years and contributors arereminded that the most effective way ofresponding is by deed of covenant. Allenquiries or donations should be sentto the secretary of the City of Londonlifeboat appeal, Beaufort House, StBotolph Street, London EC3A 7DX.

Exhaust watertight!ngFor about 20 early lifeboats which

have been fitted with air bags to givethem a self-righting capability, therehas been the possibility, in the event ofa capsize, that water could enter themast and find its way through theexhaust system into the engines, thusperhaps preventing the lifeboat fromcontinuing her service after righting.

Four students from the Royal NavalEngineering College, Manadon,Plymouth, took up the challenge of thistechnical problem as a practical way ofhelping the RNLI and have now

worked out an answer. Seen in thephotograph below, the students were(1. to r.) Acting Sub-Lts George Raoke,Patrick Tiller, Tim Roberts and JohnO'Connell Davidson.

Having assessed the amount of waterthat could be taken in through the mast,they designed wing-tanks to trap thewater and keep it clear of the machin-ery; the water can be drained awaywhen the engines have been restarted.

The system was installed in a 52ftBarnett lifeboat and tested in a control-led capsize at HM Naval Base, Devon-port, last November under the supervi-sion of Symington Macdonald, RNLIchief staff officer (technical), andLt-Cdr H. E. Over, staff officer (tech-nical). The test proved the system acomplete success and its simplicitycompared with previous methods usedshould save the RNLI many thousandsof pounds.

Crosby Model Boat Club's thirdNational Model Lifeboat Rally, June 14on the Marine Lake, Southport. Detailsfrom Des Newton, 29 WestminsterAvenue, Netherton, Bootle, Mersey-side; please send s.a.e.

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

Please pass onyour copy of

THE LIFEBOAT

RNLI lottery and Mini drawDAVID WEBB, the Bournemouth Cher-ries football team player/coach andformer centre-half for Orient, South-ampton, Chelsea, Queens Park Ran-gers, Leicester and Derby footballclubs, drew the RNLI's tenth nationallottery at Poole HQ on October 31.

Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Compston, adeputy chairman of the RNLI, super-vised the draw and there to see fair playwere pupils from Oakmead, PooleGrammar and Baden Powell schools,all supporters of the lifeboat service.

Winners of the tenth lottery, whichraised more than £29,000, were:£1,000: G. Pyne, Watchet, Somerset.

£500: Mrs L. Mackenzie, Giffnock, Glas-gow.

£250: G. F. Forbes, Port Glasgow,Renfrewshire.

£25: Gerard Maloney, Bootle, Liverpool;P. G. Higgins, Coventry, Warwickshire;Miss P. Ingham, Newsome, Huddersfield;Mrs M. M. Walton, Old Marston, Oxford;M. C. P. Wilkinson, London W2; S. C.Gudgin, Woodbridge, Suffolk; D. McLeod,Haling, London W5; D. J. MacPhee, Isle ofIslay; C. D. Paterson, Edinburgh; MrsW. L. Cole, Cockfosters, Hertfordshire.

* * *After completing the draws for the

lottery, David Webb turned to anotherdrum to draw the winning tickets in theSouthern District raffle for a Mini carwhich had raised more than £18,000 forthe Mountbatten of Burma lifeboatappeal. The Mini City had been sup-plied by Bromley Motor Works andpaid for by an anonymous donor; it hadbeen transported round the district on atrailer lent by Car Transport Ltd.Seven other prizes had also beendonated, including cross Channel ferrytickets for car and two passengers fromP and O Ferries and TownsendThorenson. The Mini car was won byMr E. C. Dench of Norwich.

LONDON LIFEBOAT DAY 1981

Help would be welcomed from anyone willing to sell flagsin Central London on Lifeboat Day, Tuesday March 24.Volunteers who responded to a similar appeal last yearmade an appreciable contribution to the success of theday—so who will help in 1981? Please write to MrsRichard Saunders, chairman, RNLI Central Committee,202 Lambeth Road, London SE1 7JW.

132

Building the Fast SlipwayLifeboat

PART II: ON THE STOCKS

TRADITIONALLY, when building a boatin wood, the first operation is the layingdown of the keel from which is built upa framework of stem, transom, bulk-heads and other transverse and longi-tudinal members. When building asmall boat in steel, however, theapproach is sometimes entirely differ-ent, the order of construction beingreversed, and the fast slipway lifeboathull is being built upside down on adeck jib, to be turned right way upwhen the plating is complete. All thestructural members have to be weldedtogether and the plating of the hullwelded into place. It is much easier fora welder if he can look down on hiswork, rather than having to reach up toit and, working down-hand, he will beable to get better results. So the gun-wale is laid down first, on which is builtthe framework of transom, bulkheads,frames and longitudinal stringers; nextcome engine bearers and floors; thenthe keelson, stem, 'deadwood' and,last of all, the keel.

The first of the two prototypes of theInstitution's new 47ft fast slipway

lifeboat started building at FaireyMarine (Cowes, Isle of Wight) in theearly autumn. Working from the linesplan and a table of offsets provided bythe RNLI design office, Faireys firsthad to draw the new lifeboat's plansfull size on their loft floor. From thesefull size drawings, templates weremade for all the individual componentparts which go together to make up thestructural members of the boat's'skeleton'.

Each separate part is cut out, fromthe appropriate type of steel, to matchits template and each structuralmember is then assembled from itscomponent parts on the workshop floor(see Figs 1 and 2) before being offeredup in its final position in the growinghull. Thus, for instance, each bulkheadis a complete, welded, watertight unitbefore it is erected in place (see Fig 3).The web frames, spaced between thebulkheads, are prepared and erected inthe same way. The stringers, made of Tbar mild steel are bent to take up thefore and aft curvature of the hull andthey are then passed through notches in

the outboard ends of the transom,bulkheads and frames, and welded inplace (see Fig 4).

Full size templates are also used forcutting out the plates which will formthe boat's 'skin'. The shell plating has,of course, to be 'moulded' to fit theshape of the boat. Each plate is pre-pared individually in a rolling mill; itsedges are carefully stretched out toexact measurements so that when theplate is offered up in its final position itwill be just the right size and shape totake up the fore and aft and the athwart-ships curves of the hull in that area.

While construction of the hull began,other preparatory work was under wayelsewhere. At Romsey the lifeboat'stwin GM8V71 marine diesel engineswere already built and undergoingbench tests, witnessed by members ofthe RNLI technical team. At the RNLIdepot, Poole, a mock-up of the aftercabin was made so that members of theInstitution's Medical and SurvivalCommittee could satisfy themselvesthat enough space will be available forhandling a stretcher. And back atFairey's, a mock-up of the wheelhousewas built so that any problems thatmight arise with the placing of instru-ments could be ironed out before thelifeboat herself is fitted out.

(to be continued)

Fig 1: Welding in progress on the work-shop floor: (above) the engine bearersare assembled . . .

Fig 2: ... and (below) the keel.

Fig 3: (right) Buildingstarts of the first 47ft steelfast slipway lifeboat pro-totype. The gunwale is laiddown on a deck jig and thefive watertight bulkheadsand transom erected.

photographs by courtesyof British Hovercraft

Corporation

Fig 4: (below) Web frames,stringers, engine bearersand keelson are all now inplace. The shape of thepropeller tunnels, aft, isalready emerging.

133

Some

Raymie Sinclair of Kirkwall wasgiven a bottle of whisky to raffle for thelifeboats; £20 was raised but when thewinning ticket was drawn no one couldread the name on the ticket. The bottlewas therefore raffled again and broughtin a further £21. The generous winnerof this draw, George Irvine, promptlyhanded the bottle back to be raffledonce again. The whisky had by nowbecome famous and raised £100 thethird time. Lena Watson won it but saidshe could not possibly keep it. Thefourth raffle made £104 but was won bya family which had once been guidedhome by Kirkwall lifeboat. They gaveit back. Now due to be raffled yetagain, the bottle sports an extra labelwith all its winners inscribed to dateand has £245 to its name.

Warrant Officer T. W. White andCorporal P. Hasnip of the SecondRoyal Tank Regiment heard of theFlamborough lifeboat appeal andorganised a collection in the regiment,then serving in Northern Ireland; £56was raised. This amount, which wasgreatly appreciated in Flamborough,helped bring the total of the appeal upto £33,000.

Fund raising by the Jersey stationand guild has been very successful thisyear; their lifeboat weekend brought in£950, twice as much as 1979. Theguild's souvenir shop had in two and ahalf months grossed £2,500 and duringthe second Jersey Boat and LeisureShow the guild was provided with astand by its organisers EDO (Jersey)Ltd. Here about £700 was raised by sel-ling raffle tickets for a return Sealinktrip, with car, to the UK and manyother prizes, with a further £500 madeon the sale of souvenirs.

An afternoon given over to the RNLIon Maurice Keen's farm made excel-lent entertainment for 400 adults andmany children last July. Demonstra-tions of milking, spinning and the work-ings of modern agricultural machineryand an exhibition of restored old farmequipment provided great interest andthe children were able to take pony andtractor-drawn trailer rides. The creamtea and cake and produce stall helpedtowards an impressive £400 profit forReigate and Redhill ladies' guild.

