THE JOURNAL OF THE RNLI...Magazine of th Caravae n Club jj^ .. I. have bee givinn ang extensive wea tnaHr o outdoor clothing mad e by Functional of Mancheste . .r . All I can say i

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THELIFEBOAT

Winter 1976/77

s~*\ A A Notes of the Quarter, by Patrick Howarth 219

Here and There 220

Lifeboat Services 221

VOlUme y\.JL<l V John Chapman: Honorary Secretary of the Civil Service and Post Office-v T i 0 Lifeboat Fund .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 227Number 458

The Day of a DOS, by Joan Davies 228

Lifeboatmen and Fishermen, by Colin Ashford .. .. .. .. 232

Chairman: An Eye for Detail in Lifeboat Design . . . . . . . . . . . . 233MAJOR-GENERAL R. H. FARRANT, CB

September Three: Naming Ceremonies at Aberdeen, Weymouth and Ramsgate 234

Director and Secretary: Outboard: Speed and Power 236CAPTAIN NIGEL DIXON, RN

Lifeboat People ". 237

Shoreline 238

Building a Rother C/ass Lifeboat: Part II—Lofting and laying down the keel 239

Letters 240Managing Editor:PATRICK HOWARTH RNLI Depot at Poole 241

Editor: Around the Coast .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. 242JOAN DAVIES

Some Ways of Raising Money .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 243

For Model Makers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 245Headquarters:Royal National Life-boat Institution, Book Reviews .. .. 246West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH151HZ (Telephone Poole 71133). Crossword Competition 247

London Office: Offshore Lifeboat Services, June, July and August 1976 .. .. .. 226Royal National Life-boat Institution, 21Ebury Street, London SW1W OLD Inshore Lifeboat Services, June, July and August 1976 249(Telephone 01-730 0031).

Index to Advertisers 252

COVER PICTURE

The bottle of champagne falls: Ralphand Joy Swann, Ramsgate's new 44'Waveney lifeboat, was named by HRHThe Duchess of Kent on Thursday,September 23, 1976. Hampshire Rose,Walmer's 37' 6" Rother lifeboat, withSir Alec Rose himself on board, wasthere in support. The photograph wastaken by Joan Davies.

Editorial: All material submitted forconsideration with a view to publicationin the journal should be addressed to theeditor, THE LIFEBOAT, Royal NationalLife-boat Institution, West Quay Road,Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ (TelephonePoole 71133). Photographs intended forreturn should be accompanied by astamped and addressed envelope.

Next Issues: The Spring issue of THELIFEBOAT will appear in April and newsitems should be sent by the end ofJanuary. News items for the Summer issueshould be sent in by the end of April.

Advertisements: All advertising en-quiries should be addressed to DysonAdvertising Services, PO Box 9, Godal-ming, Surrey (Telephone Godalming(04868) 23675).

Subscription: A year's subscription offour issues costs £1.40, includingpostage, but those who are entitled toreceive THE LIFEBOAT free of charge willcontinue to do so. Overseas subscrip-tions depend on the cost of postage tothe country concerned.

217

For the craftsmanin model boatbuilding

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Interceptor 7.6 Fast Reaction Rescue CraftSpecially designed for the rescue of survivors from

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Medina 14m Self-Righting LifeboatWith a hull built from Cor-ten steel plate and an

aluminium superstructure the Medina is one of thestrongest boats available today. It has space for 10survivors and 4 crew and has a range of 150 nauticalmiles at 16 knots.

Hamble 16m Self-Righting LifeboatFeatures a G.R.P. hull and aluminium super-

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Fairey Marine Ltd.Hamble, Southampton, Hants SOS 5NB. Tel: Hamble (0421-22) 2661/8 Telex: 47546

218

NOTES OFTHE QUARTER

by Patrick Howarth

THE PERSISTENCE AND DEDICATION whichRNLI supporters have shown in aperiod of exceptional financial stringencygive, at the time of going to press,reasonable grounds for optimism aboutthe financial results in 1976. En-couraging support has continued tocome from all the established sources,including branches, guilds and the CivilService and Post Office Lifeboat Fund.(A profile of the secretary of this remark-able body appears on page 227.) Therehave also been a number of highlysuccessful local appeals. The Bristolappeal has closed at a figure of £102,298.The Broughty Ferry appeal has alreadybrought in more than £100,000 and theIsle of Wight appeal more than £16,000.The admirably organised efforts ofRound Table seem likely to produce atthe very least the cost of a new Waveneylifeboat.

What this has meant in practice isthat it has already been possible toorder three new lifeboats in 1976, andit is likely that our reserves at the endof the year will allow a further orderto be placed for at least one more. Asreaders will recall, earlier in the yearit was found necessary temporarily tocurtail the lifeboat building programme,but the present unmistakable evidenceof widespread support for the RNLIwhich 1976 has provided offers en-couragement for the future.

Commercial prospects for the Atlantic 21One of the most important and

exciting developments in lifeboat designin recent years has been the Atlantic 21inshore lifeboat, which had its originsin Atlantic College in South Wales,largely through the efforts of Rear-Admiral Hoare. The boat was firstshown to other lifeboat societies at theInternational Conference in New York

City in 1971 when David Stogdon gavea number of demonstrations. Since thenthe RNLI has built 42 Atlantic 21s,23 of which are on service on the coast,and there are now good prospects thatother organisations will wish to use theboat, both for lifesaving and otherpurposes, in this country and overseas.

The RNLI Trading Company, onbehalf of the RNLI, is entering into anagreement with Halmatic Ltd. to buildAtlantic 21s for the commercial market.RNLI Trading will retain the copyrightin the design and will receive a royaltyon every boat built by Halmatic for saleto a third party.

The depot at PooleThe RNLI depot at Boreham Wood

was closed down at the end of Sep-tember 1976 and the new depot cameinto operation as part of the main headoffice complex at Poole. This completesthe present stage in the move fromLondon and its immediate environswhich was decided on in the summer of1972.

One gratifying consequence of themove to Poole is the number of visitswhich honorary workers are now makingto the head office. All such visitors arenaturally welcome, and it is hoped thatthose who come will also take theopportunity of seeing the new depot atwork. Visits to Boreham Wood were ofcourse popular among many branchesand also parties of school children.

Autumn galesThe driest and warmest summer in

living memory in most parts of Britainwas followed, not surprisingly, bypersistent rain accompanied at times bygales during much of the autumn.Some of the worst weather was in mid-October, when winds rose to gale,storm and even hurricane force attimes. Fortunately there was goodwarning of the approach of this bad

weather, but even so, according toreturns already received, betweenOctober 12 and 17, 16 lifeboats and fiveILBs were launched on service; ofthese, six offshore and two inshorelifeboats were out on Thursday, October14, the day of the worst storms.

Trouble was not confined to the sea.On October 26 Arbroath ILB was outin the streets. Very heavy rain on thehills, spring tides and drains blockedwith autumn debris all combined to swellthe burn which runs through the townuntil it broke its banks, flooding a lowlying inland area to a depth of 5 feet.The fire service asked for the help of theILB, which rescued two families froma marooned house and, from 1000 to1700, ferried the firemaster and policeto investigate the flooded area, and alsoferried residents from a block of flats,while pumping got under way.

Association for Rescue at Sea Inc.In our last number we reported that

a joint American/British Committeehad been established in the UnitedKingdom to appeal to United Statescitizens to provide the funds for a newlifeboat. The committee agreed that itwould be necessary to establish asuitable organisation in the UnitedStates, and at a meeting held in NewYork on November 22 the body knownas the Association for Rescue at SeaInc. formally came into being. Applica-tion has been made to the InternalRevenue Service of the USA for taxexemption status. The inaugural meetingin New York was held through the goodoffices of the British/American Chamberof Commerce. Messrs. Cleary, Gottlieb,Steen and Hamilton have acted ashonorary solicitors. The registeredoffices of the new association are: c/o MrJames Wegeler, Secretary/Treasurer, 440Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y.10016.

When the Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI,visited Cowes, Isle of Wight, on October 5 he witnessedthe self-righting trial in Samuel White's yard of the37' 6" Rather class lifeboat which will be stationed atDungeness; he also (left) met the station's secondcoxswainlmechanic, Alec Clements.

219

Here and ThereWOLVERHAMPTON has launched anappeal to provide an Atlantic 21 ILBcomplete with launching tractor, trailer,boathouse, slipway and all operationalequipment at Abersoch, North Wales,where many Wolverhampton people,on holiday, take to the sea. The targetis £30,000 by mid 1977, and already£5,000 has been raised; that figureincludes a donation of £500 from aresident of Dubai in the United ArabEmirates. An appeal has been made toindustry, the professions, clubs andinstitutions and among early fund-raising events were a nearly new shopand an exhibition of RNLI paintingsat Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

* * *The Central London committee is

holding an auction of antiques andworks of art on May 25 at Bonham'sGalleries. Pictures, jewellery, silver,glass, porcelain and particularly anynaval or marine objects, for a specialmarine section, will be gratefullyreceived. Articles must be of reasonablequality and an estimate of their valuewould be useful. Anybody with asuitable item should contact RosalindSmalley, RNLI, 21 Ebury Street,London SW1 WOLD (Tel.: 01-730 0033).Admission to the auction is limited;viewing, May 24 and 25.

* * *Captain John Schumacher retired

from the German Lifesaving Associationon October 1, 1976, after 43 years ofactive service. He has brought muchoriginal thought to the development oflifeboats and at meetings of the Inter-national Lifeboat Conference, at whichhe was regularly a delegate from 1955,his counsel was much valued. He visitedRNLI HQ at Poole last Autumn. TheRNLI wishes an old friend a long andhappy retirement.

* * *Blyth 150th anniversary vellum was

presented to the honorary secretary,Dr R. Carr, by P. Denham Christie, amember of the Committee of Manage-ment, at a commemorative dinner onSeptember 16. Dr Carr handed the

The Right Reverend The Lord Bishop of Llandaff blesses Barry Dock's two lifeboats, the 52'Arun and 41' Watson Susan Ashley during a service of re-dedication and thanksgiving onSunday, August 22, 1976, to commemorate the station's 75th anniversary. Crowds throngedthe breakwaters, their singing led by Barry Male Voice Choir and the Band of the SalvationArmy. photograph by courtesy of Western Mail and Echo

Boys of Douglas High School studied thelifeboat service for their Duke of Edinburghaward training. When the Duke visited theIsle of Man last May he met both the boysand their instructor, Coxswain/MechanicNorman Quillin, Port St Mary. His RoyalHighness is seen here with (I. to r.) H.Taverner, Deputy Headmaster, and A. D.Maddrell of Douglas High School andCoxswain Quillin.

vellum to the Mayor of Blyth, Coun-cillor Arthur Hancock, who, as presi-dent, is an active branch member. Itwill be hung in the Mayor's Parlour forsafe keeping.

On January 27, 1940, Angle lifeboatlaunched to the help of a Greek steamer,Adamantios J. Pithis, totally wrecked atSt Ann's Head. Last October a chequewas received by the RNLI for £100: itwas a donation from the underwritersof this ship and represents a proportion

of the proceeds of the sale of the remainsof the wreck.

* * *For some years, the golf club at

Gwbert-on-Sea, Cardigan, whichannually holds a competition for life-boat spoons, has also held a collectingbox in the bar. Last year, unfortunately,the clubhouse was burned down. Afterthe fire the secretary, searching throughthe ruins, found a pile of moneyamounting to £8 in the ashes of whathad been a lifeboat collecting box.Naturally, Cardigan branch honorarytreasurer was delighted to receive this'hot money'.

Southampton Boat Show, September 13 to18, got away to a good start on the first daywith the presentation by Shaw Taylor to SirAlec Rose of three cheques: £500 fromCobramold Ltd, to mark the building of the2,000th Leisure class yacht (Mr Taylorhimself owns No. 16), together with £250from ICI Ltd and £25 from Fibreglass Ltd,who supply Cobramold with raw material.Overall takings of the RNLI stand, mannedthroughout by Southampton branch andguild members, amounted to £3,854.75;there were souvenirs, Christmas cards,Melaware provided through Poole guild anda draw with a cruise as first prize. 212Shoreline members were enrolled duringthe week, bringing in around £1,500.

220

Scotland South Division

Breeches buoy rescueTWO PEOPLE IN DANGER, stranded on arock at the mouth of the River Dee, werereported to the deputy launchingauthority of Kirkcudbright lifeboatstation by Ardrossan Coastguard at1321 on Sunday, May 16. The weatherwas stormy with southerly gale force 8winds and a very rough sea running inKirkcudbright Bay. High water was at1400.

Maroons were fired at 1338 and at1343 Kirkcudbright lifeboat, the 37'Oakley Mary Pullman, launched onservice. On clearing the bar CoxswainGeorge Davidson headed across Kirk-cudbright Bay towards Frenchman'sRock; on the way he asked the Coast-guard to muster the local Coast RescueEquipment company as casualties mightbe washed ashore.

Passage across the bay was very roughwith the lifeboat frequently disappearingfrom the sight of people watching fromthe shore. At 1355 the lifeboat arrivedoff Frenchman's Rock, about one milewest of the lifeboat house, and foundthe two men in great danger of beingwashed off the rock. The sea in the areawas very confused.

The lifeboat crew immediatelyvolunteered to launch the small inflat-able dinghy, but Coxswain Davidsonconsidered that in the prevailing con-ditions it would be safer to effect therescue by breeches buoy. At about 1400,therefore, the lifeboat anchored 30metres to the south of Frenchman'sRock. Coxswain Davidson decided thatit would not be possible to fix the line tothe rock and that the best method wouldbe to work lines from the shore to thelifeboat, so had the rocket line firedover the heads of the two men to the CRE

company on the far shore. The wind wasstill gale force 8 and Coxswain Davidsonhad continuously to use the lifeboat'sengines and adjust the cable to keep theveering line within reach of the survivors.

One of the men was suffering fromexposure and his colleague had to helphim into the breeches buoy; he wasbrought aboard the lifeboat at 1415and quickly wrapped in blankets. At1420 the second man was rescued andalso wrapped in blankets.

Coxswain Davidson then radioed fora doctor to be waiting and headed backto the harbour. At about 1450 the twomen were landed into the care of thedoctor. The lifeboat remained in theharbour until conditions on the slipimproved and was rehoused and readyfor service at 1730.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Coxswain/Mechanic GeorgeC. Davidson, DSM BEM. Vellum servicecertificates were presented to SecondCoxswain James P. Little, AssistantMotor Mechanic William McKie andCrew Members Edward Eccles, StephenEccles, Colin Mathieson, Charles Devlinand Alexander McHenry. A letter ofthanks signed by Captain Nigel Dixon,RN, Director of the Institution, wassent to HM Coastuard.

South Western Division

Four sailing boatsA NEAR GALE WAS BLOWING from thenorth when, at 1055 on Thursday,September 2, information was receivedthat a catamaran was burning a redflare off St Ives Harbour entrance.Visibility was only moderate, it was highwater and the sea was very rough. Atthat time there were four boats anchoredin the harbour approaches, the cata-maran, a trimaran and two yachts.

The 37' Oakley lifeboat FrankPen/old Marshall was launched withinten minutes and, upon reaching thecatamaran, Rakar, some five minuteslater, found that her moorings line hadparted, her anchor was fouled and herengine had failed. Frank PenfoldMarshall made fast a line on Rakarwhich, having cast off her anchor warpand with her crew of three still on board,was towed to the safety of the harbour.