Doctor and Mrs Ingram from Hamp-stead Garden Suburb held an outdoorluncheon party at their home on one ofthe few sunny days last summer.Everyone enjoyed the event which hadthe added bonus of providing £206 forthe RNLI.

Ilorin Palm, a ship of the Palm Line,was recently sold; some seven yearsearlier her master had been presentedwith the nameplate of a steam enginefrom the Nigerian Railway, the Emir ofIlorin. Until the ship was sold thenameplate adorned the bar in the offic-ers' lounge but when she left the PalmLine fleet, her master, Captain Brand,presented this collector's piece to theRNLI. At a Sotheby's auction recentlythe nameplate fetched £137.75 for thelifeboats.

Barbecued mackerel were on saleoutside the lifeboat station duringLyme Regis's lifeboat week. It was theidea of Dutch visitors Bert de Rooij andMr and Mrs Erwin Kroom. The fishhad been specially caught earlier byJack Ellis from his angling boat TiaMaria III. Over £60 was raised.

Over 130 rods took part in the fifthannual fishing competition organisedby Selsey Bill Fishing Club at WestSands, Selsey. Coxswain Mike Grantwith station honorary secretary Des-mond Cockayne were presented with acheque for £352.50 by the fishing club'schairman, Glen Gainsford-Betty. Thecompetition is one of the most popularalong the Sussex coast and has madeover £1,000 for the RNLI since itbegan.

By sponsoring record requests RAFSwinderby Recruit Centre amassed£211.20 for the RNLI. A cheque forthis amount was handed over to areaorganiser S. C. Swallow by CorporalGray on behalf of the centre.

Scarborough Flower Club gottogether with the ladies' lifeboat guildto stage a flower festival in the 800-year-old parish church for the RNLI.There were 50 different arrangementsand many of the flowers used werespecially flown over from Holland.Also on display were vellum testimo-nials of local lifeboatmen's braveryawards. Rear Admiral W. J. Graham,director of the Institution, was there toreceive a cheque for the £1,502 profit.

The World Flounder Tramping Champion-ship at Palnackie, Kirkcudbrightshire, made£549 for the RNLI and a lot of scrubbingnecessary for competitors like Shaun andTerry Harper pictured here; there were 290entries from all over the country and abroadin this competition to see who could find thelargest, the smallest and the most flounderslurking in the mud of the Urr Estuary. Todetect their wriggling, bare feet must beused and the champion at this eccentric-method of fishing for the second year insuccession was Chris Clark of Dumfries,who uncovered a flounder weighing 2lb foz.

photograph by courtesy of 'Dumfries andGalloway News'

Television actor Ian Cuthbertsonwas landed by Troon lifeboat ConnelElizabeth Cargill to open the ScottishBoat Show in Troon Marina. Theladies' guild brought in over £2,200 dur-ing the show by selling souvenirs, raf-fling a gallon of Martell cognac whichwas drawn by committee of manage-ment member, Robin Knox-Johnstonand by manning the turnstiles thusreceiving a proportion of the gatemoney. A further £600 was raised at aball for exhibitors at the show.

A four-legged fancy dress race wasstaged by Port Isaac branch in Sep-tember. Ten teams competed, eachmade up of three people with legs tiedso that only four legs were left to ateam. Their 2'/2 mile quadruped pro-gress was interspersed by breaks at fivedifferent hostelries and a barbecueawaited them at the finishing point.Bass Ltd and Whitbread Ltd helpedgenerously with refreshments and amidconsiderable hilarity £600 was raised.

The children at Grange JuniorSchool, Letchworth, who help raisemoney for the lifeboat service, had theopportunity of wearing oilskins andboarding a 16ft D class inflatablelifeboat when their headmaster PeterBarrett towed one into the schoolgrounds during the town's lifeboatweek. Peter Barrett is a member of thelocal committee that raised £800 duringthe week.

134

A member of Morpeth ladies' guildfound an expensive looking ring in thesand on the beach while she was onholiday; she took it to the Police Sta-tion, hoping the owner would claim it.No one came forward, however, so thePolice returned the ring to the finderwho promptly handed it over to herguild. It was sold and made £150 for theRNLI.

During their Easter holidays for thepast three years, about 70 young child-ren of Skegness have come together totake part in a two-hour sponsored sil-ence organised by local ladies' guildassistant honorary secretary, JaneMajor. Refreshments are provided, butthe children bring their own games andbooks. In three years £1,300 has beenraised—in silence.

Every year the English Bridge Unionorganises a nationwide bridge event inaid of a charity. 1980 was the year forthe RNLI and a resultant cheque for£1,824.55 was sent to head office byexecutive secretary. Peter Briggs.

A fete on the green at Yarmouthearned £650 for West Wight ladies'guild in August and a coffee morninggiven at the invitation of Mrs CalvertJones made a further £100 towards theguild's funds.

Longridge and District branch, Lan-cashire, is 20 years old; under thechairmanship of Mrs E. C. Dickson andwith Elsie Carefoot as honorary sec-retary since its foundation, the branchhas been celebrating its birthday withsome vigorous fund raising. Thehouse-to-house collecting brought in arecord of £250; 'An Evening in Dairy-land with Fruit and Flowers' combiningdemonstrations of cookery by the MilkMarketing Board and of flower arrang-ing resulted in mouth-watering dishes

Well dressing is an old cus-tom in Derbyshire and hereis a magnificent example ofthe art, created atHolymoorside last August.Usually well dressings havea religious theme but lastyear Chesterfield and Dis-trict branch was asked tosubmit details for a lifeboatsubject. The entire picture ismade by local people fromflower petals, gorse and peatmounted on a clay base. Thedisplay earned £80 for theRNLI.

Despite forceful persuasionthe raft Dear Lady seemsreluctant to enter the water.As the only all-lady crew, themember of Great Yarmouthand Gorleston guild werecompeting in a raft raceorganised by GorlestonChamber of Trade and Ro-tary Club. Over 60 rafts tookpart with this particular crewraising £450 in sponsorship.The entire event made£7,000, shared by the locallifeboat and hospital.

photograph by courtesy ofDr C. A. Dowding

The RNLI were beneficiariesfrom an open day atBillingsgate Market, Lon-don, when the public wereinvited to watch demonstra-tions and buy species offishthat they would not neces-sarily find at their localfishmongers. Here RonaldNichols is at work in thefinals of the filleting champ-ionship. The National Fed-eration of Fishmongersorganised the event, whichraised £3,475.

photograph by courtesy of'The Guardian'

Some of the 100 guests in the garden of Mrs Denis Wiffen ofMeols, Wirral. Theyenjoyed a strawberry lunch with wine organised last summer on behalf ofHoylake ladies' guild. Mrs Wiffen can be seen standing in the background onthe left of the group of four with, further to the right, Mrs Brian Prayer, honor-ary treasurer, Mrs Charles Elston, honorary secretary, and Mrs Daryl Neal,president of the branch. The event raised £230.

photograph by courtesy of 'Hoylake District News and Advertiser'I

One hundred gallons of petrol, donated by BP Oils Ltd, wasthe prize in a draw organised by Pangbourne branch whichraised £1,800 for the RNLI. The lucky ticket was drawn at theSwan Hotel by England Test cricketer Denis Compton. Withhim (I. to r.) are a member of the public there to see fair play,Lt-Col Godfrey Pease, Panghourne branch chairman, MrsFrank Waldron, honorary treasurer, Mrs Chaplin, a commit-tee member, and Mrs Godfrey Pease. The winner was MrsOlwen Norman and officials of the branch accompanied her ^to Theale Motors for her car's first fill-up.

135

A 'Mayday' Fair held at the Palmer home, Sarisbury Green,Fareham, in August brought in £600 for the RNLI. It was theidea of teenagers Stuart Palmer and David Peagram who,with the help of Stuart's sister. Carmen, set up a young peo-ple's committee. Parents, friends and many local people pul-led their weight to make it a first class afternoon, with stalls,raffles, competitions, judo and pottery throwing demonstra-tions and even donkey and hovercraft rides.

photograph by courtesy of 'The News', Portsmouth

Two years ago Little and Broad Haven ladies' guild held a special openingceremony for their new souvenir shop and in 1980 they doubled their first year'stakings to £6,000. Other recent fund raising events have included a grand raffleand dance (£209); carol singing (£110); soup and hot dogs on regatta day inAugust (£127) and two coffee mornings (£241).

Wendy Dedicott teaches six- toseven-year-olds at Malvern LinkInfants School and encourages theirinterest in lifeboats by arranging forthem to collect stamps to be sold in aidof the RNLI. Last year her class amas-sed 5,000 stamps and so far this year inonly half a term 20,000 have beencollected.

Padstow ladies' guild's most ener-getic collector, Mary Taylor, created anew personal record during lifeboatweek by raising £243. Another helper,Simon Jackman, who lives in St Albansbut is always in Padstow during lifeboatweek, collected £100.60; meanwhileMay Hellyar, who was recovering froma road accident, still managed to tourthe local beaches to bring in £70.50.With £1,000 coming from Doreen Wil-liams's souvenir stall, a new flag dayrecord of £2,070 was achieved.

Axe Yacht Club (East Devon)arranged a day for the lifeboats inAugust; £96 was collected with the helpof a coffee morning, a raffle, an eveningbarbecue and fees for entering theRNLI pennant race. Seaton and Beerbranch supplied souvenirs and £230worth were sold by three lady membersof the yacht club.

To fly 100 metres was all that wasasked of the ten competitors in Hart-lepool Harbour fete's birdman rally.One after another they leapt off a spe-cial platform on Heugh Breakwaterwith dreams of winning £250; one afteranother they and their dreams crashlanded ignominiously in the sea at thefoot of the breakwater. There wassome consolation; Malcolm Smedleywas adjudged to have flown furthestand won £100 and local lifeboatmanMalcolm Noble on a child's bicyclewith a propeller and umbrella wasawarded a similar amount for being themost entertaining competitor. The feteitself brought in over £3,800.

Brian Socket! is taking a bath around theracing circuit at Lydden, Kent. The PersonPowered Push which entailed people fromthe Dover area pulling or pushing peculiararticles around the circuit brought in£1,098.60 for the lifeboat service. It wasorganised by Brian Sackett through theChartered Building Societies Institute andhad teams from local builders R. J. Barwickand Sons Ltd, the '69 Motor Cycle Club andCastle Harris Ltd. Steve Grant and ColinDanton received RNLI plaques for raisingmost sponsorship and the 25th FolkestoneScouts were rewarded for the most originalentry. With a cheque from the BuildingSocieties, the event made £1,480.

and beautiful blooms for raffling, and inall £210 was raised for branch funds;and finally, with a cheque from theRoad Haulage Association's TipperConvention and £250 from Group 1staff of the closing Red Scar Works ofCourtaulds, a grand annual total of£1,800 has been achieved.

Shoreline member David Holt alongwith other members of Epsom andEwell Men's Swimming Club andEpsom District Swimming Club organ-ised a sponsored swim last April whichraised £462 for the lifeboats. The eventlasted three hours with swimmers agedbetween seven and seventeen takingpart. Two years ago the local Epsomand Ewell branch presented the clubwith a trophy which is now competedfor annually. Since they began theirsupport they have raised a total of£1,500 for the RNLI.

It took one hour and 56 minutes forthe fastest team of five runners to com-plete the 20-mile relay course in asponsored run organised by Alan Hall-gate of the Adventure School of Kings-ley Leisure Centre, Westward Ho!Twenty-six teams took part with com-petitors coming from Bideford, Barn-staple and Torrington. One team raised£300 in sponsorship and the totalrevenue for Appledore branch was£l,210.42'/2.

An auctioneer, Ray Price, who is 60years old, bicycled 225 miles fromLand's End back to his home town ofFordingbridge in Hampshire, his arri-val coinciding with the local show. Hetripled his sponsorship target by raising£900 for the RNLI.

Mevagissey branch entertained theparticipants in a sponsored fishing tripto a reception after they had raised£500 for the RNLI. Members of TruroCity Sea Angling Club were sponsoredfor the number of fish they caught fromthe boat Eileen. Money also came fromthe sale of their catch, its quantitybeing doubled through the generosityof the boat's skipper, Bernard Hunkin.

'// must be very hard to save people'observes Robert Kettle of Class 7,Lymm Statham Primary School,Cheshire, in a letter to the RNLI afterhearing a talk about the lifeboats. Tomake it easier he and other childrenfrom his school made a collection attheir Harvest Festival and were able tosend a cheque for £110 to the NorthWest district office.

In 1955 the St Saviour Darby andJoan Club, Guernsey, began itsallegiance to the RNLI by collecting £4in ship halfpennies; the following yearthey collected £8 and the next £9. Thisyear the members have made a gener-ous donation of £70 to Guernseybranch.

136

A grand draw and collection organ-ised by Grimsby ladies' guild broughtin £1,346 within a three week period.Under the chairmanship of Mrs Lam-ont, who founded the guild some yearsago, the income of the guild has shownimpressive annual increases.

Simon Foulkes's personal sponsor-ship totalled £135 when the third andfourth year pupils of Poole GrammarSchool took part in a 'metre beater'15-minute sprint in aid of the Mount-batten of Burma lifeboat appeal. Hiswas the highest individual amountraised in an event which brought inover £1,400. The school achieved afurther £300 with a sponsored tabletennis competition and by the sale ofChristmas gifts.

Mrs M. R. Frampton of Swalecliffewho is in her eighties and a long timesufferer from spinal arthritis, has thisyear knitted 15 children's hats for herdaughter's RNLI effort. Mrs Framptonclaims she has no time for occupationaltherapy; although knitting for lifeboatsmay hurt a bit, she feels she is beinguseful.

Flamborough lifeboat appeal wasboosted by £3,300 when BridlingtonLions Club in conjunction with Brid-lington and District Women's DartsLeague organised a sponsored dartsmarathon.

People aged six to sixty, 130 of them,started and finished the Bridgwatersponsored walk. They came from manydifferent walks of life: pupils andteachers from St Audries Girls' School,Brymore School (Cannington), BlakeSchool (Bridgwater), St Crispin'sSchool (Street), and Queen's College(Taunton); members of the Sea Anglersand other local organisations; and evena family from Rugby had come to takepart. The event was organised bypresident of the branch, Jack Pride,chairman Geoffrey Pitman and secret-ary Fay Harvey and £1,000 was raised.

Diving clubs from Brighton, East-bourne, Seaford, Newhaven and Bil-linghurst took part in a five-mile swimfrom Shoreham Cement Works toKingston Beach last June. The fastestswimmers finished the course in 90minutes, the slowest in nearly threehours. £1,500 was raised to be sharedbetween the RNLI and the St John'sAmbulance Brigade.

Mr P. A. Edwards, oganiser ofClacton-on-Sea flag day, last yearexperimented with selling RNLI sand-castle flags at the same time as playinghis part in the street collection. Whenhe started, a confectioner's sweet jar,suitably relabelled, was filled with 50sandcastle flags—but not for long. Allwere sold within two hours, many peo-ple stopping their cars to buy flags fortheir children and then putting a furtherdonation in the lifeboat box as well.The final total for the flag day was£1,031.78, another record for Clacton.

New Milton/Barton-On-Sea branchraised £1,726 for the Mountbatten ofBurma lifeboat appeal; a special drawraised £1,068 while donations and thesale of share certificates accounted forthe remaining £658. Altogether thebranch has raised £7,107 in anotherrecord year of fund raising.

A highly enjoyable and very success-ful open day was held at Hoylakelifeboat station last summer. A displayin front of the promenade included anexercise involving the lifeboat and ahelicopter and the fly-past of a Shackle-ton rescue plane. An exhibition ofmodel boats, a film show by the SeaCadets and a Police diving teamdemonstration were among otherattractions and a remarkable £1,500was achieved as a result.

The ladies of Penistone guild keptsilent for a full 30 minutes when theyhad decided to do something differentfor the RNLI. This proved to be a greatsuccess as £261 was raised fromsponsorship.

Only 43 of the 65 students that took part inthe gruelling Lyke Wake Walk finished.They came from South Shields Marine andTechnical College and raised £555 for theRNLI. Here Heather Howard, the only girlLyke Wake Walker to finish the course,hands the cheque to Mrs L. Fleming, hon-orary secretary of South Shields ladies'guild. With them are Mrs Belle Wilson, hon-orary treasurer of the local Shorelinebranch, and Jimmy Hayton, a lecturer.

photograph by courtesy of 'The ShieldsGazette'

The fourteenth collecting box to be putbefore the public in the Chertsey area: thisone is at the leisure centre, Thorpe Park,and was unveiled by RNLI chairman, theDuke of Atholl (I.) in the presence of TerryCat/iff, director of Leisure Sport, and GeoffTollett (r.), chairman of Chertsey Addle-stone and Ottershaw branch which last yearraised over £1,000. In the background is theold Cramer lifeboat H. F. Bailey which is onpermanent display at Thorpe Park.

photograph by courtesy of 'Surrey Herald'

Nicholas Schrager, who owns the Victorian Thames motorboat DuchessDoreen and who uses her as a floating restaurant, offered his craft and cuisine toMolesey branch for one evening. By raffling the 12 places available £270 wasearned for the RNLI and here the lucky winners can be seen going aboard.

A celebration for some of the swimmers who successfullycompleted a relay swim across the Solent from Ryde toSouthsea Castle. It took the party of children and adults twohours and six minutes to swim the five miles, and they raised£500 in so doing. (I. to r.) Beverly Jackman, Angela Ralph,Elsa Bulmer (ex-mayor ofPetersfield and an East HampshireDistrict councillor), Captain John Stevens, RN (brandishing acollecting box), chairman of Petersfield branch whichorganised the event, Avril Ralph, Philip Mackenzie andMaurice Ralph. photograph by courtesy of Bert Lemmon

137

Letters...Pilgrimage to Barmouth

My wife-and I return home to Ameri-ca tomorrow and take pleasure in send-ing you a traveller's cheque for £50.With it we extend our grateful thanksfor the kindness and hospitality whichyou and your colleagues of Barmouthlifeboat station so generously lavishedupon us during our brief visit inSeptember.