Frank Penfold Marshall then returnedto the trimaran, Kon-Tina of LosAngeles, also with three people on board.

She had lost her rudder and had a ropearound her propeller. Two members ofthe lifeboat crew were put aboard tohelp clear her ropes and anchor and shewas then towed into harbour.

At this time concern was felt for theyacht Sundancer, in rather a pooranchorage north east of the pier. FrankPenfold Marshall approached her andadvised her to enter harbour. Conditionswere by now very poor and two life-boatmen were put aboard to help hercrew get the anchor and make harbour.She was escorted by the lifeboat.

Upon completion of this task, thefourth boat in the anchorage, theyacht Yosemitte, was found to have arope around her propeller and she alsowas escorted to the safety of the harbour.Frank Penfold Marshall was finallyrecovered and rehoused at 1700.

Ireland Division

Taking waterA LIGHT, CONFIRMED to be a signal forhelp from a vessel behind the rocks atIrelands Eye, three quarters of a milenorth east of Howth lifeboat station,was seen by the harbour master at 2125on Tuesday, July 6.

Visibility was poor and the windvariable. The sea was choppy and it was1\ hours after high water when, at 2135,the Howth ILB was launched. Shefound that the casualty was a 22' motorlaunch taking water, the level of whichhad already reached the distributor andprevented the re-starting of the engine.The motorboat, with her crew of four onboard, was taken in tow to Howth wherethe crew were landed. The ILB returnedto her station and was rehoused at2240.

Eastern Division

Yacht holedA YACHT SEEN TO FIRE a red flare, about\\ miles seawards of the Coastguardlookout was reported to the honorarysecretary of Walmer lifeboat station at1130 on Wednesday, September 1. It wasalmost flat calm when, at 1137, the ILBlaunched to investigate.

Thirteen minutes later she was along-side the casualty, the yacht Ay Bee Geeon passage to Calais. Ay Bee Gee waslow in the water and four of her crewwere immediately taken on board the

SERVICES AND LIVES SAVED BY OFFSHORE AND INSHORE LIFEBOATS

January 1,1976 to October 31, 1976: Services 2,441; lives saved 867

THE STATION FLEET(as at 31/10/76)

132 offshore ilfeboats 123 inshore lifeboats operating in the summer48 inshore lifeboats operating in the winter

LIVES RESCUED 101,856

from the Institution's foundation in 1824 to October 31, 1976

221

Flamborough lifeboat, the 35' 6" Liverpool Friendly Forester, was launched at 1605 on Wed-nesday, September 8, to go to the help of a cabin cruiser on fire off Flamborough Head. Allfive of the casualty's crew were taken off, two of the lifeboat crew were put aboard and theboat was towed to Bridlington Harbour where the fire service took over.

photograph by courtesy of Arthur W. Dick

ILB, leaving the skipper on board toman the pumps. Meanwhile, the Coast-guard had reported to the honorarysecretary that the yacht appeared tohave been holed and that an RAF rescuehelicopter, on routine exercise offMargate, was also on its way.

At 1145, Walmer's 37' 6" Rotherlifeboat Hampshire Rose was launched,reaching the casualty at 1205. SecondCoxswain Cyril Williams and CrewMember Brian Clark were put aboardAy Bee Gee to help pump and the fourcrew taken off by the ILB were trans-ferred to Hampshire Rose.

By this time, Ay Bee Gee was welldown by the stern. A towline waspassed and secured and the skipper andBrian Clark were taken off and trans-ferred to Hampshire Rose, leavingSecond Coxswain Williams to look afterthe yacht while under tow.

After discussion with the Coastguardand having regard to the state of thecasualty, it was decided to make for thelifeboat station and the adjacent beaches;it might be necessary to run thecasualty aground.

By 1245 a mile of towing had beensuccessfully accomplished and lifeboatand tow were just abeam of the lifeboatstation when the yacht gave a roll,lurched badly and sank on an even keelsome 150 yards north east of the life-boat slipway; her masts remainedshowing above water. Second CoxswainWilliams was thrown into the water butwas safely picked up by his colleaguesin a matter of minutes.

At 1430, having secured the sunkenyacht and passed a line ashore, Hamp-shire Rose returned to her station withthe five survivors. The ILB, which hadacted as escort during the period of thetow, remained afloat, salvaging bits and

pieces and further securing the yachtand finally returned to her station andwas rehoused at 1500.

Ashore in the lifeboathouse theyacht's owner, a Shoreline member whohad often taken part in fund raising forthe RNLI, was highly complimentaryand thankful for all that had been donefor him, his passengers and his boat byRNLI personnel and the Coastguard.

It appears that Ay Bee Gee was abouttwo miles south of the South GoodwinLightvessel when she struck a submergedobject. She had already turned shore-wards to get out of the shipping lane offthe south end of the Goodwins when themishap occurred, so her skipper keptgoing, with the bows pointing at theCoastguard lookout on the cliffs, whilehe fired flares.

The sunken yacht was subsequentlyrecovered.

Scotland North Division

Drifting, offshore windTHE DEPUTY LAUNCHING AUTHORITY ofMacduff lifeboat station was told byHM Coastguard at 1346 on Thursday,July 15, that a small boat had sufferedengine failure some two miles north westof the lifeboat station and needed help.

It was two hours before high water,the sea was slight and there was moderatevisibility, but a moderate breeze wasblowing from the south when, at 1405,the 48' 6" Solent lifeboat Douglas Currieleft her moorings. She came up with thecasualty at 1417 and took the boat intow to Banff Harbour where the fiveoccupants were landed. Douglas Curriethen returned to her station and was re-moored at 1445.

North Western Division

Boy on cliffsAT 2133 ON SUNDAY, June 27, HM Coast-guard informed the honorary secretaryof Holyhead lifeboat station that a boyhad fallen 200 feet down the cliffs andinto the sea at North Stack but hadswum back to the cliffs and had startedto climb again. The Coastguard cliffrescue team were already on their way.

At 2157 the 52' Barnett lifeboat StCybi (Civil Service No. 9) was launched,followed three minutes later by the ILB.Both boats headed for the scene of theincident, some three miles distant,arriving at 2220. By this time the cliffrescue team were in position anddescending the cliff. The coxswain ofSt Cybi, William Jones, went ashore inthe ILB to talk to and reassure the boy,who was about 40' above sea level.

The boy was eventually reached bytwo members of the rescue team,strapped into a harness and all threewere lowered into the awaiting ILB andthen transferred to St Cybi which wasstanding by off the cliff. The boy wasgiven hot soup and made comfortablefor the passage to the lifeboat station;he remained on board until the lifeboatwas rehoused at 2330 after which he wastaken to hospital and detained over-night. The ILB was rehoused at 2325.

South Eastern Division

Set against a buoyHM COASTGUARD informed the honorarysecretary of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight,lifeboat station at 2251 on Friday,July 16, that cries for help heard comingfrom the vicinity of Sconce Buoy, nearFort Victoria, had been reported tothem. It was a clear, calm night when,at 2305, the 46' Watson lifeboatCanadian Pacific, on temporary reliefduty at Yarmouth, left her mooringsand set course for the position given.Also at 2305 the Coastguard alerted thehonorary secretary of Lymington inshorelifeboat. At 2320 the ILB was launchedand on her way to the scene.

On arriving in the area it was foundthat several other boats were helpingwith the search. Lifeboat and ILB joinedin and they illuminated the scene withtheir parachute flares. Apparently thefishing boat Jo-Anne, on a chartered tripfrom Lymington, was returning from theNeedles area when her engine failed offSconce Buoy. The boat, caught in thestrong tidal stream, was set against thebuoy and capsized, throwing her nineoccupants into the water. Jo-Annequickly broke up and sank in eightfathoms of water.

The nine survivors were picked up bythe fishing boats Calypso, Blue Cascadeand Happy Return and these wereseparately escorted back to Lymingtonby the ILB, which eventually returned

222

to her station and was rehoused at 0130on July 17. Canadian Pacific returned toYarmouth and was re-moored at 0015after it was learned that all nine ofJo-Anne's party had been rescued.

Western Division

Taking waterON SUNDAY, JULY 11, HM Coastguardinformed the honorary secretary ofHorton and Port Eynon ILB station thatred flares had been reported off OxwichPoint, and at 2007 the ILB was launchedand set course at full speed for theposition indicated.

Visibility was good, there was amoderate breeze, the sea was rough andthe tide was on the turn when, at 2012,the ILB came up with the casualty, adinghy with five people on board. Thedinghy was rapidly taking water andher occupants were quickly transferredto the ILB which returned to her stationwith the dinghy in tow, arriving at 2035.She was rehoused at 2050.

Eastern Division

Lee shoreFOLLOWING A MESSAGE from HM Coast-

guard to the honorary secretary ofLowestoft lifeboat station at 1853 onSunday, July 18, that a longshore boatwas flying a distress signal close to a leeshore between Covehithe and BenacreNess, the 47' Watson lifeboat FrederickEdward Crick slipped her moorings at1905 and set course for the position ofthe casualty. Visibility was from threeto four miles. The wind was moderatesouth easterly, increasing; the sea wasmoderate, the tide ebbing. On arrival at1955 the lifeboat found the fishingvessel Caprice with nine people on boardanchored about a quarter of a mile fromthe shore. The lifeboat put a towlineaboard Caprice, pulled her clear andheaded for Lowestoft.

At 2045, by pre-arrangement, thelifeboat passed the tow over to MV Soniaand returned to her station where shearrived and was re-moored at 2055.


Thick fogVISIBILITY WAS DOWN to a few yardswhen, at 2210 on Wednesday, June 16,Salcombe's 47' Watson lifeboat TheBaltic Exchange slipped her mooringsin thick fog to begin a search, with theaid of her radar, for a 19' cabin cruiser,La Mer, on a fishing trip from Salcombeand well overdue.

The Baltic Exchange was recalled at0145 on June 17 and returned to hermoorings at 0200 when preparationswere made to renew the search at firstlight. After a brief rest for her crew sheresumed her search at 0445. About an

hour later she was joined by an RNhelicopter from Culdrose. Visibility bynow was about three miles.

During the two hour break betweenthe searches, the Coastguards had beentrying to plot La Mer's direction ofdrift, having regard to tide and weather,and they were able to give The BalticExchange a new course. This provedcorrect and at 0550 the lifeboat reportedthat she had sighted the casualty. Fiveminutes later she had La Mer in towand was making for Salcombe wherethey arrived at 0713.

The Baltic Exchange returned to hermoorings at 0730 on the morning ofThursday, June 17.


Just in timeTHE STATION HONORARY TREASURER of

Stranraer saw a capsized dinghy, hercrew in the water, some 300 yards fromthe shore at 1855 on Wednesday,September 1. He immediately drove tothe boathouse where the honorarysecretary and members of the crew wereassembled.

In good visibility and with a moderateto fresh north-westerly breeze and roughsea, the ILB was launched at 1903. Twominutes later she was alongside thecasualty and found two people clingingto the upturned hull and two otherstrying to swim ashore. All four weredistressed and suffering from exposure.

The ILB got all four people on boardand radioed ashore to arrange medicalassistance. On her return to station a

police car was waiting to take thesurvivors to hospital. The ILB wentback to bring the dinghy ashore andthen returned to her station and wasrehoused at 2020.

The speedy action of the ILB wasundoubtedly responsible for the savingof these four lives; another ten minutesmight have had tragic consequences.

Eastern Division

Anchor draggedA RADIO MESSAGE from the charter boatAqua-Manda, that the ex-naval cutterOverdraft II had run out of fuel anddragged her anchor and was driftingwith two people on board, was reportedto the honorary secretary of Clacton-on-Sea lifeboat station by HM Coastguardat 1818 on Saturday, June 19. Aqua-Manda had earlier taken off one memberof Overdraft IFs crew to obtain suppliesbut on her return found that Overdraft IIhad drifted a mile from her originalposition. Aqua-Manda could not getnear her owing to a heavy swell.

At 1829, the 37' Oakley CalousteGulbenkian, on temporary relief duty atClacton, was launched. Visibility wasfair, it was raining and the wind wasfrom the south west gusting to gale force.The sea was rough and there was anebb tide.

Calouste Gulbenkian reached Over-draft II at 1922 and took her in tow toBrightlingsea where they arrived at2035. Conditions were too bad for herto tow the casualty to Clacton.

Burnham-on-Crouch ILB had also

A Dutch yacht, Carolina, with three people on board, ran aground on the western end ofBramble Bank in a strong south-westerly breeze on Monday, July 19. Calshot's40' Keith Nelsonlifeboat, Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde, using her boarding boat to put membersof her crew aboard and pass a line, towed Carolina free and led her back to Calshot for aninspection to make sure the yacht was seaworthy. Her owner made a donation to branch funds.

photograph by courtesy of Sea Air Rescue Flight HMV Daedalus

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launched on service, and the Coastguardasked Calouste Gulbenkian to remain atBrightlingsea as she might be needed insupport. She received the all clear fromthe Coastguard at 2126.

Calouste Gulbenkian left her mooringsat Brightlingsea at 1008 on June 20 andarrived back at her station and wasrehoused at 1130.


CapsizeAFTER CAPSIZING several times offLligwyBeach on Sunday, July 18, the crew of asailing dinghy were finally unable toright their boat and were drifting sea-wards. HM Coastguard informed thehonorary secretary of Moelfre lifeboatstation of the situation at 1419, and theILB was launched three minutes later.

There was a moderate to fresh south-westerly breeze, good visibility, a moder-ate sea and it was two hours before highwater. The ILB came up with the casualtyat 1429 and, having taken her occupantson board, righted the dinghy and tookher in tow to Lligwy Beach where hercrew of two were put ashore after havingreceived treatment for shock.

The ILB returned to her station andwas rehoused at 1510.


Bullocks over cliffPORT ISAAC HONORARY SECRETARYreceived a request from HM Coastguardat 1606 on October 5, 1975, for the ILBto be launched to stand by teams attempt-ing to rescue bullocks which had fallen

down a cliff into a small cove at PortQuin. The fight to save the animals hadbeen in progress since late morning but,with the rising tide and worsening seaconditions, waves were now breakingover the rescuers and there was dangerthat they might be washed under by theground sea. The ILB was launched at1610 and stood by until all those takingpart were off the cliff.

At 1148 Coastguard Port Isaac hadreceived a report that 30 bullocks hadstampeded over a 150' cliff. The LandRover was on the scene at 1210 andfound that the farmer's sons and twopolicemen were at the foot of the cliffswith the animals. Port Isaac Cliff RescueCompany (including four ILB crewmembers) arrived at 1255 and laid outcliff lines and stakes and took a hawserdown over the cliff. Fifteen of thebullocks were killed by their fall, fivewere injured and were put down by theveterinary surgeon, leaving ten to berescued.

At 1420 a helicopter arrived, but thepilot found that because of their positionin the cove he could not lift the cattle.Ten minutes later the East CornwallMine Rescue Team, who had also beencalled, were rigging their hawser andframe and the lift began.

At 1720 one bullock swam out to sea.The ILB managed to get a line aroundits neck (Crew Member Harry Pavittlassoed it at his first attempt), but it wasnot possible to tow the animal; released,it swam off again and was drowned.