Those few hours in Barmouth willever be the outstanding highlight of ourmonth-long holiday in Britain. It wasan extraordinary event in a lifetime ofwide travel; a most heartwarmingexperience which effectively spannedthe long miles between Boston andBarmouth as well as the century thatseparates the response of Barmouthlifeboat to the stranded and sinkingKenilworth and the day of our visit.

I have been impressed during ourtravels around Wales, England and theChannel Islands to note the ever-present evidence that the RNLI is alively influence in the lives of the localpopulations; from the collecting boxesin the pubs to the postal clerk whowore his RNLI tie with pride and toldme as he sold me stamps of his serviceas a member of the local lifeboat crew.

With renewed thanks and all goodwishes for the continued success of theRNLI and all who serve sowell.—CHARLES s. MORGAN, 52 IndianSpring Road, Concord, Mas-sachusetts, USA.

From a letter to Vera Hooper, presidentof Barmouth ladies' guild. Kenilworthstruck the Causeway, Cardigan Bay, inthick fog on January 14, 1870, while onher way home from New Orleans toLiverpool with a cargo of cotton. Bar-mouth, Criccieth and Abersoch lifeboatsall launched to her aid. Barmouth wasthe first to arrive and took off eight ofKeni)worth's crew. The remaining 13men were taken off by Abersoch lifeboat,Charles Morgan's grandfather was oneof the people rescued fromKenilworth.—EDITOR.

Comforting efficiencyDuring the evening of August 30,

1980,1 had to set off red flares from my16ft sailing boat when I was caught in agale of wind in the middle of theThames Estuary. The coastal surveil-lance and rescue services demon-strated their smooth and comfortingefficiency. Margate lifeboat waslaunched, took me off a German con-tainer ship and successfully towed mylittle boat to Margate harbour.

I have already written to CoxswainAlfred Manning of Margate expressingmy gratitude to him and his crew but Ishould be happy for it to be known howappreciative I was and am of the effortsmade on behalf of myself and my craftand also of the way in which theseefforts were carried out.

I should be very happy if you wouldkindly accept the enclosed cheque as anominal token of my thankfulness tothe RNLI and all who make it such areassuring service to be aware of. Ishall certainly sail in the future withmore confidence, even if tinged with alittle more caution.—PAUL PACKWOOD,315 Colchester Road, Ipswich, Suffolk.

Mr Packwood's letter was received bythe director at HQ. Poole.—EDITOR.

HobblersIn the summer 1980 issue of THE

LIFEBOAT you published an enquiryfrom me about the hobblers who oper-ated from the port of Bude. Then, inthe autumn journal, a definition of theword from a mid-1800's nautical dictio-nary was published.

Meanwhile I have had a number ofextremely interesting letters from read-ers more than one of whom rightly takeme to task for suggesting that the word'hobbler' was unique to Bude. Theterm was, and in some areas still is, ingeneral use.

In 1863, the hobblers of Watchet,Somerset, formed themselves into aUnited Sailors Society and functioned

Visitors from America; Mrand Mrs Charles S. Morganfrom Massachusetts arewelcomed to Barmouth byCoxswain George Jeffs.With them (I- to r.) areMotor Mechanic DewiDavies, Mr I. M. Jones, sta-tion honorary secretary, andGlyn Williams, districtorganising secretary(Wales). Mr Morgan'sgrandfather was among thepeople rescued from theship Kenilworth which ranaground in Cardigan Bay in1870.

photograph by courtesy ofD. Dowden

mainly as pilots. A modern HobblingAssociation still operates under theDistrict Council, but only from theshore, hobbling vessels to bollards. Atmost ports the hobblers acted as pilotsor/and took responsibility for unloadingships, there being a good deal of com-petition between hobble boats for thesejobs. Hobblers also worked on certaincanals accompanying barges along tow-ing paths and helping them to keepcourse.

In parts of the south east, accordingto Henry Higgs, there were both 'huf-flers' and 'hovelers'. The former actedas pilots, the latter dealt with wrecksand salvage. The usage, origin andmeaning of these very similar termswould make an interesting study.—R. M. BERE, West Cottage, BudeHaven, Bude, Cornwall.

Cross-Channel rowsThe report of the Cherbourg to

Hamble row published in the autumnissue of THE LIFEBOAT prompts me tosend the following notes:

In the early years of the last century,Ann Waring married John Glanvillewhose family had ferried people acrossthe Tamar for generations. Johnbecame an alcoholic so while he drank,Ann rowed folk across and soonbecame well known. Soon other localwomen copied her and she found her-self in charge of a team of oarswomenwho made their mark at local regattas.They won so often that men resentedbeing beaten by them and they found itdifficult to find opponents. They travel-led along the coast and eventually thenorth coast, too. In 1849, triumphant atFleetwood, Ann was presented toQueen Victoria.

A year later she was asked to com-pete against men at Le Havre. Reluc-tantly, she agreed and started to trainher crew. The French treated the chal-lenge as a joke. Nothing daunted, Annand her crew rowed themselves acrossthe Channel from Plymouth to LeHavre in their gig. Not surprisingly, atfirst the French crews pulled awayfrom the Englishwomen. Ann urged thewomen to row for their lives. The leaddecreased and the women pulledahead, to win. They were Ann Glan-ville, Amelia Lee, Harriet Hosking andJane House. Then they rowed homeagain! Ann died in 1880.

Victorian women were said to befrail but these West Country lassesgave the lie to that belief.—E. HARPER,Mrs, Fair View, Marhamchurch, Bude,Cornwall.

Grace Darling collecting box?I read with interest the letter from

Maldwin Drummond published in theautumn issue of THE LIFEBOAT.Although I cannot throw any light as tothe origin or use of this little tin lifeboatI certainly have seen somethingsimilar.

Some 46 years ago I delivered news-papers for a small shop in the Hotwellsdistrict of Bristol and suspended from

the ceiling of this shop was a modellifeboat. About 18 inches in length,complete with mast and flag (I cannotremember what flag), it was being usedas a plant basket. It was painted royalblue with a brilliant red band.

I feel sure that this model lifeboatwas somehow connected with theRNLI as the owner of the shop, amidget named Harry Evans, took greatinterest in the ships of the local port. Inthe room where we collected ourdeliveries there were several artistsimpressions of lifeboats at sea, an oldphotograph of ss Great Britain and alsophotographs of ships being launchedfrom the nearby Charles Hill Ship-yards. Harry Evans had the franchiseof selling his wares on board and on the

landing stages used by the CampbellSteamers which sailed from the Port-way every day during the summer.

When Harry died I offered to buy themodel but the new owners had taken itdown and destroyed it.—L. T. REES, 10Granville Court, De Beauvoir Estate,Balmes Road, London Nl.

It was very nostalgic to see MaldwinDrummond's photograph of the metallifeboat he had bought in a junk shop,because I had one of these before thewar and it was a very favourite toy.What became of it I do not know, but itwas not in fact a collecting box; theeyes, bow and stern, were for attachingstring warps with which to pull itaround in the water—more often than

not she was ballasted with sand so thatshe rode lower; the single eye on thebottom kept the boat secure on her redlaunching carriage which had fourwheels and extra supports for the boat.

The mast and white sail were joinedtogether, not unlike a garden trowel.The mast was wood and the plainsquare sail metal, and this made areally excellent spade for digging in thesand, for which it was meant.

All in all it was a really super andpractical toy, especially to a young boylike me who had been mad aboutlifeboats from the age of four in 1934.The boat did not really sail, but wasquite seaworthy and beachedwell.—DAVID LUMSDEN, Elm House,Berwick, Polegate, East ^Sussex.

Books . . .• The 1981 edition of Reed's NauticalAlmanac (Thomas Reed Publications,£7.95) marks the golden jubilee of thispopular publication. There cannot bemany lifeboats which do not have acopy of Reed's on the chart table andthe RNLI gratefully adds its congratu-lations to those of the Duke of Edin-burgh and distinguished mariners andyachtsmen who have written tributeswhich are reproduced in the preface tothis edition.

The contents are much as before;innovations include additions to tidalinformation in the North Sea and Sol-ent and some minor items such asplates on recognition of lights andshapes and flags of all nations; theselatter in colour. In recent years colourhas gradually been creeping in toReed's and we look forward to the daywhen it reaches the cloud illustrationsin the otherwise admirable ChapterXXI on weather forecasting.

Each year Reed's gets bigger; over ahundred pages have been added since1977 when there were 1,196 pages; inthe latest edition there are 1,298 andone wonders how soon the publisherswill separate out the unchanging fea-tures in a separate volume, publishedas a companion to the almanac everysecond or third year. This might enablethe price to be reduced.—K.M.

• At first sight The Macmillan andSilk Cut Nautical Almanac (MacmillanPress, £8.95) seems a big book for asmall boat but on inspection with all thepilotage information included you havetwo books in one. It is a very com-prehensive almanac, produced by a dis-tinguished group of editors, foryachtsmen and generally for Britishand adjacent Continental coastal use. Itis well laid out and easy to refer to. Ithas an astro navigation section and avery good colour section whichincludes cloud formations and most

navigation lights as required by theInternational Regulations. Another fea-ture is that times and heights of highand low water are given for all thestandard ports, which should make lifeeasier.

An aspiring yachtmaster will find thisalmanac a very satisfactory referencebook providing good winter readingand, suitably covered with plastic, itshould 'survive' the coming seasonafloat. Each copy sold produces aproportionate donation to theRNLI.—E.J.

• Having first read Heavy WeatherSailing by K. Adlard Coles (AdlardColes, £12.50) while crossing the Atlan-tic in 1968 I realised then the value ofthe advice, experience and philosophybehind it. This revised third edition ofAdlard Coles's classic remains as mucha 'must' as it always has been. Thebook incorporates the 1979 FastnetGale analysis which is very relevant tothe topic. The photography is superband just a glance through the selectionof pictures portraying the sea at itsmost awesome emphasises the wisdomof learning from the experience ofothers. One of the pictures is of StMary's, Isles of Scilly, lifeboat at seaduring the Fastnet rescues.—E.J.

• A comprehensive history of theMoelfre lifeboats, Rescue, has beenwritten by Aled Eames, who is amember of the British Committee ofthe International Commission forMaritime History and has recentlybeen appointed Caird Research Fellowat the National Maritime Museum,Greenwich. The book spans the yearsbetween 1830 and 1980, and describessome of the many rescues carried outby the station's lifeboats and theircrews. Rescue is available fromMoelfre station honorary secretary:Griffith E. Owens, Kings Head,Llanerchymedd, Anglesey, price £1.30plus 25p postage and packing.—S.J.G.

• Ocean Sailing by Rob James (Naut-ical Publishing, £10.50) is an excellentbook to fire a dream or to help a dreamcome true and must be of assistance to

all sailors because the advice and tipsgiven have resulted from the author'squite considerable experience in one ofthe hardest schools—the oceans of theworld. More and more folks go oceansailing and whether you are cruising orracing this readable, well illustratedbook is recommended for the prepara-tion stage.—E.J.

• Helicopter Rescue by John Chartres(Ian Allan, £9.95) tells the story of thehelicopter from its early beginnings,with particular emphasis on its lifesav-ing role. It is a book for the generalpublic rather than the expert and in hisforeword Marshall of the Royal AirForce Sir Neil Cameron writes:

'/ hope this book will be widely readnot just by those who are interestedanyway but by those who go collectingseagull eggs on dangerous cliffs, thosewho take to the sea with insufficientexperience or briefing or those who try toclimb mountains without either the rightequipment or training.'

Splendid action photographs, gener-ous in size and often breathtaking incontent, illustrate almost every page,and a number of the pictures showhelicopters working with lifeboats.

In his concluding chapter, the authorrejects the theory sometimes put for-ward by people without direct experi-ence of search and rescue that thehelicopter has made the lifeboat redun-dant and he emphasises the point byquoting the number of lives rescued bylifeboat in 1979. He recalls the manyoccasions when helicopter and lifeboatwork together, achieving more thanperhaps either could do alone, andreminds his readers that there are occa-sions when the lifeboat can cope withcircumstances beyond the power of thehelicopter: his examples is the rescue byAberdeen lifeboat in 1974 of the crew ofthe trawler Netta Croan from whichflames were leaping as she steamed in acircle at about 9 knots. For this rescueCoxswain Albert Bird and MotorMechanic Ian Jack were awarded thesilver medal for gallantry.

Helicopter Rescue deserves a placeon the bookshelves of everyoneinterested in life saving.—J.D.

139

Voyage ofdiscovery

I have discovered cruising.I use the word advisedly; it is not the first time I have

cruised but I have finally, courtesy of Fred. Olsen Linesand the m.v. Black Watch (twin sister of the Blenheim),discovered how it should be done.

Let me try to explain.

EliteFred. Olsen is not only a shipping company but a man,

the grandson of its founder a century ago.His interests extend far beyond shipping now, but his

pride in his ships is out of all proportion to theircommercial consequence.

The result is an eliteness recognised by both employeesand passengers with experience of other ships. And itsmost fundamental manifestation is that the ships arenever crowded. Long experience shows that350 passengers is the perfect number for a two-weekcruise, and that is the maximum they carry.

The bars, in other words, never brim over. Everyoneaboard can see the cabaret. And when the sun brings outits worshippers they don't have to secure their loungerswith a towel on every visit to the ban there are more thanenough to go round, and it's simply not that kind of ship.

As for facilities, all the traditional games - deck tennis,quoits, shuffleboard and the like - may be taken forgranted. There's table tennis, roulette and Joker 7, fruitmachines, even a card room. There's a splendid pool withits own sun roof and bar.

There's a Singles Party, a Splash Party, a Sangria Party,Captain's Welcome and Farewell Parties, Gala Nights ofevery kind.

What there aren't too many of are dull moments.

Food for day-dreamsThe food is in the Norwegian tradition, and it is some

tradition. Breakfast actually out-Britishes the British andthe Cold Table at lunchtime, groaning with everythingfrom prawns and asparagus to profiteroles and cream,has to be seen to be believed.

Stop the shipIf the above sounds, while entertaining enough for a day

or two, as if enough could quite quickly be enough holdon. On my own cruise we put in at Gibraltar, Tangier,Madeira (twice), Tenerife and Las Palmas. This winterGibraltar and Tangier are replaced by either Lisbon andCadiz or Agadir and/or Lanzarote.

Madeira knocks you over at once with the ruggednessof its outline and the profusion of its flowers. Once landedyou can zip through balmy, intensely cultivated hillsidecountry to charming little fishing villages where you canlunch off the morning's catch; shop to your heart'scontent for lace, porcelain or tapestry; sample Madeirawine in the shade of a picturesque old bodega or makeyour way up into the towering mountain behind Funchalfor the traditional descent - dramatic but safe - bywickerwork toboggan.

Tenerife is like a continent in miniature, lush valleysthick with banana plantations in the shadow of the 12,000foot, snow-capped Mt. Teide, Spain's highest mountain.

And in Las Palmas you return to the 20th century witha bang. The bars along the vast sea front are smart, theshops tempting, the nightclubs waiting patiently for nightto fall. With its massive Las Canteras beach lined withsunbathers who disappear magically for lunch as if agong had gone and return tide-like an hour later, LasPalmas is decidedly fun.

Yet it is not, I think, the ports that make so indelible animpression. It's the spirit aboard. The professionalism, forall their informality, of the officers. The spontaneousfriendliness. The obvious regard between passengers andstaff.

This is what brings passengers back twice, three times,in one case 15 times in just four years, to a Fred. Olsencruise.

When you book your Voyage of Discovery, you willreceive 15% discount and the RNLI receive a donation of 5%.

140

Cruise toMadeiras the CanariesSpecial of fer to Shoreline MembersFares per person

Cabin Description

De Luxe Cabin -Bath/WC

Outside Cabin -Shower/WC

Inside Cabin -Shower/WC

Outside Cabin -Shower/WC

Inside Cabin -Shower/WC

Outside Cabin -we

Inside Cabin -we

Single2 Beds

Single2 Beds2 Berth

Single

2 Beds3 Berths*4 Berth *

2 Beds

Single2 Berth

Single2 Berth

Deck

Sun

Boat

Boat

Upper

Boat

Upper

Upper

BrochurePrice

£

13801280

1030970810

960

910720640

810

840680

780640

ShorelineMembers

Price£

11731088875824688

816

773612544

688

714578

663544

Fred. OlsenYou DonationSave toRNU

£ £

207192155146122

144

13710896

122

126102

11796

6964514840

48

453632

40

4234

3932

Inside Cabin -Shower/WC

3 Berth4 Berth

Upper/Main

620600

527510

9390

3130

Inside Cabin -Shower/WC

3 Berth4 Berth

Main 530490

450416

8074

2624

PORT.CHARGES: £ 10 per personCHILD REDUCTIONS: Child under 3 years - FREE (No separate berth)Child under 13 - HALF FAREAdditional child under 13 - QUARTER FARETeenager - 10% reduction, (25% in cabins marked*}HOLIDAY INSURANCE: Optional £9 50 per personGUARANTEED NO FUEL SURCHARGE:

A13-DAYBLACK WATCH CRUISEDEPARTURE ON MARCH 19 1981

PRICES FROM £416Your fare is inclusive, covering your

accommodation, your meals and top classentertainment

HEAD STRAIGHT FOR THE SUN ANDWARMTH OF THE ATLANTIC ISLANDS!