In the end, five bullocks were success-fully hauled to the top of the cliff, theothers being overtaken by the incoming

"tide and severe ground swell. The ILBleft the cove at 1807, when all therescuers were off the cliff, and returnedto station at 1818.

Port Isaac ILB stood by whilean attempt was made, onOctober 5, 1975, to rescuebullocks which had fallendown the cliff at Port Quin.

photographs by courtesy ofE. J. Watts, Rock

(Left) HM Coastguard,Port Isaac Cliff RescueCompany (including anILB member, mid right)and East Cornwall MineRescue Team, all workingtogether on the cliff,hauled five animals tosafety . . .

. . . while the farmer'ssons and policemen triedto calm and control thosewaiting. With an incomingtide, time was againstthem.

For this service Port Isaac ILB stationand Port Isaac Cliff Rescue Companyhave been awarded certificates of meritby the Royal Society for the Preventionof Cruelty to Animals. Crew members inthe Cliff Rescue Company were CliveMartin, Ian Honey, Edwin Flanaganand David Castle. The ILB was crewedby Robert Carter, Mark Provis andHarold Pavitt.

Eastern Division

Three children adriftTHE HONORARY SECRETARY of Margatelifeboat station was informed by HMCoastguard at 1715 on Tuesday, June 1,that three children in an inflatable dinghywere being taken out to sea on the ebbtide.

In fair visibility, with a fresh westerlybreeze and a rough sea, the Margate ILBwas launched at 1727. She came up withthe dinghy 15 minutes later and aftertaking the three children on board setcourse for Joss Bay, 1J miles away, withthe dinghy in tow. Owing to the strongwind and tide it was a difficult passageand the children were landed at JossBay at about 1900. As they were onlyscantily clothed a member of the publicsheltered them in his car until theCoastguard collected them and tookthem to their homes in Kingsgate.

The ILB returned to her station andwas rehoused at 1925.

North Eastern Division

Day of dedicationNEWBIOGIN LIFEBOAT, the 37' OakleyMary Joicey, launched on service twiceon Sunday, August 1. At 1520 a serviceof dedication was in progress whenmembers of the congregation noticed aninflatable dinghy being blown seawardsby the fresh offshore breeze. It was lowwater, visibility was good and the seachoppy when, at 1530, Mary Joiceylaunched to go after the dinghy, whichby this time was well out to sea.

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By 1535 the lifeboat was alongsidethe inflatable which, together with hertwo occupants, was taken on board.Mary Joicey returned to her station withthe two survivors and was rehoused at1630.

Just over an hour later, at 1740,members of the crew sighted red flaressome ten miles east south east of thelifeboat station. After consulting withthe Coastguard, Mary Joicey launchedagain at 1745. The tide was now flood-ing, visibility was still good but the seawas rough and the offshore breeze hadincreased to strong, force 6.

At 1810 Mary Joicey came up withthe cabin cruiser Aaron, with RoyalFleet Auxiliary Olwyn standing by.Aaron, with five people on board, wason a fishing trip when her engines failed.She was taken in tow to Blyth by MaryJoicey which, because of the heavy seas,was only able to make half speed. Blythwas reached at 2045, the survivorslanded and Mary Joicey returned to herstation and was rehoused at 2100.

Western Division

Less than 20 minutesTHE HONORARY SECRETARY of Berth ILBstation saw a small sailing dinghy in thevicinity of some rocks about a quarter ofa mile south west of the station; it was1440 on Wednesday, July 21. While hewatched, the dinghy's rudder broke andshe was immediately blown towards therocks by the moderate north-westerlybreeze.

Visibility was good, the tide wasebbing and the sea was choppy when, at1443, the ILB was launched and headedat full speed towards the casualty. Shearrived on the scene within minutes andjust as the dinghy was swept on to therocks. The occupant was immediatelytransferred to the ILB and the dinghytaken in tow to the beach where the manwas landed.

The ILB returned to her station andwas rehoused at 1459, less than 20minutes after the dinghy was first sighted.


Night searchEXMOUTH DEPUTY LAUNCHING AUTHORITYwas informed by HM Coastguard at 0117on Wednesday, July 28, that a MirrorClass dinghy, with a crew of two, waslong overdue. In good visibility and witha gentle north-westerly breeze andmoderate sea, the 48' 6" Solent lifeboatCity of Birmingham slipped her mooringsat 0137 to join with other boats in asearch of the coastline and up to fivemiles seawards from Ladram Bay toSidmouth for the missing dinghy.

At first light the Coastguard askedfor the help of an aircraft and at 0530 ahelicopter from RAF Chivenor joinedthe search. At 0813 the search was

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston's 44' Waveney lifeboat Khami was launched in a near gale onSunday, August 22, to go to the help of American yacht Sonata, taking water four miles southof Cross Sand Lightvessel. Sonata got the leak under control and, her engine failing, hoistedher mainsail. Khami, taking over from MV Sir William Walker which had stood by, escortedthe yacht to Yarmouth and then towed her into harbour.

photograph by courtesy of Eastern Daily Press

extended to cover an area further southand at 0830 the helicopter reportedhaving located the casualty some 12miles south south west of Sidmouth. Thetwo occupants were winched to safetyand landed ashore.

The abandoned dinghy was taken intow by the trawler St Marguerite whichat 1007 met City of Birmingham, then onher way back to her station, and handedover the tow to her.

Lifeboat and dinghy arrived back inExmouth at 1122 and, after refuelling,City of Birmingham returned to hermoorings at 1230.


Drifting on ebb tideWHILE AT SEA on exercise at 1115 onSunday, April 4, St Catherines ILBreceived a message by radio from theSea Rescue Centre, St Helier, to say thata small motorboat had broken down onemile east of the ILB station; she wasdrifting seawards on the ebb tide.

There was a moderate north-westerlybreeze. Visibility was good and the seachoppy when the ILB changed coursetowards the casualty, the 16' motorboatHelena, with four people on board. Onarrival at the scene, the ILB tookHelena in tow to the shore and thenreturned to her station. She was rehousedat 1220.

North Eastern Division

Sick Russian

tember 3. Later, at 1900, a furthermessage was received giving the traw-ler's ETA off North Smithic Buoy as2300.

In good visibility but with a galeblowing from the north, the 37' Oakleylifeboat William Henry and Mary Kinglaunched into a rough sea at 2200 andmade for a rendezvous off NorthSmithic Buoy. The trawler, Dinas,could not, however, be found.

The weather off the buoy was verybad and there was a heavy swell, so thelifeboat returned to Bridlington Baywhere a large number of foreign trawlersand other vessels were sheltering.William Henry and Mary King had aninterpreter on board and with his helpthe Russian trawler was found. Theinterpreter went aboard and the sickman was transferred, with considerabledifficulty, to the lifeboat. He waslanded at Bridlington at 0015 when thepolice and an ambulance took over.

The lifeboat returned to her stationand was rehoused at 0200 on Saturday,September 4.


Nine rescued

A RUSSIAN TRAWLER which, having asick man on board, might need help wasreported to the honorary secretary ofBridlington lifeboat station by HMCoastguard at 1630 on Friday, Sep-

A SMALL INFLATABLE DINGHY, With Oneman on board, was seen by HM Coast-guard at 2018 on Sunday, July 4, somethree miles north east of Beaumaris life-boat station, drifting out to sea with thefreshening offshore wind and ebbingtide. Visibility was good and there was aslight sea.

Beaumaris ILB, the Atlantic 21 BluePeter II, launched four minutes later,came up with the inflatable dinghy at2028, took her in tow and landed theman at Penmaen-Mawr Stone Jetty.

During the return passage to station,Blue Peter H was asked to go to the help

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Hearing, on Sunday, July 25, that MFV Mary Sue of Dublin, with five people on board, had engine failure one mile south of Puffin Island andneeded help, Valentia's 52' Barnett lifeboat, Rowland Watts, slipped her moorings at 1820 and headed for the casualty at full speed. She arrivedalongside at 1940, a line was passed and Mary Sue was taken in tow to Valentia, where she was placed on moorings at 2135

of the 18' cabin cruiser Ondine, witheight people on board. Ondine's engineshad failed and she was leaking badlyfrom a fractured water pump. The ILBtook her in tow to Beaumaris where thesurvivors were landed and Ondine placedon a safe mooring. Blue Peter //returnedto her station and was rehoused at 2300.


Cut off by tideSOME CHILDREN cut off by the tide onrocks near Seafield Colliery, Kirkcaldy,were reported to the honorary secretaryof Kinghorn ILB station by HM Coast-guard at 1430 on Thursday, July 29.The rocks, an attractive place for youngchildren when exposed at low water,would be awash at high water. The tidewas then at half flood.

The sea was choppy and there was afresh to strong westerly breeze when, at1435, the ILB was launched. Ten minuteslater she arrived at the rocks to find threeyoung, frightened and shivering children,wearing only bathing costumes. Theywere taken on board the ILB andlanded into the care of the police at1455. The ILB returned to her stationand was rehoused at 1500.


Crowded hourTHE OUTBOARD ENGINE of an inflatabledinghy broke down just as she wasclearing Shoreham Harbour easternbreakwater on the afternoon of Sunday,August 1. A message came from HMCoastguard at 1521, saying that thedinghy, with two people on board, wasdrifting behind the breakwater and, indanger of being blown ashore, neededhelp. The wind was from the south west,strong force 6. One minute later,Shoreham Harbour ILB was on herway. She was soon alongside the dinghyand took her in tow to Kingston beach.

While returning to her station, theILB heard that a dinghy had capsized

west of the western breakwater. Alteringcourse, she found the dinghy driftingsome 15 yards from the breakwater and,going alongside, eventually managedto take her in tow to Kingston beach,where her crew of two were landed.

On the return passage, a small childwas seen to fall from a yacht. The ILBpicked her up and landed her at theboathouse. Before the ILB could berehoused, however, yet another messagewas received, saying that a dinghy hadcapsized within the eastern arm of theharbour. Again the ILB set out and,after some difficulty, was able to rightthe dinghy and tow her to Kingstonbeach where her crew of two were alsolanded.

The ILB then returned to her stationand was rehoused at 1620.


Aground on rocksA MEMBER OF LYME REGIS inshore lifeboatcrew informed his honorary secretaryat 1300 on Sunday, July 18, that a cabincruiser was being driven on to BroadLedge Rocks, half a mile east of the ILBstation, and that one of her crew waswaving a red flag.

There was a moderate south-westerlybreeze, excellent visibility, a choppy seaand it was high water when, at 1305,Lyme Regis ILB was launched. Shefound an 18' cabin cruiser, Kathleen,with five people on board, aground onrocks on a lee shore.

Kathleen was carefully edged off therocks and, with her crew still on board,taken in tow by the ILB to Lyme RegisHarbour, where they arrived at 1340.The ILB was then rehoused and madeready for service.

Annual General Meetingand

Presentation of Awards

Royal Festival HallTUESDAY, MAY 17, 1977


Human chainTHE POLICE informed the honorarysecretary of Rye Harbour ILB station at1458 on Sunday, July 4, that threechildren had been trapped by the tideoff the central car park, Camber.

There was a gentle south-easterlybreeze, good visibility, a choppy sea andthe tide was If hours before high waterwhen, at 1503, the ILB was launched. At1512 it was learned from the police thatthe children had been brought ashoreby an adult human chain. However, inview of the unusually fast running tideand the number of people on the beach,the police asked the ILB to remain inthe area. She continued to patrol until1650 when it was agreed the casualtyrisk period was over, then returned tostation and was rehoused at 1711.

Services by OffshoreLifeboats, June, Julyand August, 1976Aberdeen, GrampianJuly 28.Aith, ShetlandAugust 8.Aldeburgh, SuffolkJuly 11.Amble, NorthumberlandJune 12, 13 and August 9.Angle, DyfedJuly 17 and 18.Anstruther, TaysideAugust 7.Appledore, North DevonAugust 8.Arklow, Co. WicklowJune 6, 11 and 13.Baltimore, Co. CorkJuly 13 and August 27.Barmouth, GwyneddJune 29 (twice) and August 28.Barra Island, Western IslesJune 21, July 7 and 26.Barry Dock, South GlamorganJune 10, 16, August 7, 12, 16, 17 and 27

(twice).Bembridge, Isle of WightJune 30, August 1, 2 and 28.

(continued on page 249)

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John Chapman

HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE

CIVIL SERVICE AND POST OFFICE

LIFEBOAT FUND

'A one-eyed, cantankerous and trouble-some fellow'1: thus, leaning back in hischair, pipe in hand and smiling happily,does John Chapman describe himself.But the smile belies the words, for it isthe smile of a man who, as honorarysecretary of the Civil Service and PostOffice Lifeboat Fund, has trod withgreat determination and dedication inthe footsteps of such illustrious fore-runners as Charles Dibdin and CharlesBarrett; a man who knows that theendeavours of his years in office haveprospered and that the batton heaccepted when assuming that office isbeing passed on safely down the years.

Of all the RNLFs many friends, nonehave been more constant or moregenerous than the members of the CivilService and Post Office Lifeboat Fund.Since its foundation 110 years ago, in1866, the fund has given a millionpounds to the lifeboat service, providingno less than 38 lifeboats, 13 of whichare in the present offshore fleet. Theyhave ranged from simple pulling boatsof early years, costing a few hundredpounds, to twin dieselled, electronicallysophisticated modern boats such as the71' Clyde Charles H. Barrett in therelief fleet, the 44' Waveney Eric Sealnow stationed at Eyemouth and the 54'Arun Edward Bridges at Torbay. No. 38,a 37' 6" Rother, has just left thebuilder's yard. She will be on display atthe 1977 Earls Court Boat Show beforegoing on station, and Her Majesty TheQueen, Patron of the Civil Service andPost Office Lifeboat Fund, hasgraciously agreed that, to celebrate her25 years of the throne, this boat shouldbe named Silver Jubilee.

At the time of the fund's centenary in1966, Leslie G. Fawkes, rememberinghow, in these islands, we are all closeto the sea, wrote:

'. . . in Britain alone amongst nationsthe Civil Service, that supposedly humdrumand cut-and-dried profession, has a longstanding and entirely voluntary connectionwith the voluntary national body respon-sible for lifesaving at sea. There is nothingelse in the world quite like this—a volun-tary service, which is essential to our life,being assisted by a body of professionalState servants. This is the very essence ofthings British . . .'

Such a bond must be unique. It is alsostrong and lively, as John Chapmanexplains:

'// has always been the policy of the fundnot just to contribute to the RNLI, butto serve. Since we were founded in 1866

His yacht a 12-ton cuttersailing grounds the East (and the Thames Estuary.

we have purchased lifeboats and some-times, in the past, their houses. Wecontribute towards the running of thoseboats which are, should we say, "ourfleet" and also we pay the rewards forservice to their crews'

It goes without saying that greatinterest is taken in all launches onservice of the Civil Service 'fleet' oflifeboats and in the achievements oftheir crews. Bonds are forged withparticular stations. For instance, in1928 Greater London (Civil Service No.3) went on station at Southend-on-Sea;in 1955 she was replaced by GreaterLondon II (Civil Service No. 30); when,last year, Southend was redesignated asan ILB station, the Civil Service andPost Office Lifeboat Fund donated, as" anew departure, the money for thatstation's first Atlantic 21, named PercyGar on.