ITINERARY (19 MARCH 1981)Thursday 19 March Depart Tilbury DockMonday 23 March Agadir arr. 08.00/dep. 19.00Tuesday 24 March Madeira arr. 20.00Wednesday2 5March Madeira dep. 17.00Thursday 2 6 March Tenerife arr. 08.00/dep 17.00

Las Palmas arr. 20.00Friday 2 7 March Las Palmas dep. 20.00Saturday 28 March Madeira arr. 12.00/dep. 14.00Wednesday 1 April Arrive Tilbury DockHOW TO BOOK Complete the loose leaf Booking Formenclosed in this magazine or telephone Stephen Moore

at Fred. Olsen Lines, 229 Regent Street, LondonW1R SAP. Tel: 01-437 7315.

Madeira •

• • Lanzarote

Hierro

FuerteventuraGran Canada

I. Olsen Cruises141

Lifeboat Servicesfrom page 118

July 6, 26. 28. August 10, 11, 23 and 24(twice)Crimdon Dene, Co DurhamD class inflatable: June 15. 28, July 28,August 16 and 24Cromer, Norfolk48ft din Oakley: June 23D class inflatable: July 12, August 9, 14(twice) and 30Cullercoats, Tyne and WearD class inflatable: June 21, August 15 and31Donaghadee, Co Down44ft Waveney: June 11, July 26, August 1(twice), 5 and 7Douglas, Isle of Man46ft 9in Watson: July 30Dover, Kent50ft Thames: August 14 and 22Dunbar, East Lothian47ft Watson: June 14 and July 30D class inflatable: August 13Dungeness, Kent37ft 6in Rather: June 3Dun Laoghaire, Co DublinRelief 44ft Waveney: June 22, July 1, 4(twice), 10, August 10, 20 and 29Dunmore East, Co Waterford44ft Waveney: June 13, 26, 29 and August29Eastbourne, East Sussex37ft 6in Rather: August 29D class inflatable: June 27, July 6, 10,August 18 and 31Exmouth, South Devon48ft din Solent: June 26 (twice), 29, August3,6, 11, 23 and 25 (twice)Relief 52ft Barnett: August 29D class inflatable: June 1 and 29Eyemouth, Berwickshire44ft Waveney: July 9, 10 and 26Falmouth, Cornwall52ft Arun: June 3, 22, July 19, 24, August22, 25 and 2618ft din McLachlan: July 1 1 , 1 7 (twice), 20,30, August 7, 15, 24 and 25Filey, North Yorkshire37ft Oakley: July 26 and August 30Relief D class inflatable: June 15, July 21,26, August 22 and 26Fishguard, Dyfed46ft 9in Watson: July 13, 17, August 4, 14and 26Flamborough, Humberside35ft din Liverpool: July 20Fleetwood, Lancashire44ft Waveney: June 15 (twice), June 21(twice), July 7, 13, August 24 (twice) and 28D class inflatable: June 7, 8, 15, July 29,August 9, 19, 24 (twice) and 30Flint, ClwydRelief D class inflatable: June 8, July 27,August 2, 5, 20 (twice) and 23Fowey, CornwallRelief 46ft Watson: July 23 and August 25Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire48ft din Solent: July 8Galway Bay, Co Galway52ft Barnett: June 13, 18, July 16 andAugust 4Relief 52ft Barnett: August 7Girvan, Ayrshire42ft Watson: August 17 (twice) and 27Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, Norfolk44ft Waveney: June 13, July 1, 9, 12, 15 and29Atlantic 21: June 3, 15 (twice), July 1, 12,20, 31 (twice), August 3, 4, 12, 14 (twice),21, 22, 23, 24 (twice), 25 (twice), 26, 29(twice), 30 (twice) and 31

Happisburgh, NorfolkD class inflatable: July 20, August 7 and 26Hartlepool, Cleveland44ft Waveney: June 15 (twice), August 20and 24Atlantic 21: June 15, 21, August 5, 16, 24,25, 30 and 31Harwich, Essex44ft Waveney: June 28, July 12, 18 and 29Atlantic 21: June 12, 14 (twice), 17, August2, 18, 26, 29 and 30Relief Atlantic 21: June 22 (twice)Hastings, East SussexD class inflatable: June 9Relief D class inflatable: July 16, 20, 24,26, August 17, 19 and 20Hayling Island, HampshireRelief Atlantic 21: June 7, 14 (twice), 29(twice), July 5, 15, 27, August 3 and 30Helensburgh, DunbartonshireAtlantic 21: July 28, August 2, 10, 14 and 18Holy head, Gwynedd52ft Barnett: June 7, 18, 21, July 7 and 2052/1- Arun: July 20, August 27 and 30D class inflatable: June 13, 15, August 17and 26Horton and Port Eynon, West GlamorganD class inflatable: July 13, 22, August 10and 27Howth, Co Dublin47ft Watson: July 19, August 16 and 29D class inflatable: June 16, July 14, 27(twice), August 10, 25, 26, 27 (twice), 28and 29Hoylake, Merseyside37ft din Rather: August 2 ,18 and 30 (threetimes)number, Humberside54ft Arun: June 5, 29, 30, July 1 (twice), 2,12, 19, 20 (twice), 22, August 5, 9, 19, 26and 31Hunstanton, NorfolkD class inflatable: June 22, 29 and July 20Ilfracombe, North Devon37ft Oakley: June 14, July 1. 3 (three times)and August 29Islay, Argyllshire50ft Thames: July 30, August 4, 16 and 26Kilmore, Co Wexford37ft Oakley: August 13Kinghorn, FifeD class inflatable: June 12, July 27, August8, 17 and 30 (twice)Kippford, KirkcudbrightshireD class inflatable: July 20 and August 14Kirkcudbright, KirkcudbrightshireRelief 37ft Oakley: July 9 and August 7Kirkwall, Orkney70ft Clyde: June 27, 30, July 27 and 28Largs, AyrshireAtlantic 21: June 25, July 9, August 2, 5and 14Lerwick, Shetland52ft Arun: June 11, 24 and August 2Littlehampton, West SussexAtlantic 21: June 8, 14, 17, July 1, 2 (twice),6, 22, August 17, 25 (twice) and 30Littlestone-on-Sea, KentAtlantic 21: June 7, 30, July 25, August 3,6, 18, 30 and 31 (twice)Lizard-Cadgwith, Cornwall52ft Barnett: June 2, 17 and July 28Llandudno, Gwynedd37ft Oakley: July 20 and August 2D class inflatable: June 2, 8, 18, 29, July23, 25, August 25 and 30Lochinver, Sutherland52ft Barnett: July 27 and August 15Longhope, Orkney48ft din Solent: August 2Lowestoft, Suffolk47ft Watson: June 5, 27, July 27, 28, 29(twice), August 3, 14, 17 and 18Lyme Regis, DorsetAtlantic 21: June 3, 7, 27 (twice), July 18,

20, 21, 29, August 1, 12 and 25Lymington, HampshireAtlantic 21: June 19 and August 17Lytham-St Anne's, LancashireD class inflatable: June 8, 25 and July 18Mablethorpe, LincolnshireD class inflatable: June 1, 8, July 3, 19, 23,August 3, 18 and 24Mallaig, Inverness-shire52ft Barnett: June 20Margate, Kent37ft din Rather: July 1, 20, August 12, 20,29 and 30Relief D class inflatable: June 11, 13, 15,July 25, August 4, 6, 9, 10, 13, 15, 27 and 30Minehead, SomersetD class inflatable: August 4Atlantic 21: August 1 and 3Relief Atlantic 21: August 20, 25 and 28Moelfre, Gwynedd37ft din Rother: July 15 and August 3D class inflatable: Ju ly 21, August 3, 10,13, 17, 19, 20 (twice), 21, 26 and 30Morecambe, LancashireRelief D class inflatable: July 27 (twice)and August 10Mudeford, DorsetD class inflatable: June 28, July 29 andAugust 14Newbiggin, Northumberland37ft Oakley: June 30 and August 15New Brighton, MerseysideAtlantic 21: June 17, 26, July 19, 24, 25,August 2, 9, 12, 17 (twice), 19 and 22(twice)Newcastle, Co Down37ft Oakley: June 17 and August 7Newhaven, East Sussex44ft Waveney: June 19, 23, July 8, 13, 27-(twice), August 3, 9 (twice), 10, 12 (twice),24, 28, 29 and 31New Quay, Dyfed37ft Oakley: August 5D class inflatable: June 15, 30, July 12. 15,August 3. 4. 5, 10 (twice), 15, 16 and 17Newquay, CornwallD class inflatable: June 3, 15, July 3, 10,24, 28, 30, 31, August 1 (twice). 13, 15, 19,24, 26 and 30 (twice)North Berwick, East LothianD class inflatable: June 29, August 10 and17North Sunderland, NorthumberlandRelief D class inflatable: June 6, 15 and 21D class inflatable: August 2, 23 (twice) and26Oban, Argyllshire42ft Watson: August 20, 24 and 25 (twice)18ft din McLachlan: July 2, 27, August 11,20, 24 and 25Padstow, Cornwall48ft din Oakley: July 20, 31, August 13 and26Peel, Isle of ManRelief Atlantic 21: June 26 and July 13Atlantic 21: July 20, 30, August 13, 23(twice) and 25Penarth, South GlamorganD class inflatable: June 20, 28, July 27, 29and August 25Penlee, Cornwall47ft Watson: June 27Plymouth, South Devon44ft Waveney: August 18Relief18ft din McLachlan: Ju ly 20 (twice),28 (twice) and August 618ft din McLachlan: August 14, 17 and 22Poole, Dorset44ft Waveney: June 29Dell Quay Dory: June 29 (twice), July 3, 27(three times), August 9, 12, 15, 27 and 30Portaferry, Co DownD class inflatable: June 11, 29, July 9, 14,21, August 7 and 17

142

Port Erin, Isle of Man37ft 6in Rother: June 7, July 20 and 26Porthcawl, Mid GlamorganD class inflatable: June 12, 26, 29, July 7,12, 28 (twice), August 3, 16, 18, 26, 28 and31Porthdinllaen, Gwynedd47ft Watson: July 24 and 29Port Isaac, CornwallD class inflatable: July 5, 22, 28, August 3,14, 25 and 26 (twice)Portpatrick, Wigtownshire47ft Watson: July 13, 23 and August 17Portsmouth (Langstone Harbour),HampshireAtlantic 21: June 14, 15, 22, July 6 (threetimes), 19, 27 (twice), August 17 and 25D class inflatable: June 1, August 25, 26and 31Port St Mary, Isle of Man54ft Arun: June 3, 26Relief 52ft Barnett: July 21 and August 13(twice)D class inflatable: July 23 and August 13Port Talbot, West GlamorganRelief D class inflatable: July 3Pwllheli, Gwynedd37ft Oakley: July 30D class inflatable: June 18, July 24, 26,August 1, 21, 23 and 26Queensferry, West LothianAtlantic 21: June 29 and July 12Ramsey, Isle of Man37ft Oakley: July 20, 24, 30 and August 18Red Bay, Co AntrimD class inflatable: August 19Redcar, Cleveland37ft Oakley: June 15, August 18 (twice) and20D class inflatable: June 3, 15 and 28Rhyl, Clwyd37ft Oakley: August 2, 12 and 30 (threetimes)D class inflatable: June 4 (twice), 15, 28,July 3, 25, 28 (four times), 29, 30 (twice),31, August 2 and 3 (twice)Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford48ft 6in Solent: July 29Relief 46ft 9in Watson: August 31Rye Harbour, East SussexD class inflatable: July 12 (twice), 13, 17(twice), 26 (twice), 28, August 3, 5, 9, 23and 30St Bees, CumbriaD class inflatable: June 8, July 24, August9, 15, 18 and 24St David's, Dyfed47ft Watson: July 29St Helier, Jersey44ft Waveney: June 13, 27, July 7, 13, 20and August 27St Ives, Cornwall37ft Oakley: June 30, July 1, 18, August 10,25 and 30Relief D class inflatable: July 8D class inflatable: August 3, 8, 16, 17, 22,25, 29 and 30St Mary's, Scilly Islands46ft 9in Watson: Ju ly 12 and August 1St Peter Port, Guernsey52ft Arun: June 2, 14, July 7 (twice), 11, 26,

27, 30, August 13, 21, 22, 26 and 29Salcombe, South DevonRelief 46ft 9in Watson: June 12, 19, July 13and 26Scarborough, North Yorkshire37ft Oakley: July 26 and August 30D class inflatable: July 20, August 16 and 21Selsey, West Sussex48ft 6in Oakley: June 26 and July 6D class inflatable: July 2, 6 and 27 (twice)Sennen Cove, Cornwall37ft 6in Rother: June 25, 27, August 2 and 3Sheringham, Norfolk37ft Oakley: July 11Shoreham Harbour, West SussexRelief 41ft Watson: June 8 and July 242ft Watson: August 31D class inflatable: June 7, 15, July 20,August 1, 3, 17, 21, 25, 26, 29 and 30Silloth, CumbriaAtlantic 21: June 30, July 13, 25, August 1and 14Skegness, Lincolnshire37ft Oakley: July 17, August 3, 12 and 30Relief D class inflatable: June 21, July 4,17, 30, August 4, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 22 and28Southend-on-Sea, EssexRelief D class inflatable: June 11, 30, July2, 24, 29, August 1, 21, 26 (twice) and 30Atlantic 21: June 14 (twice), 15 (twice), 17,22, 27, 29 (twice), 30, July 13, 18, 30,August 1, 10 (three times), 12, 13, 25(twice), 26 and 30 (six times)Southwold, SuffolkAtlantic 21: June 16, 24, July 5, 29 (twice),August 3, 30 and 31Staithes and Runswick, North YorkshireRelief Atlantic 21: June 6, August 8, 18, 24and 31Stornoway, Ross-shire48ft 6in Solent: June 19, 23, 26 and July 11(twice)Relief 48ft 6in Solent: August 17 and 20Stranraer, WigtownshireD class inflatable: July 21, August 13 and 23Stromness, Orkney52ft Barnett: July 4Sunderland, Tyne and Wear47ft Watson: July 27 and August 21D class inflatable: June 24, July 2, 27 andAugust 31Swanage, Dorset37ft 6in Rother: June 1 (twice), 10, 24, 29,July 26, 27, 30, August 15, 24 (twice), 25,27 and 29 (twice)Teesmouth, Cleveland47ft Watson: June 15Tenby, DyfedRelief 46ft 9in Watson: June 1346ft 9in Watson: August 6, 10 (twice) and 13Relief D class inflatable: June 13, 19, 29,July 8, 10, 15, 19, 21, 22 (twice), 25, 26, 27(twice), 30 and August 3D class inflatable: August 5, 6 (twice), 7(twice), 11, 12 (twice), 14 (twice), 15, 17(twice), 21 (twice), 25 and 30Tighnabruaich, ArgyllshireD class inflatable: June 29 and July 31Torbay, South Devon54ft Arun: June 3, 9, 12, 13, 16, July 9,

August 3 (twice), 16, 24 (twice), 29 and 30(twice)18ft 6in McLachlan: June 25, July 25, 30(twice), August 11, 29 and 30Tramore, Co WaterfordD class inflatable: June 26 and August 26Trearddur Bay, GwyneddD class inflatable: June 8, July 9, 31 andAugust 23Troon, Ayrshire44ft Waveney: June 1, 7, 13, 15 (twice),July 5, 19, 28, 29, 30, August 10, 15 and 19Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear52ft Arun: June 11 and August 15D class inflatable: June 14Valentia, Co Kerry52ft Barnett: June 16Walmer, Kent37ft 6in Rother: June 18 (twice), July 1, 17and 25D class inflatable: June 18 (twice), July 13,20 (twice), 27 and August 17 (twice)Walton and Frinton, EssexRelief 46ft 9in Watson: June 22Wells, NorfolkD class inflatable: June 8, July 20, August10 and 17West Kirby, MerseysideRelief D class inflatable: June 15D class inflatable: June 25, July 28, August2 and 8West Mersea, EssexAtlantic 21: June 27, July 20, 29 (twice),August 19 (twice) and 21Weston-super-Mare, Avon18ft din McLachlan: June 29 (twice), July30, August 3, 13 and 24D class inflatable: June 29 (twice), July 27,30, August 13Relief D class inflatable: August 24Weymouth, Dorset54ft Arun: August 6, 9, 10, 12, 16, 28 and 29(twice)Whitby, North YorkshireRelief 47ft Watson: August 20Relief D class inflatable: June 4, July 5, 13,14 and August 10D class inflatable: August 20, 24 and 27Whitstable, KentAtlantic 21: June 14, 15, 20, 24, 26, 30, July19, 31, August 3,6, 8, 17 (twice) and 20 (twice)Wick, CaithnessRelief 48ft 6in Solent: June 20 and 2848ft 6in Oakley: August 20Withernsea, HumbersideD class inflatable: July 20 (twice), 27, 30and August 30Workington, Cumbria46ft 9in Watson: June 8 and August 4Yarmouth, Isle of WightRelief 52ft Arun: July 4, 30, August 6(twice), 8 and 1452ft Arun: August 16, 19, 20, 29 and 30ON 1067, on trials52ft Arun: June 21 (twice)ON 858, on passage41ft Watson: July 27 (twice)ON 1043, on passage44ft Waveney: July 30 and August 3ON 987, on passage70ft Clyde: August 29

SERVICES AND LIVES RESCUED BY THE RNLI'S LIFEBOATSJanuary 1, 1980, to October 31, 1980: Services: 2,507; lives saved 1,068

THE STATION FLEET(as at31/10/80)

258 lifeboats, of which 1 Atlantic 21, 4 18ft 6in McLachlanand 67 D class inflatable lifeboats operate in summer only

LIVES RESCUED 106,378from the Institution's foundation in 1824 to October 31, 1980

143

Index to Advertisers Page

Aegis Insurance Services (Group) Ltd 110Birds Eye Foods Ltd Outside Back CoverDavid Jolly (Tiller Master) 144Maritime Book Society Loose InsertMercantile Credit Inside Front CoverFred Olsen Lines 140-141 and loose insertPeeks of Bournemouth 144Passer's Rum 110RNLI Kensington Branch 110Temple Insurance Brokers Ltd .Inside Back CoverTrusthouse Forte Loose InsertWarnford Tea Trading Company

Inside Back CoverC. P. Witter Ltd 132

Classified AdvertisementsACCOMMODATION

NORTH CORNWALL. Comfortable guesthouse overlooking the lovely old village andharbour of Port Isaac. Friendly service,children welcome. An ideal touring centrefor Cornwall. Super beaches close by forswimming, surfing and sailing. Send SAEfor brochure to: Enid Andrews, 'Hatha-way', Port Isaac, Cornwall. Tel: (020 888)416.