Almost without interruption theamount collected has grown year byyear. In 1866 it was £300: in 1975£57,046. 'And all our funds are collectedin florins and fifty-pence pieces', claimsJohn Chapman with pride. '// is apersonal contribution made at the CivilServant or Post Office worker's owndesk.' Up to now the total has seldombeen augmented by box collections orfund-raising events (although this yeara cricket match in the Midlands isplanned). Every June the honorarysecretary sends out to each collector ineach department the annual report ofthe previous year together with collec-tion sheets. The collector circulates thesesheets to the members of his or herdepartment, who add either 'anon.' ortheir names and the amounts they aresubscribing. The money is then mar-shalled in and transmitted to thehonorary treasurer, at present Mr R. A.Brail, or John Chapman—and in comesanything up to £57,000! It sounds sosimple, but it is the result of a great dealof painstaking work by many, manywilling helpers. Some small departments,like the Treasury or Cabinet Office, willhave only one collector, while, at theother extreme, the Post Office ordepartments like Health and SocialSecurity, scattered throughout thecountry, will number their collectors bythe hundred.

The strength of the fund lies in thefact that its secretaries have never been

satisfied. Men like Charles Dibdin, afounder member who not only becamesecretary of the fund in 1873 but whoseenthusiasm and practical interest wasso great that in 1885 he gave up hiscareer in the Post Office to becomesecretary of the RNLI, a post in whichhe served with great distinction untilhis death in 1910; men like CharlesBarrett, who kept the fund going almostsingle-handed through the second worldwar, building up a reserve fund of£40,000 for post-war replacements;men like John Chapman who, facingfair and square the problems of risingprices and inflation, has seen theamounts collected rise by thousands ina year under his stewardship butnevertheless, with his committee's help,is still working to enlarge the collectionby enlarging the catchment area. Itworries him that probably well overhalf the members of the Civil Serviceand Post Office never get the chance tocontribute to the fund.

John Chapman has himself sailed allhis life . . . 'This, I suppose, is one of thereasons why I have always been interestedin lifeboats and I am a strong supporterof Shoreline.' His parents had a boatbefore the war and he learnt much ofhis sailing in Thames sailing barges.Since then he has always owned a boat,his present one being an old 12-toncutter. His sailing grounds are the EastCoast and the Thames Estuary . . . 'andI am very fond of slipping across toHolland, sometimes on my own, some-times with a crew'.

Life Charles Dibdin, his interest inlifeboat activities does not end withfund raising; looking to the past, he isa member of the Lifeboat PreservationWorking Party, and to the future, amember of the American/British Life-boat Appeal Committee.

The time of retirement from the CivilService is approaching for John Chap-man. His years as a Trust Officer in thePublic Trustees Office are just comingto an end, but he will still continue ashonorary secretary of the Civil Sericeand Post Office Lifeboat Fund for alittle while yet. We wish him happyyears and good sailing—and long maythe lifeboat service be lucky enough tohave as its friends such troublesomefellows!—J.D.

227

The Day of a DOSDISTRICT ORGANISING SECRETARIES — THE

MAIN LINKS IN THE FUND-RAISING CHAIN

NOVEMBER, BY TRADITION, is the timefor the annual conference of the districtorganising secretaries, the liaison officersbetween the RNLI's voluntary financialbranches and guilds in the field and itsheadquarters at Poole. At the beginningof the month the DOSs come to Poolefrom Scotland, Ireland, Wales and allparts of England, to spend two or threedays in discussion and an exchange ofviews; to meet, both in conference andindividually, members of the FundRaising Committee and the head-quarters staff; to make known thefeelings of their voluntary helpers andto learn at first hand how things arewith the lifeboat service—what has beenachieved, what is planned for the future.

For two or three days they are mettogether, fourteen men and women.And then they disperse. Each goes backto his or her own district. They returnto their own people to take up onceagain their own work of providing thebacking which will enable branch andguild supporters to maintain the life-saving flow of money on which theservice depends, for it is from theircombined efforts that, each year, athird of the RNLI's revenue is har-vested. Coxswain Derek Scott of TheMumbles summed it up so well: 'Fromthe time that lady sold her flag or arrangedher coffee morning to raise funds—thatwas when the rescue started. . .'.

Backing? That is an all-embracingterm. It might mean working with thedivisional inspector of lifeboats tohelp a station branch prepare for aRoyal naming ceremony, or it mightmean taking a note, in passing, fromone honorary secretary to another in aneighbouring village. It might meanorganising flag day supplies or displaymaterial for some special occasion, orit might mean keeping up a steady flowof stationery, posters, souvenirs. Itmight mean giving a talk, perhaps to aschool; helping to form a new com-mittee; attending an AGM, or a ball,or a sale of work. . . . The needs ofevery branch and every ladies' guildwill be different.

A look at a DOS's diary is veryrevealing: in almost any twenty-fourhours there may be five, six or evenmore events, scattered over perhaps fouror five counties, which either the DOSor one of his or her assistants will behoping to attend. Planning, to wringthe greatest results from the mosteconomical mileage, can get very com-plicated; time is always too short;and, on the homeward run, there will bea despatch case on the passenger's seat,

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by Joan Daviescrammed with the paper work whichwill have accumulated during the day. . . it will have to be dealt with at home,that night . . . or perhaps an hour ortwo can be snatched in the office firstthing tomorrow morning. . . .

The day of a DOS. Every one will, ofcourse, be different—and that is equallytrue of the days, the organising secre-taries and their districts. A DOS mayhave a compact territory but with adense population, such as the City ofLondon, the West Midlands centred onBirmingham, or the Midland Shires;lines of communication are compara-tively short and an assistant DOS willnot be necessary. At the other extreme,the national organiser for Ireland has avast area with a scattered populationand needs the help of two assistantsbased in Dublin and one in Belfast.Secretarial or clerical help, the minimumthat is practical to cope with telephonemessages, letters, requisitions, invoices,records, accounts and, perhaps mostimportant of all, filing, will depend onthe nature of the district office and thevolume of work passing through.

On the JobSo what is it really like? There is no

way of finding out quite like going tosee—if a DOS will take you along. Asthe Southern District Office, serving thesix counties of Dorset, Hampshire,Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire andthe Isle of Wight, is housed in the head-quarters building at Poole, wouldAnthony Oliver, DOS (Southern) act asguide? He would? Good.

Next question: when does a dayreally begin? You see, it is not alwaysclear. Take Friday, October 22 ... thatwas a day which really began the nightbefore, down at Lymington. Duringa social evening for branch and guild(supper, talk by Clare Francis of Trans-Atlantic fame, AGM) when thedivisional inspector of lifeboats (SE),Lieut.-Commander Michael Woodroffe(DI and DOS work closely together)passed Anthony Oliver a first draft of animportant letter they both have to sign.That draft must be considered betweenarriving home (midnight) and gettingto the office (0900).

So, back to October 22, and beforeAnthony arrives at his desk an amendeddraft is safely on the pocket memorecorder which travels everywhere withhim . . . like the little black note book inhis pocket and the pad of paper on hisdashboard . . . however good yourmemory, you cannot rely on it in thisjob. . . .

While that second draft is typed,Anthony gets down to the day's mail;that must be cleared before he sets outagain, leaving Marylou Lousvet, sheetanchor of the Southern Office, andsecretary Diana Rogers to take care ofeverything that may crop up in hisabsence. At this time of the year there ismuch financial work to be done; branchand guild annual accounts will becoming in thick and fast.

The end of the day's journeying willbe West Dorset, early evening. What elsecan be done on the way? Wimborne?Beaminster? A few telephone calls:3 o'clock? 5? That will be convenient?Good—I'll be there. Next the car isloaded with everything that can bedelivered en route: 1977 calendars forbranch and guild officers, a number ofwhom will be met before the day is out,Christmas cards, souvenirs, collectingboxes. . . . To take as much as possiblesaves time; even more important, itsaves the considerable cost of packingand postage.

The day is already passing far tooquickly . .. just time to get to Wimbornebefore the banks shut, to see Mr Norrisat the National Westminster. He hasoffered the RNLI space in a charityChristmas card shop to be run for aweek by the local Christian Aid com-mittee. Three boxes of cards are un-loaded from the boot. Does Mr Norrisknow of anyone who might be in-terested in helping form a committee inthe town? Perhaps he would audit theaccounts? Yes? Well, that's a start. . . .

On the road again, Beaminster nextstop to call on Miss Douglas, honorarysecretary of the branch, and her mother.Made it by the appointed hour, 5 o'clock—wonderful! After that journey youwould like to wash ? A cup of tea ? Whatabout some sandwiches to keep yougoing? How thoughtful! Soon, round alog fire, business is under way. Goodschange hands: unsold Christmas cardscoming back; tea towels to boost thebranch's souvenir stock are passed over.Miss Douglas is pleased,' they are theones with blue sea ('People will alwaysbuy blue. Selling is fascinating . . . suchan insight into life . . .'). Anthony sosorry no one can attend Beaminster'sAGM; both he and Gifford Rosling,who, as ADOS, is mostly concernedwith Dorset, Hampshire and SouthWiltshire, have overflowing engage-ments for that day. . . .

Back in the car, Bridport bound. It'sdark now and teeming with rain. Parkin a little lane and, converging withother figures materialising from the

darkness, run for a lighted porch.Representative officers from Dorchester,Lyme Regis, Weymouth and Bridportare meeting to discuss a combinedSouth and West Dorset Ball planned forFriday, April 15—perhaps the first of aseries, each in a different town. Up toColfox School to view the halls. Chair-man of Bridport's entertainments sub-committee, Vivian May, conducts anexploratory meeting, everybody groupedround on what will be the dance floor:What band? The food? Should winebe bought now to save expense? Tom-bola? No. A wheel of chance? Ideas arethrown 'on to the table'—and some areleft there . . . there will be anothermeeting soon . . , it's early days yet. . . .

Eric Pickering, honorary secretaryBridport, gathers up DOS. A snack in apub before starting back? He will leadthe way. 9 o'clock. The two cars pull upoutside the Travellers Rest on theDorchester Road; mechanical collectingboxes are transferred from one bootto the other. Then out of the darknessinto a tiny, wayside inn—and there, inthe entrance, is an illuminated displaycabinet full of RNLI souvenirs. Thatis Eric's handiwork, to meet theenthusiasm of the landlord and hiswife, Leon and Betty Wanstall; eventhe bar is heaped up with RNLIChristmas cards and gifts and they haveraised £300 for the lifeboat servicealready this year. Obviously homeground. A bite to eat, going throughrequisitions and invoices the while,then the landlord and his wife pull upchairs as photographs of Weymouthnaming ceremony are passed around.Eric Pickering and Betty Wanstall wereboth there. . . .

It's getting late, but at least it hasstopped raining and there is very littletraffic. A fast drive . . . home at mid-night, for the second night running.Chris is waiting with a cup of coffeeready. Any messages ? There are usuallyone or two, for, in maintaining goodcommunications between DOS and hisassistants, all, perhaps, on the move,and the base office, the family plays avital part. Indeed they have their ownintegral role in the life of the district,sharing alike in the work and the

Met together at Poolefor the DOS's conference: (I. to r.) Kenneth Thirlwell, manager NorthernAppeals Depot; George Price, East; Basil Hutchinson, West Midlands; Pat Whittaker, NorthEast; Glyn Williams, Wales; Peter Sturdee, South West; Joan Manning, Midland Shires;Raymond Pope, City of London; Anthony Oliver, Southern; George Powell, North London;Mary Lloyd-Jones, Scotland; Peter Holness, membership secretary; Ian Wallington, SouthEast; David Jones, North West; Michael Ashley, South London; Brian Clark, Ireland.

pleasure, and they would not have itotherwise.

Christine Oliver has been an activeRNLI supporter most of her life. Thedaughter of the late Syd Ford, a shorehelper at Shoreham, she herself actedas a messenger at that station and, atonly sixteen, became honorary secretaryof a guild. When her parents received aframed letter of thanks from the In-stitution, her name was linked withtheirs. After their marriage, Chris andAnthony acted as joint honorarysecretaries of the Basingstoke branch,covering an area, in those days, stretch-ing from Overton to Blackwater—butthat, of course, was before Anthonyjoined the Institution as a full-timemember of staff.

So Chris knows all about it, and iswell accustomed to the good times, andthe bad. There was the day of Wey-mouth naming ceremony:

'The planning and preparations seemto go on for months. . . . However, the dayof the ceremony arrives and the sun is

In the office, and an opportunity for someforward planning with Philip Crafer (r.),honorary secretary, North West Bourne-mouth branch, and ADOS Gifford Hosting ...

. . . then out on the road . . .

actually shining (even if it did rain later),. . . I turn up at the quayside, dressed forwork. . . . Within a matter of seconds Ifind myself cleaning brass and runninground trying to find "the penknife" or "thedrawing pins" for the various crew membersstrategically perched on top of flag polesor hanging on to a "too long piece ofrope" . . . great fun, really, with everyoneworking so well together. . . .'

A week or two later, in the autumnrains, a Steam Rally at Stourpaine:

' We stepped out of the car into a sea ofmud. I had never seen quite so much mudbefore . . . installed behind a counter tosell souvenirs, one's feet just stuck to theground. . . . We tried our best but fewpeople were around and those that werehad their attention firmly set on keepingupright. . . . Eventually came time to packup. Everything seemed sticky and muddy,especially the children . . . but lifeboatmenhave to put up with much worse. . . .'

But let's look at another day—or willit turn out to be two? November 4:An hour getting ready, loading the car,before heading up country. First stopWimborne again, to pick up cardsunsold in charity shop (those will beuseful before the day is out, for sure),then 'all stations north' to Henley:Whitchurch, to drop 1977 calendar in athouse of chairman of Overton, Whit-church and District branch, recentlyformed in a regrouping of villagebranches to make sure that no groundis left 'uncovered'; Overton, for a fewwords with Mrs Barker, honorarysecretary. Learn that landlord of TheWhite Hart, while in the maritimesection of the army at Marchwood,helped raise money for Hampshire Rose... backtrack for an unscheduled stop—

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and lunch (excellent)—at that hostelry. . . DOS introduces himself . . . a newcontact made. . . .

Kingsclere next, to drop offmechanical collecting box at C. S.Mortimer and Son, corn and coalmerchant of Swan Street (the quiet offormer days, bins of corn and meals,barrels of dog biscuits). Box receivedwith pleasure and set on counter withothers. . . . 'The children will love thatboat. . . .' No branch in this village . . .would Mrs Mortimer be interested injoining a committee ? Down Swan Street,turn right . . . Mrs Baldwin, flag dayorganiser in Kingsclere, is at home.Was the date, in September, a goodone? (It is the DOS who applies todistrict councils for permission to holdall the flag days in his area.)

In passing, turn in at Silchester Housein hope of picking up box of writingpaper waiting for collection. MrsOldland not at home? Never mind,next time I'm this way . . . DOS recallssummer ball held at this beautiful oldhouse last July . . . 'a super evening',and £1,000 was raised. . . .

Glances at watch become morefrequent . . . time is running out andsome way to go yet. Pull up outsidehouse of Mrs Grimsey, honorarysecretary, Mortimer and District branch,near Reading. No one at home.Calendars and box of mugs tucked awayin garage, explanatory note pushedthrough letterbox. This branch wasonly formed a year ago—the hard way—round the doorsteps: 'Good afternoon,I'm from the RNLI. We are tryingto form a branch in this area and under-stand that you are interested in sail-ing. . . .' Since then it has raised over£300.