PORT ISAAC, North Cornwall. DunoonGuest House. Comfortable family guesthouse with superb views of Port Isaac Bay.Ideal centre for Rock, Polzeath, Trebarwithand Tintagel. Bed and breakfast, eveningmeal optional. Proprietress Mrs KathleenCastle, Port Isaac (020 888) 383.

TORBAY, PAIGNTON. Close to harbourand main beaches, 'The Moorings' a modernthree-bedroomed maisonette sleeps six toeight persons. Well furnished, carpetedthroughout and fully equipped. Parking fortwo cars. SAE for particulars to Mrs Ricks,'Lyndcote', Roundham Avenue, Paignton,Devon TQ4 6DE. Tel: (0803) 559333.

CHICHESTER HARBOUR. EmsworthMarina, yachtsman's 'Deck-House', sleepsfour, well equipped, TV, residentslaunching-ramp nearby, lovely views; 25square miles of sheltered sailing, moderateterms. Sorry, no pets. Further details—Emsworth 3298 or: 43 New Brighton Road,Emsworth, Hants PO10 7QP.

LUXURY BUNGALOW overlooking FileyBay, sleeps 6. Three bedrooms, lounge/din-ing room, kitchen, bathroom and spaciousgarden. Situated on the Flat Cliffs, PrimroseValley. For full details on Winter or Sum-mer lets and photographs, please send s.a.e.to Honorary Secretary, Filey RNLI, 21 FlatCliffs, Filey, North Yorkshire.

BRIXHAM, TORBAY, DEVON. Self-catering HOLIDAY APARTMENTS eachcomfortably furnished to a high standard,(fridge and television of course), for two tosix persons (children over six years). Superbouter harbourside position. Resident prop-rietors associated with TORBAYLIFEBOAT. Stamp please for brochure: G.A. Smith, 'Harbour Lights', 69 Berry HeadRoad. Tel: (08045) 4816.

CENTRAL CORNWALL. Luxury self-catering cottages with colour TV, sleepingfrom two to ten persons, situated midwaybetween North and South coasts and onedge of moor. An ideal touring centre for anearly Spring break. Children's playground.Licensed bar and restaurant (open if suffi-cient demand). Rates up to end of Marchfrom £3.50 per person per week. Forbrochure phone Bodmin 2249.

DORSET, 3 miles Bridport. 3-bedroomedholiday cottage—Television. St Anthony,Uploders.

WELSH FARMHOUSE for holiday rental.New Quay overlooking Cardigan Bay. 50acres private wooded valley, streams,waterfall, secluded beach. 2 bathrooms,large kitchen, log fire in lounge. £75 to £160per week. Sleeps eleven. ALSO: Adjacentbungalow (sleeps seven). Kennett "BroadLodge", Southend Road, Stanford-le-Hope,Essex.(03756)41079.

NORTH CORNWALL. Luxury self-catering cottages in peaceful Cornish coun-tryside, near moor and coast. Beautifullyfurnished, colour TV, etc: from £58. Reduc-tions two persons out of main season. Alsowell-appointed character farmhouse. Excel-lent farmhouse fare, including full Englishbreakfast and five-course evening dinner.From £54 per week. Brochure: Tel: (0208)850728, Mr and Mrs R. Curtis, Park Farm,Michaelstow, St Tudy.

JOHN AND LIZ RANKIN welcome you tothe OLD HALL HOTEL, RUSWARP,WHITBY. Our delightful Jacobean Hallbordering the glorious North YorkshireMoors and coastline is ideal for fishing,boating, walking or relaxing. Twenty-bedroom family hotel, lounge, TV lounge,restaurant, bar. Associated with WhitbyLifeboat. Brochure: Whitby (0947) 602801.

SAILSThere is just time to order a superbcustom-made sail for delivery this Spring.We confidently guarantee outstandingvalue. Try us. DAWSON SAILS, 051-3362201.

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.

THE GIFT OR PRESENTATIONWITH A DIFFERENCE!

UNCANNILY ACCURATE MINIATUREMODELS AND WALL PLAQUES OF

YACHTS, SAILING BARGES,LIFE-BOATS AND OTHER VESSELS

MODELS—Completely detailed scalereplicas, with crews, mounted on realisticsea bases, with showcases and varnishedhardwood plinths with nameplates. Eachindividually built and signed original truly'live' works of art in the unusually fas-cinating medium of realism in miniature.

ALSO—Similar Standard range of Life-boats, Thames Spritsail barges. WestCoast trading ketches, Bristol ChannelPilot Cutters and Wherries, etc.

WALL PLAQUES—Very attractivereplicas of sailing vessels, life-boats,yachts, dinghies and other craft, with theappearance of three dimensional framedminiature paintings by their outstandingproduction in relief. Each hand paintedand a signed original.

DETAILS AND PRICES: BRIAN H.WILLIAMS Marine Model Artist, "WestRock", The Cleave, Kingsand, Near Tor-point, Cornwall, PL10 INF (Tel:0752-822638)

FOR HIRE OR CHARTERCHARTER nearly new luxury twin-enginesix-berth motor cruiser. Fully equipped,radar, VHP radio, auto-pilot, direction fin-der, liferaft, dinghy, etc. Discount earlybooking 1981. Needham, High Street, LittleEversden, Cambridge. Tel: Comberton2506.

MISCELLANEOUSFISHERMAN'S SMOCKS, navy drill. Allsizes £6.95 delivered. Rockall Wear, 138Narrow Lane, Halesowen B62 9NX.

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

OWN AN INDIVIDUALLY detailed pencilsketch of your lifeboat or own boat; fordetails telephone Guernsey 36112.

SAILING INSTRUCTIONFARAWAY SAILING SCHOOL (R.Y.A.Approved). Sailing instruction one to fivedays or weekends. R.Y.A. practicalCourses. Operating base Troon Marina,Ayrshire. Brochure and further informationfrom 420 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2.Tel: 041-332 7587.

A family firm with alifetime of experiencespecializing inFund-Raisingat Fetes

Write or Telephone for FREE IllustratedBrochure featuring Equipment for Hireand Prizes supplied on Sale or Return

PEEKS OF BOURNEMOUTH LTDEverything for Fetes and Carnivals

TUCKTON BOURNEMOUTH DORSET BH6 3LD <

© TELEPHONE: 0202 4294O4/SEVENING & WEEKEND TELEPHONE ORDERING SERVICE TEL (02021 429406

144

Introducing

Lifeboat leaA great name. A great institution.

This new tea has real characterJust put your ear to the cupand you'll almost hearthe flavour.Get your local shopsand supermarketsto stock it.Remember. . .every cupcounts!

Produced by

Warnford Tea Trading Company Limited, Warnford, Southampton, Hampshire S031LE.

Boat Insurance for Shoreline Members (and other lifeboat' readers)

Temple InsuranceBrokers Ltd., specialistMarine Craft InsuranceBrokers, Members of theBritish InsuranceBrokers Association, arepleased to offerShoreline Members andother 'Lifeboat' readersspecial terms for theirpersonal Yacht andMotor Boat insurance.

For a quotation withoutobligation, pleasecomplete and post theenquiry form opposite.No stamp required.

OR RING POOLE(02013)79444

Personaldetails

Detailsof craft

Values

Use

General

Name Tel. No

Address

Experience

OccupationAccident/Losses/Claims in last 5 years Yes/No (Details on separate sheet)

Name ClassATypeConstruction Year Built

Length BeamEngines HP Inboard/OutboardMax. Designed Speed (Motor boats only) knots.

Hull, Machinery, Equipment £ Trailer £

Dinghy/Boats £ Outboat Motor £TOTAL _£

In commission from to (inclusive)Moored atLaid up from to Inclusive. Ashore/Afloat.Cruising Area(a) Are you entitled to No Claim Discount? years.(b) Do you wish to bear the first £25 D : £50 D : £100 D :

of any claim? Tick as applicable.(c) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS. Racing Risks, Water-Skiing, etc.

TO FREE POST, Geoffrey Bere FCII, TEMPLE INSURANCEBROKERS, 29 High Street, POOLE BH15 1BR.

The Captaintakes his hat off

totheRNLL