It is getting cold . . . showers merginginto steady rain . . . car lights coming on. . . through the outskirts of Reading,with the first of the evening rush hourtraffic, to Tilehurst. Rendezvous withLes Hopper, the ADOS mostly con-cerned with North Wiltshire, Oxford-shire and Berkshire. Les, his wife,Jackie, and three small children,Matthew, Mark and little Tasha, brightas a button, form a welcoming com-mittee. (Back in Dorset, Anthony'sdaughter, Anne, will be getting downto her homework, while his son, Paul, is,tonight, being sworn in as a Cub SeaScout . . . Chris will be there but not,as so often happens, Anthony.) A pileof notes and reports change hands asDOS and ADOS bring each other upto date.

Off again. It's quite dark now.Another brief stop, at Mrs Brightwell's,Reading branch honorary secretary.Nobody at home. Note written by lightof car and slipped through front door. . . box of blank posters and menucards for dance, and calendars, on backdoorstep . . . your notepaper has beenordered. . . .

Now Pangbourne—Colonel GodfreyPease, chairman. Settle round fire and

All part of the day . . .

Flag days . . . George Price,DOS (East), at Harwich withcoxswain and crew, the chair-man and honorary secretaryof the branch and a group ofgirl flag sellers who work at alocal clothing factory belong-ing to the branch president,T. M. F. Bernard, and whomade their own uniformsespecially for flag day. £787was collected.

Sponsored walks, sails, silen-ces, swims . . . Joan Manning,DOS (Midland Shires), greetsAdam Chinery and GrahamPocock, of Wrekin College,as they arrive at Worcesterat the end of a 100-milesponsored paddle from Welsh-pool.photograph by courtesy of

Worcester Evening News

Mrs Pease kindly brings in tea. Somuch to talk over . . . most exciting,affiliation of branch with Weymouthstation: there has already been a veryhappy branch outing to Weymouth anda photo of Arun lifeboat TonyVandervell, signed by all members ofcrew, is to be presented to the branchand hung in Swan Inn, the pub whichraises most money in Pangbourne. Allsorts of plans already for direct help.Norman Clive's raffle brought in £852. . . he's planning another, moreambitious. Can Pangbourne have apublicity ILB for 1977 flag day? Andkeep it ten days for the Silver JubileeRiver Pageant ? Yes, of course it couldbe fetched . . . someone would have atrailer. Now then, Christmas cards:how long will it take to get that ordergiven two days ago? After previousdelays . . . Ah, ha! but of course youshall have them . . . yes, right now . . .they're out in the car. Supplies are lowat Poole, but this request can be met atonce from those picked up this morningin Wimborne. It just needs a littlecareful bookwork. Brilliant! On thathappy note, a glass of sherry anddetailed directions for next leg ofjourney.

Plunge into dark country lanes withonly just time to make the next appoint-ment . . . right, bear left, over a crossroads, left again, then right. . . ah, thereit is—Badgemore Club where, at7.45 p.m., Henley branch will be

Naming Ceremonies . . . David Jones, DOS(North West) introduces\members of Fleet-wood and Thornton Cleveleys ladies' guildsto HRH The Duke of Kent, President of theRNLI, when he visited Fleet wood to namethe station's new 44' Waveney lifeboat, Ladyof Lancashire, on July 20, 1976.photograph by courtesy of J. P. Morris

holding its first AGM since the forma-tion of a new committee last year.

The Shoreline Bar? Up those stairs. . . you'll see a notice . . . into a cosyroom, a bar at one end, lifeboat picturesround the walls, chairs set out in rows.It is here that once a month, on thefirst Tuesday, a Shoreline members'evening is held; it is not just for localpeople, all members are welcome. Timefor a few words with Tony Hobbs,chairman, and then the business of theevening begins. . . .

After welcoming assembled gather-ing, chairman gives his report, recording

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Visits to fund raisers . . . While Anthony Oliver, DOS (Southern)was calling on lock-keeper, Lyn David, and his wife (I.) at MarshLock, Henley-on-Thames, the Chief Inspector of Navigation, ThamesWater Authority, Mr D. Cruickshank, passed through in his launch,bringing with him a Shoreline renewal subscription from his secretary.All boats passing through Marsh Lock are told about Shoreline; itis one of our most active 'recruiting centres'.

Inshore lifeboat dedications . . . Glyn Williams, DOS (Wales),extreme right, at the service of dedication, attended by about 2,000people, of a new Atlantic 21, Blue Peter II, at Beaumaris on Sunday,August 29, 1976. Standing with him are (I.) Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, BT, Lord Lieutenant of Cwynedd and president of Beaumarisbranch, and Ian Oliver (r.), director of the BBC Blue Peter programmewhich donated the ILB to the station.

Presentations . . . Brian Clark, NationalOrganiser (Ireland), presents the silver badgeto Madam Anne Rittweger, ladies secretaryof Donaghadee Golf Club, in recognition forall she has done over many years for theInstitution; in 1976 alone the club raisedil,500 for the RNLI. In background,Coxswain Jim Bunting, Donaghadee.

special appreciation to retired chairman,Richard Gothard . . . committee apleasure to work with . . . trying tomake special efforts enjoyable—and sofar they have been fun . . . sausage andmash supper, fetes, a film evening,cinema organ recital, river trips. . . . Onto accounts, presented by Mr Hobbs inabsence of honorary treasurer, JohnChalcraft, just out of hospital. Totalfor year nearly £6,000. Lyn and PatDavid, at Marsh Lock . . . a fantasticrecord . . . they have been responsiblefor most of £1,870.48 credited to branchfor Shoreline membership, collected£700 in lifeboat box, organised a mileof money . . . 'Lyn hands in money bythe bucketful, the barrow load!' Con-gratulations from the floor on 'nil'expenses ... absorbed by 'Dicky and hisgenerosity' and that coffee morning....

DOS says a few words . . . a verybig thank you from RNLI HQ . . . andto Mr Chalcraft, who kept the flagflying from 1949 until the new com-mittee was formed . . . news of progress

of lifeboat service as a whole. Then DOStakes chair for elections. Chairman,honorary treasurer and honorary secre-tary all re-elected. One vacant office,vice chairman . . . Lyn David, un-animously. Any other business . . . canwe have jumble, produce, cakes, any-thing for bazaar? Would DOS lay onsteady hand machine ? What is the dateof 1977 flag day?

Meeting breaks up into informalconversation. DOS fetches Christmascards (more from Wimborne), posters,souvenirs from car. . . . What? It'snearly 11 ? A quick dash to reach over-night rooms before hotel doors arelocked.

Another day. And a beautiful one:autumn sunshine, leaves turning, theriver blue. Back into Henley for afriendly call on Richard Gothard . . .an hour with John Chalcraft to talkover accounts. Down for a last chat withthe chairman at his riverside boathouse. . . all the Thames elegance of bal-conies, varnished wood office walls,pictures of bygone regattas. . . .

The morning is gone before MarshLock is reached . . . mustn't miss thatfamous lock. It is a picture . . . and sucha profitable one for the RNLI. Insidethe lock-keeper's house . . . the passagepiled with boxes of jumble . . . hand-made toys, ready for the bazaar, every-where . . . hobby horses, snowmen,owls, dolls, jacks-in-the-box . . . that isPat and Lyn's hobby. They even sellfallers (from a committee member'stree) at Ip a time to boats passingthrough, and logs cut up from drift-wood. Sandwiches and tea ... now wecan settle down and talk... .

Time goes much too quickly . . .must break away . . . have to get toFordingbridge. DOS had hoped to bepresent in time for the draw. Diversionin Reading . . . heavy traffic . . . we'llnever make it by 4 o'clock.. . .

4.10 ... into car park . . . run downstreet to little double-fronted shop intown centre which has been open for

RNLI business since 8.30 a.m. MrsJean Carpenter, chairman, has startedon raffle draw, with help of a very littlegirl and a very old man, but DOS isjust in time to pick out one ticket . . .honour is saved! There are boxes ofgroceries and fruit, pheasants, dolls,bottles . . . all sorts of things for thelucky winners.

Join in demolition. Stalls packed up,flags and bunting taken down. Tablesremoved, floor swept. DOS collectstombola barrel, 'Fred' the cardboardlifeboatman, spare Christmas cardsand diaries, RNLI draperies . . . it is allremoved to car.

Home now . . . a little more slowly;the pressure is off. Turn into drive bysix, remembering that in any one of theother thirteen districts the DOS maystill be on the road home after perhapsa couple of nights away . . . or justsetting out, projector in boot, to give alecture . . . staying late at the officedesk, clearing up accumulated work . . .dressing for an annual dinner . . .slinging on an anorak to go and join adarts team. . . .

And, at the end of the day? What hasbeen achieved? There is deepeningfriendship with crewmembers and theirwives, and with like-minded people intowns and villages up and down thecountry; there is unceasing pressure;there are times of celebration; there is amounting pile of paper work; and—yes—there is undoubtedly satisfaction, thesatisfaction of helping, in a direct andpractical way, the saving of life atsea. . . .

But it's getting late and the family iswaiting for tea. Then the car must beunloaded—it's just as full as when weset out. There will be reports to write,letters to answer, those complicatedChristmas card transactions to sort outand numerous notes to transform intoaction; and tomorrow, a sale of workand a firework display. . . . It's Satur-day? Well, that's just another day,isn't it?

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Lifeboatmen and FishermenAT SEA IN THE OLD STEAM HERRING DRIFTERS

by Colin Ashford, G.Av.A.

Illustrations by the author

'The great majority of lifeboatmen arefishermen. They are men who daily sail theseas. They have acquired a skill in handlingboats which touches the miraculous, andthey know their own piece of coast, itssunken rocks, its shifting sandbanks and itscurrents and tides, as another man knowshis own garden.'

THOSE WORDS WERE WRITTEN in 1935 byMajor-General the Right Hon. LordMottistone, PC CB CMC DSO (formerlyGeneral J. E. B. Seely), a regular memberof Brooke lifeboat crew for over 40years, for three years its coxswain.

Before the last war, as an art studentin search of first-hand material formarine paintings, I went out into theNorth Sea in the old steam herringdrifters, experiencing the hard anddangerous life of the fishermen. I amproud to be able to write this article asa tribute to them.

Unlike the trawler, which drags a netshaped like a large conical bag alongthe sea bed to scoop up its catch, theherring drifter puts out a wall of verticalnetting suspended below the surface ofthe water. The size of the mesh allowsthe herring to get its head and gillsthrough, but it cannot withdraw, as thegills hold it fast like the barbs of anarrowhead. The steam drifter was aspecialised fishing vessel which hadevolved from the days of sail, and sur-vived in Britain in large numbers up tothe end of the second world war.

Wooden hulled drifters, propelledentirely by steam, were being builtaround the turn of the century, andrapidly superseded the old sailing

drifters; wooden construction graduallygiving place to iron and steel hulls.

The average steam drifter varied from50 to 90 feet in length, with a beam of18 to 20 feet, and a service speed ofabout 9 knots. They were stout, sea-worthy vessels and were almost identicalin hull layout.

Forward, in the bows, was a store-room and fish hold with a large hatch ofnearly 9 feet square. Behind this camethe cross coal bunkers, and then thesingle 'Scotch' boiler flanked by thetwo side bunkers giving a total fuelcapacity of 40 to 50 tons. Most of theremaining hull space was taken up bythe compound, or triple-expansionengine, leaving only cramped livingquarters for the crew above it. In thisconfined space they both ate and slept.The entrance was on one side of theraised superstructure with a small galleyfor cooking on the other. Behind thewheelhouse, forward, was the engineroom casing surmounted by the tall,slender funnel. The mizzen mast with itsgaff sail served to steady the vessel andkeep her head into the wind when thenets were out. A distinctive feature ofthe .herring drifter was the foremasthinged in a steel tabernacle and alwayskept lowered at sea into a woodencrutch on top of the wheelhouse toreduce wind drift and rolling.

Herring fishing in the North Sea beganin the spring up in the Shetlands, andeach year the drifters followed theshoals of herring as they moved downthe east coast. Even in the declining yearsbefore the last war, over 800 steam

Lowestoft steam drifter Feaco, in which the author sailed. When steam drifters went out, herringgulls followed; very often it was the gulls which led the skippers to the shoals offish.

drifters would be working from Yar-mouth and Lowestoft at the height ofthe autumn fishing season.

An average drifter would put outbetween two to three miles of nets,usually steaming out to the fishinggrounds in the afternoon and returningwith her catch the following morning.

Once the nets were out they had to behauled in again despite weather con-ditions, but if a gale suddenly sprang up,as they often do in the North Sea, it wassometimes impossible.

This happened to the steam drifterHarmony of Eyemouth in May of 1914.About 2100 the wind began to freshenand quickly increased to gale force.While the nets were being hauled in, aheavy sea struck the vessel and sweptright over her, putting out the boiler

fires and her crew were in danger ofbeing washed overboard. With theremaining steam pressure in her boilerHarmony ran for Berwick-on-Tweed,but the tide was low with heavy surfbreaking on the bar. The lifeboatMatthew Simpson, built in 1903 as apulling and sailing self-righting boat,was launched and made for the rivermouth. However, Harmony managed torun the gauntlet of heavy seas and getinside the pier ends where a fishingcoble took her in tow.

Storms were not the only hazardwith which steam drifter crews had tocontend. On the night of November 26,1912, the drifter Sheila of Buckie wascrippled with a burst boiler. She wassighted about two miles from the shoreto the north of Eyemouth, burningflares and sounding her siren contin-uously as signals of distress. AnneFrances of Eyemouth, a self-rightingpulling and sailing lifeboat built in 1909,was launched into a full gale blowingfrom north north west with a veryrough sea. They found a tug, GraniteCity of Aberdeen, with her pumps

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choked and leaking badly, towing thedisabled drifter. Some of the lifeboat'screw were put on board the tug anddrifter, and both vessels eventuallyreached Eyemouth harbour safely.

Shortage of fuel almost caused the lossof the drifter Flower O'May on theevening of November 19, 1933. She hadbeen towed about 50 miles by anotherfishing vessel in atrocious weather, andcast off about two miles from Fraser-borough. A south-east gale was blowingwith a very rough sea, rain and fog, andthe drifter was soon in serious difficulties.The Fraserborough self-righting motorlifeboat, Lady Rothes, built in 1915,answered her distress signals. Theyfound Flower O'May about two milesnorth east of the Balaclava light. Shehad no coal left and was in danger ofsinking as she had shipped a lot ofwater. Four of her crew of ten got intothe lifeboat, but as the rest decided tostay with their vessel the coxswain askeda nearby trawler to tow the drifter in toMacduff. The trawler master agreed,provided the lifeboat accompaniedthem, and they managed to reachharbour safely at 0420. The lifeboat hadundoubtedly helped to save both thedrifter and her crew and had been outfor over 15 hours.

I went to sea in steam drifters duringthe late 1930s when there were somevery severe autumn and winter storms.During the gale on the east coast whichraged for four days in November 1936there were six lifeboat launches fromCromer, Great Yarmouth and Gorles-ton, and a motor drifter, Olive Branchof Peterhead, turned turtle and sankwith all hands. The Cromer motorlifeboat Harriot Dixon, a Liverpooltype built in 1934, could find no traceof the capsized drifter; she reportedthat it was impossible that anyone couldhave lived in such a sea. The search forthe missing Olive Branch lasted forthree hours in a gale force wind andheavy sea.

At 1900 on that same wild day adisabled steam drifter being towed byanother drifter parted her tow rope andwas being driven towards the beach.She was Pitagaveny of Banff with a crewof ten. The drifter had an anchor outbut it was not holding and she wasdragging rapidly in towards the breakersabout half a mile south of GorlestonPier. The Cromer lifeboat again put outand went alongside, damaging her bowagainst the helpless drifter, but managedto rescue the whole crew before Pita-gaveny was driven ashore.

On November 23, 1938, the severestgale since the great storms of the winterof 1929-30 struck the British Isles. Thewind reached a speed of 108 miles anhour. Lifeboats were out all round thecoast, and on that one day there were27 launches.

At 1353 a vessel was reported to beshowing distress signals about 2| mileseast south east of Skegness Pier. TheSkegness Liverpool type motor lifeboat

Lifeboat Matthew Simpson going to the help of steam drifter Harmony.

Anne Allen, built in 1932, was launchedat 1424. A full gale from the south westwas blowing with a very rough sea,heavy rain and squalls. She found thesteam drifter Dusty Miller of Yarmouthin a sinking condition. Heavy seas hadstove in some of her planking andflooded the engine room. A smallsteamer was standing by, but in suchseas could do nothing to help exceptoffer some protection with her lee sideto the lifeboat crew as they went along-side the stricken drifter. They managedto take off the crew, and Anne Allen

reached her station again at 1610.The coxswain described it as one of theworst trips he had ever experienced.

So, when fishing fleets are at sea andsudden gales spring up, lifeboats maybe out in numbers, too; usually the onlycraft to be seen battling their way outfrom our shores into raging seas. It maymean taking a disabled vessel in tow,or escorting small craft, sometimes awhole fishing fleet, back to the safety ofports and harbours, especially where theentrances, almost obscured by wavesand spray, are narrow and restricted.

An eye for detailin lifeboat design

HERE ARE two mooring fittings for afloatlifeboats, developed in the RNLI designoffice from long experience. (Left) Stem-head fitting: designed for use on cold,dark nights, with good finger-holds andnothing 'fiddly' about it. Cast incorrosion-free gunmetal (BS1400-G.l.-C), it is trouble free, will last theboat's lifetime and rarely needs morethan general maintenance. On each sideis an opening fairlead. To close, theopening section (r.) hinges down, itsrounded end engaging on the spindleof the flap (!•)• When the flap is hingeddown on top, flush, the fairlead islocked. The central roller takes themooring chain, which is made fast to

the sampson post (right) with a slip link.The slip hook is attached to the mooringband round the post's base with twolong links, so that it is always heldupright. When the boat is left onmoorings, a preventer chain is shackledto the lug on the port side of themooring band and to a long link furtherforward on the mooring chain. Whenthe maroons go, this preventer chain isunshackled, the slip knocked off and thechain runs over the bow. This system hasproved simple, reliable and quick.

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September ThreeThe naming of BP Forties at Aberdeen, Tony Vandervell

at Weymouth and Ralph and Joy Swann at Ramsgate

Aberdeen, Wednesday, September 8:Lowering skies, spatters of rain and achill wind greeted guests invited toAberdeen's Regent Quay for the namingceremony of the station's new 54' Arunclass lifeboat, BP Forties; but the grey-ness of the day was relieved by thecolour of the Royal Marine Band, theGrampian Police Pipe Band and thebrilliant orange superstructure of BPForties herself.

Chairman of the branch, Mr R. M.Addison, QBE, welcomed everyone towhat was very much a local communityoccasion and introduced the variousspeakers. First, Mr D. E. C. Steel,DSO MC TD, Chairman of BP, which hadmade a magnificent gift under deed ofcovenant of £100,000 towards the newlifeboat, handed her over to the RNLI;he spoke of his company's pleasure atbeing able to make such a positivecontribution to the safety of local sea-

farers. Next, Mr I. Barclay, representingthe students of Aberdeen, handed overa cheque for the £7,000 they had raisedto defray the cost of BP Forties'electronic equipment.

The lifeboat and cheque were acceptedon behalf of the Institution by SirCharles McGrigor, BT, Convener of theScottish Lifeboat Council and a memberof the Committee of Management, whoin turn delivered the boat to the care ofthe Aberdeen branch; she was acceptedby the honorary secretary, Captain BrianAtkinson. There followed a service ofdedication led by the Reverend JamesS. Wood and then the lifeboat wasnamed by Mrs David Steel.

That night, at the informal party forthe branch and its guests which tradi-tionally rounds off a naming ceremonyday, a celebration cake was cut by MrsBetty Bird, wife of Coxswain AlbertBird. It had been presented by Sunblest

Ramsgate: After namingRalph and Joy Swann,HRH The Duchess of Kentand Commander Swann (/.)embarked for a run out tosea in the 44' Wa\eneyclass lifeboat.photographs by courtesyof (left) A. E. Turner and

(below) J. P. Morris

Bakeries (Aberdeen), whose managingdirector, Mr Donald May, is thebrother of a member of BroughtyFerry ILB crew.

Weymouth, Friday, September 17: Forthose people who put so much time andthought into planning the naming ofWeymouth's new 54' Arun lifeboat,Tony Vandervell, the last minute arrivalof rain following the driest summer inmemory must have been very disappoint-ing; but the weather served as a gentlereminder of the lifeboat's role.

Whatever weather they encounter onservice, however, Weymouth crew haveevery reason for confidence in their newlifeboat. The first Arun to be built ofglass reinforced plastic, she was putthrough some 6,000 miles of trials beforegoing on station, during which sheshowed herself capable of maintainingher full speed in severe conditions (usefulnear to Portland).

The cost of Weymouth's new lifeboatwas provided by a gift from the Vander-vell Foundation. The late Mr G. A.'Tony' Vandervell, a noted industrialist,is remembered especially for his Vanwallracing car. Mr J. L. Reed, MBE, atrustee of the Foundation, handed thelifeboat over to the RNLI, representedby the Chairman, Major-General R. H.Farrant, CB, who, in turn, delivered herto the care of Weymouth branch; shewas accepted by the honorary secretary,Lieut.-Commander B. F. Morris, RN.

After a service of dedication con-ducted by the Reverend GeoffreyWalton assisted by the Reverend ArthurLister-Hetherington, the lifeboat wasnamed by Commander F. R. H. Swann,CBE, RNVR, a Vice-President of theInstitution and a member of the Com-mittee of Management. Tony Vandervellturned full circle, embarked the specialguests and a chorus of siren blasts fromSwanage lifeboat, /. Reginald Corah,and the British Rail ferry accompaniedthe lifeboat's passage to the opsn sea.

Ramsgate, Thursday, September 23: Anaming ceremony, a Royal visit and atribute to a revered friend: all themakings of a very happy day. HRH TheDuchess of Kent had come to Thanetto name Ramsgate's new lifeboat—alifeboat to be named Ralph and JoySwann after Commander Ralph Swannand his late wife in recognition ofCommander Swann's outstanding anddevoted services to the RNLI as Chair-

234

Weymoulh: The quay was crowded for the naming of the 54' Arun class lifeboat TonyVandervell . . . photograph by courtesy of HMS Osprey

man from 1972 to 1975 and a memberof the Committee of Management since1953. It is particularly appropriate thatshe is a 44' Waveney because Com-mander Swann played an importantpart in the introduction of this fastafloat class into the RNLI fleet.

More than 2,000 people had gatheredround Ramsgate Harbour and, as HerRoyal Highness, greeted with a fanfareplayed by the Herald Trumpets of theRoyal Marines, made her way alongthe eastern cross wall, she stopped for aquick word with many of the school-children who lined her path.

Councillor R. Taylor, Mayor ofRamsgate and chairman of the branch,opened the proceedings with a speech ofwelcome. The lifeboat was delivered

into the care of Ramsgate branch byMajor-General Farrant and acceptedby the honorary secretary, Mr T. A.Brown, who told how she had alreadybeen launched on service four times andrescued nine lives.

After a service of dedication by TheLord Bishop of Dover, assisted by theRural Dean of Thanet, the Duchess ofKent performed the naming ceremony.Recalling Ramsgate's fine record, andremembering in particular the 2,800 menbrought off the beaches of Dunkirk byRNLB Prudential, the Duchess spoke ofthe debt owed to all lifeboatmen and totheir families: theirs is '. . . a humaneand wonderful job. It would be impossibleto overstate our gratitude to them.' Onlythe best was good enough for them.

. . . before performing the ceremony, Com-mander Ralph Swann was presented byformer Weymouth coxswain Mr F. J. Palmerwith a framed photograph o/Tony Vandervellin Portland Race. With them are Lieut.-Commander B. F. Morris, honorary secre-tary (/.), The Mayor of Weymouth andPortland, Councillor John D. Blackburn,President of Weymouth branch (c.) andMajor-General Ralph Farrant.

Aberdeen: BP Forties was named (r.) byMrs David Steel.

photograph by courtesy ofAberdeen Journals.

(Below) The naming ceremony cake bakedby Sunblest Bakeries (Aberdeen); its top waspreserved and presented to Mrs Betty Bird,wife of Coxswain Albert Bird.

235

The Observer

OUTBOARD

Speed and PowerMATCHING ENGINE AND PROPELLER

ATLANTIC 21 AND D CLASS inshore life-boats, out on trials, are a familiar sightin the Solent; testing and proving thevast amount of detailed developmentwork which, over the past 15 years or so,has been quietly going ahead at theRNLI Cowes base, under the inspiredguidance of Lieutenant David Stogdon,on every aspect of inshore lifeboatdesign. One of the most importantaspects, under continuous review, is ofcourse engine installation.

If character is given to a power boatby the design of her hull, vitality comesfrom the engine installation; and thereis great, pent up vitality for the RNLI'sinshore fleet of semi-rigid Atlantic 21sand inflatable 16' D class boats in theiroutboard engines: high speed (30 knotsfor the Atlantic 21, more than 20 forthe D class) and controlled reservepower to give the impetus and man-oeuvrability on which both efficiencyand safe navigation depend.

When choosing an outboard enginefor an ILB, the desired characteristicsmust be sought among those modelsavailable at any one time. Outboardengines are produced in very largenumbers for international distributionand lifeboats are only a tiny part of themarket. But if there is no possibility ofoutboards custom built for lifesaving atsea, the development work of the pasttwenty years or so in the marine enginefield has resulted in a range of good,powerful and reliable machines fromwhich selection can be made.

The RNLI needs, above all, a goodwork-horse engine which will not giveup when faced with difficulties beyondthe normal bounds of duty. It must becapable of providing high speed, but,even more important, it must haveenough power to give that vital kick

which will get an ILB out of trouble inbad weather: launching, beaching orpicking her way among hostile seas.

The engine must also be so designedthat it can always be started; if thestarting cord should break, there mustbe the possibility of rigging a jury line.

As Evinrude/Johnson (OMC) enginesmeet all these requirements, it is fromthis range that most of the presentRNLI engines come.

Choice of engine is the first step. Thenext is choice of propeller. Power,transmitted through the drive shaft,must be converted by the propeller intothrust. Only if the right propeller isselected will the engine be run withoutundue stress and its potential powerused economically and to good purpose.Engine and propeller must match eachother in the conditions of the workwhich, between them, they have to do.

What is the propeller's share of thework? With a screw-like action, itsblades draw water from in front andpush it out to the rear, creating what iscalled a thrust cone (Fig. 1). It is thisthrust cone, pushing against the un-disturbed surrounding water, which

THRUST

propels the boat forward, and thenature of the thrust cone is, of course,determined by the design of the pro-peller. The diameter of the blades(Fig. 2) and their pitch (determined bythe angle at which they are set to thehub) are the two basic variables. Pitch(Fig. 1) governs the distance travelledand that is how it is expressed: a 10"pitch means that, theoretically, thepropeller will move forward 10" in onerevolution working in a solid. Workingin fluids, not solids, marine (and air-craft) propellers have to contend withslip and turbulence which in practicereduce the theoretical pitch to the'effective' pitch. The higher the effectivepitch, the greater the forward travel,and the greater the load.

Thus, if a propeller is specified as12" X 10" it means that it has a 12"diameter and 10" pitch.

The basic guide which shows whetherthe right propeller has been fitted to theright outboard engine for a specific jobof work is the tachometer (Fig. 3)which shows on its dial the revolutionsper minute (rpm) of the engine. Thefaster the engine runs (the morerevolutions per minute), the morehorsepower it produces, up to a point.At peak performance the revolutions ofthe engine give 100% of availablehorsepower. After that, even if theengine is run faster, no more horsepowerwill be produced. This is because theexhaust port sizes of an outboardengine are so designed that they canclear all waste gases from the cylinders atthe peak rpm recommended by themanufacturers; if, however, the engineis run at a higher speed, the gasescannot be cleared quickly enough andare left in the cylinders; thus there is aloss of efficiency.

If, at full throttle, the rpm readingon the tachometer, say 5,000 is withinthe range recommended by the makers,all is well. If the reading is too low, say

DIAMETER

Fig. 2: Propeller's diameter is width of circledescribed by tips of rotating blades.

Fig. 1: Thrust cone and pitch. Pitch is thedistance travelled in one revolution of thepropeller. Fig. 3: Tachometer.

236

4,000 rpm, the engine is being over-loaded and will oil up; the pitch shouldbe reduced (distance travelled will beshortened). If, at full throttle, thereading is too high, say 6,000 rpm, theengine, underloaded, running too fastand uneconomically, could be damagedand pitch should be increased (distancetravelled will be lengthened).

So, power and loading must bebalanced. Known data and experiencewill lead to the right area of propellerdimension, and in commercial ships thisis sufficient for accurate design ofpropellers from standard series charts.For small boats and outboards, on theother hand, fine tuning can only bedone at sea, using, as a first guide,tachometer readings. So, for inshorelifeboats, it's out on the Solent withMichael Brinton, Engineer Overseer(Cowes) and his team; running trialsover a measured mile, looking forrough water, trying another set ofcombinations and gradually buildingup a bank of data which will reveal theright solution.

As a result of the trials of the pastfew years it had been established thatthe engine/propeller combination whichgave the best all-round performance forthe Atlantic 21 was a 50 hp Evinrudeengine with an l l f " X 17" OMCpropeller, and for the D class ILB a40 hp Evinrude engine with a 10J" X 13"OMC propeller. However, it was learntearly in 1976 that both these engineswere to be withdrawn from the Evinruderange by 1978, to be replaced by a55 hp and a 35 hp engine respectively.While the manufacturers had designedthem to do the same jobs as the enginesthey were replacing, their performancewould have to be proved for lifeboatwork, and propeller matching, of course,plays a vital part because, as hasalready been seen, the amount of thrustthat ultimately comes from any givenhorsepower depends on the design ofthe propeller.

It was back to the measured mile . . .Two fully equipped boats of the sameclass, with full fuel tanks and fullcomplement of crew, go out to themeasured mile in Southampton Water.First, fore and aft trim of the boats andangle of tilt of the engines, both ofwhich are critical to performance, will

have been checked (they will vary fromboat to boat). Boat No. 1 will be fittedwith the established engine/propellercombination, the performance of whichis known. Boat No. 2 will be fitted withthe new engine and will have on boardseveral different, though closely related,propellers. A series of runs will be madeover the mile, the two boats side by side,first at full throttle, then at reducingrevolutions per minute, say 5,500 rpm,5,000 rpm, 4,500 rpm, down to 2,000rpm, a record being made of the speedachieved by each boat on each run.Then the propeller will be changed onBoat No. 2 and the series of runsrepeated. Each propeller taken out willbe tried in turn. Other points will benoted as well as speed: How muchpunch is there? How long does it taketo get from standstill to full throttle?

Next there will be comparative trialsin rough water to test speed and powerin these conditions; to see how muchcavitation (air infiltrating between bladesand water, causing 'pitting' damage tothe blades) there is on tight turns orwhen re-entering the water after a leapfrom a wave; to see what performancecan be expected from one of a pair oftwin engines on its own—an Atlantic 21and all dual motor ILBs should becapable of completing a service safelyeven though one engine has failed.

When as much as possible has beenlearnt about one range of propellers,the whole programme will be repeatedwith another range. Gradually, a clearpicture will emerge and the bestsolution established. Ultimate selectionis almost bound to be a compromise, thefour factors carrying the most weightbeing: performance at full throttle;'pick-up' time from standstill to fullthrottle; cavitation under all]conditions;and the best possible performance of asingle motor on dual motor installations.

During the 1976 trials it was foundthat for the Atlantic 21, the 55 hpengine with the same Hi" X 17"propeller gave the best performance;the punch was as good, the speed ifanything slightly better than it had beenwith the 50 hp engine.

For the D class ILB, as the horse-power of the engine would be slightlyreduced (35 instead of 40 hp) evengreater care was needed to make quite

sure that the right propeller was foundso that the eventual power developed, aswell as the speed, was up to the standarddemanded. The 35 hp engine does startoff with some definite advantages overthe 40 hp. It is 231bs lighter, so that theload of the boat is reduced, and it has athrough-propeller exhaust system, whichis a good feature, making the enginemuch quieter.

After trials with propellers by differentmanufacturers, the Michigan PJ96,10J" X 11", was selected. While researchstill continued at Cowes, preliminarycoast trials were begun, 35 hp Evinrudeengines with PJ96 propellers beingfitted to the D class ILBs at three busystations: Eastney, Bude and Bembridge.All three being near at hand, it was easyfor results to be followed up, and crewmembers at all three stations werereasonably satisfied; in fact Bude wasvery impressed with the new engine,which appeared to solve problems whichhad been experienced with the 40 hpengine.

During 1977 the scope for gettingfurther data will be still further broad-ened. While at Cowes investigations intoany promising alternatives which mayappear will go ahead, fifteen 35 hpengines will be in operation on the coast,the crews feeding back information andcomment to base. In this way as muchknowledge over as wide a field ofexperience as possible will be built up,so that before the 40 hp engine has beenwithdrawn, new engine specificationscan be accepted with confidence.

Another investigation will also be inprogress in 1977. In estuaries such as theThames and the Mersey considerabledamage has been caused to alloypropellers by floating debris. TheAtlantic 21 at Southend-on-Sea is beingfitted with stainless steel propellerswhich are claimed to be five times asstrong as the alloy type. They will, ofcourse, be much more expensive—•about three times—but should prove tolast much longer and be more economi-cal in the long run.

And so the work goes on—looking forsolutions to present problems, whileremaining alert to any developmentswhich can usefully be applied to thework of saving life at sea.

Lifeboat PeopleWHEN FISHERMAN John Nudds of Wells,Norfolk, and his crew, Alfred Smithand Martin Frary, were presented withletters of commendation by the RNLIfor rescuing the lives of two yachtsmenin difficulties last June, their 'local', theArk Royal (Anglia Taverns) in Wells,paid tribute by granting each of them afree pint of their favourite beer every dayfor the next month.

To show their appreciation to their

faithful band of flag sellers, Stanmorebranch last year invited them, togetherwith prospective new collectors, to afilm show and supper party.

* * *Coxswain/Mechanic David Kennett

of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, who wasawarded the silver medal for gallantryfor the rescue of the crew of five of theyacht Chayka of Ardgour on September14, 1975, attended the 'Men of theYear' luncheon at the Savoy Hotel onNovember 3, 1976.

* * *With deep regret we announce the

following deaths:July

John Trimble, who served in theDonaghadee lifeboat from 1949 to1967. He became bowman in 1950,second coxswain in 1954 and coxswainin 1960.September

W. R. Knox, CBE MM JP co.c,honorary secretary of Portrush lifeboatstation from 1938 until 1974, except forthe war years, when his wife took hisplace. Mr Knox was succeeded ashonorary secretary by his son, J. H.Knox.

237

ShorelineSection

FIRST OF ALL, may I say how happy Iam to have become associated withShoreline as membership secretary. Ithas been a great pleasure to receive yourwelcoming letters and already, after onlya few weeks, I feel that I am among oldfriends.

* * *The wonderful response of our old-

established supporters to the Shorelineappeal, by which it is hoped to fund anew 37' 6" Rother class lifeboat to benamed RNLB Shoreline, is keeping up itsmomentum in a most encouraging way,and many new members are beingenrolled daily. New members soonbecome staunch campaigners in theirown right, adding their weight to theeffort being made. Already, since theappeal was launched in the summer,more than 1,500 new members over andabove the normal intake have beenenrolled and £18,456 has been receivedin subscriptions and donations towardsthe boat building project.

In the faith that what our membershave begun they will see through to theend, the future RNLB Shoreline has beenordered. She will be built at WilliamOsbornes of Littlehampton, a yard fromwhich many lifeboats have beenlaunched, and on the page opposite youcan read of the progress made so far.

As in the building, so in the fundraising, there is still a long way to go,

but we are confident that we can rely onShoreline members. Enrol one newmember and you will have done yourshare; enrol two and you will behelping to make the success of ourventure doubly sure. There is no limitand we shall be happy to send extraforms and give any other help needed.

One new member ? Or two ? So manyof you splendid people do not stop atthat. 'To help the building of Shoreline'Louisa and Alfred Parsons of Londonhave enrolled as life members three oftheir family's young folk: a keen anglerof 13; a 12-year-old footballer whoplays for Southampton's under fifteens;and a four-year-old who likes to hearstories of lifeboatmen and the sea. Thetwo older boys are already 'proud to bemembers' and Mr and Mrs Parsons lookforward to strong growth from theseeds that they have planted.

Good seeds are being planted inindustry, too. J. M. Newson, of TheGeneral Shipping and ForwardingCompany, Rainham, has enrolled 21members of his staff, while M. Hatzfeldhas written to tell us that British GasHQ has a Shoreline membership of 17;a similar group is being formed at theNorth Thames Gas Board by K. G.Peters, whose aim is to build up Shore-line membership throughout the entiregas industry.

Support on a massive scale has comefrom the South England, Scotland andWales Division of The IndependentOrder of Foresters. Each of its 73 courts(lodges), with a total membership of25,000, is becoming a group member ofShoreline for the next four years. Thatis tremendous news.

* * *We are always pleased to think of our

members enjoying safe pleasure boatingand taking a responsible attitude tosafety at sea. An organisation with thespecial needs of yachtsmen in mind isthe RYA Seamanship Foundation. Thefoundation is a charity which supports

various projects such as training aids(books, slides, posters), supports existingsail training organisations and arrangesspecial courses for handicapped people,like Sailing for the Blind. They havebeen involved in the production of twoposters recently, one on the use offlares produced in conjunction withSchermuly Ltd and one on the newInternational Association of LighthouseAuthorities maritime buoyage system A,produced in conjunction with TrinityHouse.

The foundation has kindly offeredShoreline a number of these posters forits members. They are available free butthe offer is limited to one of each posterper member. All applications, whichshould be sent to the Shoreline office,should be accompanied by a large(6|" x 9") self-addressed envelope, withan 8-Jp stamp to cover postage.

* * *We have just heard of a shore boat

service on Thursday, July, 29, by Wilma,a motor yacht owned by Shorelinemember Ray Michulitis of Scarborough.Wilma, flying an RNLI flag, was lyingalongside in Holy Island Harbour whenMr Michulitis and his crew DavidConlon were asked by the auxiliarycoastguard if they would take him andtwo local fishermen out to the help of aspeedboat seen drifting towards a leeshore in very heavy weather; there is nolonger a lifeboat on Holy Island.

Wilma set out immediately and foundthe speedboat blown ashore, her twocrew overside trying to prevent herfrom broaching in the surf. As Wilmaapproached there was a lull, just longenough to enable the speedboat crew topush their boat into deeper water,scramble aboard, lower the outboardand claw off the shore and into the leeof Wilma, which escorted her safely backto harbour. Well done!—PETER HOLNESS,membership secretary, RNLI, WestQuay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HZ(Tel. Poole 71133).

To: SHORELINE, RNLI, WEST QUAY ROAD, POOLE, DORSET, BH15 1HZ.I should like to be a part of such a worthwhile voluntary cause by becoming a SHORELINE member of the lifeboat service

and joining the Institution as:

A Life Member and Life Governor: minimum donation £60,including journal

A Member and Governor: minimum annual subscription £10,including journal

An Offshore Member: minimum annual subscription £3,including journal

SHORELINE LIFEBOAT

Total subscription

Below are the variousitems you are entitled towear or fly as a memberof SHORELINE:Members' tie (Terylene) £1.50Lady's brooch £0.50Metal car badge £1.55Pair of cuff-links £1.758 "hoist flag £1.2512" hoist flag £2.00Dinghy burgee £1.25

Insignia payment

NAME ..

ADDRESS

Shoreline Giro number is 294 7056I enclose P.OI cheque! cash for £• • •

Date

Signature

238

Building a Rother Class

Lifeboat

PART II: LOFTING AND LAYINGDOWN THE KEEL

THE SCENE OF ACTION now moves fromthe design office to the boatyard(William Osborne Ltd, Littlehampton)which will have been sent the lines planof the boat (illustrated at very smallscale at the foot of this page). It is thelines plan which delineates the shape ofthe hull; and as a hull is three-dimen-sional it is reasonable that it should bedrawn in three different planes. Thereare waterlines (curved bottom drawing)which show the projection of the boatviewed from the sheerline above; thebuttock lines (curved, centre drawing)which show the projection of the boatviewed from the centreline, abeam; andthen the sections (curved, top drawing)which show the projection of the boatviewed from the bow. The shape of thehull in any one plane can be visualised'looking through' the lines, letting themfall back in order, one behind the other.Buttock lines appear on the waterlineplan, and waterlines on the buttock linesplan, as straight horizontal lines.

The three different views are relatedto each other by the stations: the tenvertical lines drawn across both water-lines and buttock lines at equal distancesalong the datum waterline (at which theboat is designed to float) between thefore perpendicular and aft per-pendicular. The section drawings aremade at these same ten stations.

With the lines plan the yard will alsoreceive a table of offsets. Wherever astation crosses a water or buttock line,the draughtsman will have laid off themeasurement between that point and

Mahogany baulk forkeel is put throughplaning machine.

the centreline and/or datum waterlineof the boat on each of the drawings.

Using the table of offsets for continualreference the yard now 'lofts' the linesplans, drawing them out full size on theblack loft floor with a white chinagraphpencil. First, at each point where twolines cross, the measurement will belaid off and two nails driven into thefloor. By slipping a long, flexible battenbetween these sets of markers it ispossible to see whether a line is 'fair'with no bumps or dips. At the scaleat which the original drawings are madeit would be impossible to achieve thecomplete accuracy to a fraction of-aninch necessary to achieve fair lines, andthis 'easing' has to be done on the loftfloor. If a line is not fair, the nails aretaken out, the batten allowed to take upits natural curve and the nails replaced;the new measurement is taken, checkedback on each of the drawings on whichthe intersection appears, checked withany related measurement in the areaand, if all is well, altered on the table ofoffsets. Every slight difference must bereconciled until the true, fair shape ofthe hull is there for all to see. It is ahighly skilled job and will probablytake several weeks to complete, but onthe quality of the work put in at thisstage will depend the ultimate qualityof the boat.

Curved members, such as stemhead and sternknee, are built up of laminates.

From the full size lines plans now onthe loft floor will be made the templates,or patterns, for the construction of thehull: a half template for each section ateach station (making allowance for thethickness of planking, which will varyaccording to the curve of the hull atany one place); and templates for allthe members which will make up thebackbone of the boat—stemhead, stem-post, stem apron, fore deadwood, keel,after deadwood, stern knee and stern-post.

The keel is made of teak; stempost,stem apron (to which the planking willbe fastened) and sternpost of oak; stem-head, fore deadwood and stern knee oflaminated oak; after deadwood ofmahogany. All the wood will have comefrom the RNLI timber store at Coweswhere it will have seasoned.

The teak for the keel is put throughthe planing machine to bring it down tothe correct thickness, 3|", and a rabbet(to which, once again, the planking willbe fastened) will be cut out by handalong each upper edge, using chiseland plane.

Blocks on which the keel will be laidare now built up, at each station, to thecorrect height below the datum water-line. To check that these blocks havebeen set up at the right angle a declivitypattern will have been made from thelines plan, its top representing thehorizontal datum waterline, its bottomthe sloping line of the underside of thekeel. The pattern is laid along the topof the blocks and if the datum waterline,checked with a spirit level, is in facthorizontal, all is well. The keel is laiddown and building has begun.

(To be continued)

239

Letters...In all respects ready for sea

I was interested to read the article onsurvey and maintenance of the offshorefleet in the autumn edition of THELIFEBOAT. Certainly the work involvedin the various surveys is enormous, andit is useful to draw it to the attention ofour supporters who may not be famliiarwith it.

There is one small point, however, Ishould like to make: you refer toWalton and Frinton's lifeboat beingthe only non 70-footer which is mooredwithout the protection of a harbour. Infact there is at least one other, our46' 9" Watson, Sarah Townsend Porritt,which is moored in open waters in theKibble Estuary. The location where sheis kept is subject to very severe galeswhich put a strain on the moorings, andon the boat herself.

You may remember some years agoGiles drew a cartoon for a Christmascard which showed a lifeboat high anddry on a sandbank. It was that year thatLytham-St Anne's boat broke free fromher moorings, and the national pressassociated the two items, giving it veryfull coverage. Sarah ended up on asandbank some distance away from herusual position, and had to be taken outof the water to be examined beforegoing back on service. Nonetheless,after 25 years service, although nowcoming to the end of her operationallife, she is still going strong.—J. F. BRAY,honorary secretary, Lytham-St Anne'sbranch, 8 Norfolk Road, Lytham,Lancashire.

The actual words were 'to lie at mooringsin the open sea without the protection ofa harbour'. However, boats like SarahTownsend Porritt, lying in estuaries, arealso vulnerable to bad weather.

We apologise for, in this article,erroneously calling Dover's 44' Waveneylifeboat Friendly Forester; her name is,of course, Faithful Forester; both boatswere the gift of the Ancient Order ofForesters.—THE EDITOR.

Hurricane in Straits of DoverWhile at a relation's house recently I

saw a copy of the summer 1976 issue ofTHE LIFEBOAT and noted a small errorin the report of the service by Dover

lifeboat to the coaster Primrose onDecember 1, 1975, where it states, incolumn 3 of page 150, that MalcolmMiller was 'under bare poles'.

As a very amateur member of thecrew that night, I remember only toowell that we were carrying a foresailand storm mizzen sail. Being 'under barepoles' could give the impression thatthe engine was in use. It was not.—c. F.BROOKE-SMITH, Church Cottage, Parham,Woodbridge, Suffolk.

The men behind the scenesWe often hear of the work and brave

acts done by the lifeboat crews—trulywonderful men—but does anyone read-ing of their exploits ever think of thedevotion and skills of the men backingthem up behind the scenes?

Alfred Whitham, 14 years old, startedwork in London, moved house andwent to Boreham Wood with the firm,but now, at 57 years old, he has had toretire because, for personal reasons, heis unable to go to Poole. A good andwonderful record of work and serviceby him and men of his kind.

Good luck and a happy retirement toall who have been unable to carry ontheir work in the service.—MRS. A.WARREN, 132 Colson Road, Loughton,Essex.

Steamboat down the ThamesEarly in 1976, a Shoreline member

from South Wales, David Garrick,wrote to the RNLI offering to make asponsored cruise down the length of thenon-tidal River Thames in his steam-boat Firecrest. The project was soon inthe detailed planning stage with myself,a member of the Fund Raising Com-mittee and honorary secretary of theRiver Thames branch, acting as co-ordinator.

Firecrest is a 15' long steam-drivenpaddleboat which David Garrick builthimself in nine months in 1972/73. Sheis powered by a single coal-fired boilerdeveloping one quarter horsepower andusing about one pound of coal for eachmile travelled. She is fitted with a smallcabin forward where it is possible fortwo people to sleep. Firecrest had been

Firecrest, the 15'steam-driven paddleboat builtby David Garrick. She ispowered by a single coal-fired boiler developingone quarter horsepower.

used on many inland waterways butnever for a cruise as long as the tripplanned.

During the spring and early summer,arrangements were made. It was neces-sary to deliver slocks of coal to severalsites along the river so that Firecrestcould be refuelled en route. Friendswere recruited to drive the car andtrailer from the launching site to therecovery point.

Firecrest was launched at Lechlade,the upper limit of navigation, on July 31and David and his wife Pat set off ontheir marathon. Next day saw themmoored at the Rose Revived at New-bridge where they were joined bymembers of Witney Branch who soldsouvenirs from a stall set up beside theboat. From here it was on to Oxford tomoor alongside my cruiser and replenishthe water tanks, then on quietly down-stream to Teddington Lock.

In all Firecrest covered about 123miles in ten days and a final grand totalof just over £300 was collected—j. R.NEEDHAM, la Goodwood Avenue, Wat-ford, Hertfordshire.

DiscothequeA member of the RNLI—now a

Shoreliner—of some eight or nine yearsstanding, I am a semi-professionaldiscotheque cum DJ and would like tooffer my services, for expenses only, toany one fairly close to my homeinterested in fund raising. I catermainly for ballroom dancing, but coverthe pop scene as well.

On a different note, I display aShoreline car sticker, and, lo andbehold! someone actually asked what itmeant. After a lengthy explanation I wasable to recruit a new member, withdeed of covenant, so please send mesome enrolment forms and I will tryfor some more new members.

I'm a real amateur boatman: CCraft 10' 6" inflatable with an Evinrude15 hp hanging on the back; and whatfabulous back-up service UniversityMarine gave for that engine. It hadpacked up on me off Portland Harbourentrance and I was nearly in trouble.After regaining my composure andbeing able to make harbour I got intouch with University Marine, who said,'You return it; we'll fix it . . .' free,although out of warranty. That's whatI call service second only to the RNLI.—PETER BROWNBRIDGE, 2 Cortnay Rise,Hereford.

Showing the flag?There is a case for a flag on the car

radio aerial for enormous open-air carparks: you fit the mast side, like a sleeve,over the aerial and remove it when youdrive off.

At a show here last summer therewere nearly 2,000 cars, in lines. Havingdriven in, with many others, into, say,the third row, there was no easy means ofre-locating your car.—o. R. MACDER-MOTT, East Horndon Hall, Brentwood,Essex.

240

Bird's eye view of RNLl worksdepot from headquarters build-ing: now they are only separatedby West Quay Road. There iswater frontage to Holes Baywith a quay where offshorelifeboats can be moored along-side and also a slipway.

RNLI DEPOT AT POOLETHE MOVE of the depot from BorehamWood to Poole was completed onOctober 1, 1976. Last to come was themachinery; within a fortnight of removalday it was in full operation on the newsite.

The RNLI's first storeyard wasestablished at Poplar in the late 1870s,opening on to the bank of the Limehousecut canal in which new lifeboats weresubmitted to harbour trials before beingsent to station. A machinery workshopfor minor repairs was opened after thefirst world war, and, as the scope of thework undertaken increased, a move wasmade to larger premises at BorehamWood in 1939.

The depot has a long, cherished

tradition of unstinted service. To allthose unable to make the move to Poolethe Institution sends its deep thanks andgood wishes; to those who have joinedto take their place, welcome.

Conference: (r. to I.) Commander DavidWilford, RNR, superintendent of depot, MickWheeler, assistant superintendent of worksdepot, and Ron Taylor, machine shopforeman.

(Left) Rigging loft, chargehand Ron Parrisin foreground.

(Left) Flag day supplies:there is a constant flowof collecting boxes, flagsand publicity materialto and from branchesand guilds in the south,south west and midlands.

(Right) John McPhersonand Nicola Coudge atwork in the designstudio.

Stores depot: every kind of spare part from marine engines to nutsand bolts is housed in a warehouse on Poole Quay.

Looking across one corner of machine shop to area where lifejacketsare serviced and ILBs held for distribution to the coast; all major ILBservicing is done at Cowes.

241

When you have finished withyour copy of THE LIFEBOATPLEASE PASS IT ON...

Berwick-on-Tweed: Old and new exercise together. The 42' Watson lifeboat William and MaryDurham was withdrawn from station to the relief fleet on September 17, 1976, being replacedby an Atlantic 21 ILB.

photograph by courtesy of Fish Trades Gazette

Around the Coast

Lizard-Cadgwith: 52' Burnett lifeboat TheDuke of Cornwall (Civil Service No. 33) onexercise with an RNAS Culdrose WessexMk I helicopter off the Lizard. Two of the RNaircrew launched with the lifeboat; threelifeboatmen spent a short time in the helicopterafter being hauled up.ohotoeraoh bv courtesv of RNAS Culdrose

Barrow branch has set itself the target ofraising £26,000, the estimated cost of re-engining and refitting its lifeboat, the46' 9" Watson, Herbert Leigh. The half-way mark, £13,000, was passed lastOctober.

Arklow: On October 11, 1976, RonaldM. Delany, an Irish member of the

A Nelson aboard TheNelsons of Donaghadee:Quintan, one of the Nelsonfamily, members of whichhave served in the Donag-hadee lifeboat since thestation was established in1910 and after whom thenew 44' Waveney lifeboat isnamed.

photograph by courtesyof Colin Watson

Committee of Management and anArklow citizen by birth, presented avellum to Coxswain Michael O'Briencommemorating the 150th anniversaryof the station, which was established in1826. Since that time the lifeboat haslaunched on service more than 250 timesand rescued more than 300 lives.

Cambeltown lifeboat helps 120 Squadronat RAF Machrihanish in its 'at sea'dinghy drills and helicopter lifts. Lastautumn members of the crew visited theSquadron and were shown over aNimrod maritime reconnaissance air-craft; there was the opportunity, too, ofvery useful discussion on the problemsof operating both Nimrod and lifeboatin air/sea rescues.

Portpatrick: During a visit to Gallowaylast October, Mrs Margaret Thatcher,Leader of the Opposition, was shownover Portpatrick's 47' Watson lifeboatThe Jeanie and met members of her crew.

Inshore lifeboats: (below) West Bay Ladies from Dunoon, who raisedthe money to provide the new D class ILB at St Abbs, were honouredguests at her handing over ceremony on June 26, 1976 and are seen herewith members of the crew. (Below, right) Before the service of dedicationof the new D class ILB at Bude on May 15, Mrs A. Jenkins, jointhonorary secretary with her husband (not seen in photograph) of Truro

branch, unveiled a commemorative plaque recording that the ILB hadbeen funded from a special RNLI 150th anniversary appeal organised byTruro. Standing with Mrs Jenkins is the honorary secretary of Bude ILBstation branch, Mr S. W. Whateley.

photograph by courtesy of Malcolm S. Henchley Film Productions

242

Some

Memento of a night to remember: When the 85-strong Caldicat Male ("»/ce Choir, togetherwith soprano soloist Miss Ann Beynon. gave a concert at Bournemouth at the invitation of theladies' guild and Miss Mary Palmer on May 28, their president. Alderman L. Bnddeit, presentedto the chairman of Bournemouth branch, Jonathan Burr, two glass plaques engraved hv a choirmember: one depicts the RNLl badge surrounded by the names of all members of the choir, theother the programme for the evening. The concert raised more than £160 for the RNLl.

Redcar branch ladies guild's incomefor 1976 exceeded £4,000, all raised thehard way. None of the members has acar, so that large suitcases have to beheaved on and off buses in support oftheir various fund-raising efforts. InOctober they organised a RainbowBazaar, at which every stall representedone colour plus white. Every article onsale followed the colour of the stall,even the stallholders had a coloured sashto match the reds, mauves, greens, blues,purples, oranges and yellows of theirwares. It was the idea of Mrs VeraRobinson, MBE, who has worked for theRNLl for more than 40 years. £134 was

added to the guild's funds by a Countryand Western Dance; during the eveninga man dressed as a cowboy tossed hisstetson on to the floor, asking everyoneto throw in coins as they danced—thatbrought in £14.50.

Grimsby guild and branch undertookthe marathon task of organising a draw,in conjunction with the four-dayHumberside County Show last Septem-ber, for which a motor car given by SatraMotors was first prize. Despite theheavy rains of that time, by sheer hardwork and perseverance they sold over£2,000 worth of tickets.

A Yokel's Fair organised last July by customers of the Black Horse, Byworth, Petworth—licensee John Waldy—raised t450 for the RNLl. Held in the grounds of the inn and RolandSailer's adjoining field, the programme included a mummers' play, tug-of-war, pony anddonkey rides, side shows, stalls, music by Petworth Town Band, a barbecue supper and dancing.One of the most popular attractions was lawn mower racing: four races and a grand prix.

photograph by courtesy of Charles White

Despite atrocious weather, four menat the Ring O'Bells, West Kirby, Wirral,persisted in their attempt on the worldmarathon bowls record over the week-end September 25 and 26. On Fridaynight it rained for six hours and between6 pm on Saturday and 6 am on Sunday3.7 inches of rain fell in Wirral. Un-deterred—and fortunately they hadlifeboat waterproofs—they went on tobreak the record, in the end completing48 hours. More than £500 was raised forthe RNLl.

As an experiment, Mrs Wither put anRNLl collecting box in the car park ofher guest house, Low Isle House, Isleof Whithorn; in three weeks £140 hadbeen collected. Next year collecting willstart at the beginning of the season!

A class of 10-11 year olds at BarncooseCounty Primary School, Redruth,planned a wonderful surprise for theirform master, Crew Member JohnThomas of St Ives. In secret theyorganised a sale, making jam tarts andsausage rolls. R N L l Hags and book-marks and bringing in toys and comics.With this spontaneous gesture theyraised £11 for the lifeboat service.

Before setting off on a fishing tr ip atRhyl last July, the women's section ofNewcastle (Staffordshire) Deep SeaAnglers presented acheque for £75, raisedwith jumble sales, to John Owen, honor-ary secretary, Rhyl and District branch.

Solo yachtsman David Sandemansigned 500 envelopes bearing the l i pJersey stamp commemorating America'sbicentenary and took them on his voyageacross the Atlantic last summer. These

243

envelopes were date-marked on the dayDavid set off from Jersey, June 5, andagain when he reached Newport, RhodeIsland, on July 18. They are being soldat £5 each for the benefit of the RNLIand, while stocks last, are available fromMrs S. D. Felkin, Kilimani, MontCochon, St. Helier, Jersey, ChannelIslands. One envelope has been sent toHM The Queen, as Patron of the RNLI.

Mrs J. Rose, chairman of Heworthladies' guild, York, was one of the peoplewho attended the 150th anniversaryRNLI Buckingham Palace Garden Partyin 1974. Since then she has undertakenseveral speaking engagements, taking asher theme 'A Day to Remember atBuckingham Palace' and, as a result, haspaid over £40 into the guild account.

A Bournemouth television firm held awater polo competition to mark thecentenary of the game, first started inBournemouth by a group of peopleplaying with a ball in the sea alongsidethe pier. Competing teams travelledfrom as far away as Andover, Somersetand London (Metropolitan Police), andthe £50 raised was donated to the RNLI.

244

(Above) Forty and more entrants set off onSunday, October 4, for Soiithend-on-Sealadies' guild's second tinnual fancy dresssponsored bicycle ride along the seafrontfrom Shore House, Shoebury, where PercyCaron judged the costumes, to WestcliffLeisure Centre and back. £.475 was raised bythis eight-mile ride.

Each year since an ILB was first stationed atHorton and Port Eynon in 1968, Reg James,although confined to a wheelchair, hasorganised a gala sports day at Burrowscaravan park as his contribution to thestation. He presents his 1976 cheque, for£.236.21, to Christopher Methuen-Campbell,president of the branch.photograph by courtesy of South Wales

Evening Post

Sprays of flowers from Wal-mer vice-chairman, PeterBroady (/.), and honorarysecretary, Norman Cavell,for Schermuly and Pains-Wessex marchers (I. to r.)Barbara Skinner, Petra Mer-cer, Sue Roberts, DebbieGroom and Evelyn Luff.With a three-day, 80-milesponsored walk from Newdi-gate to Walmer they raised£350 for the RNLI. After thisthird successive walk organ-ised by Miss Skinner thetotal is over £1,000.

Children are wonderful! After a familyvisit to Flamborough lifeboat station,Helen and Robert Braid and BeverleyKing went home to Prestwich, organiseda jumble sale and sent the resultant£6.50 to the station with their bestwishes. Another group of children, inHalifax, raised £7.10* for the lifeboatservice with their jumble sale; they areStephen and Richard Cawthra, Tracyand Robert Walker, Paul and KarenGreenwood, Martin and Ian Gates andJonathan Firth.

West Wight ladies' guild souvenir stallin Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, lifeboathouse, open each weekend last summerfrom April 1 to September 5, achievedthe splendid result of £1,957.

Royal Naval Association Tamworthbranch settled for messing about on theriver one July day last year, braving theRiver Anker in a sponsored 'sink orswim' on a polystyrene raft, 'HMS Polly'.The resulting £100 was given to Tam-worth ladies' guild.

When Royal Fleet Auxiliary storessupport ship Stromness visited her own

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston ladies' guildheld an 'After Dinner at Eight' wine andsavouries evening in June at the home of MrsMargaret Adams (I.) at Herring fleet, StOlaves, to celebrate the presentation of afund-raising scale model of the station's 44'Waveney lifeboat, Khami, made by ClaudePeacock (r.), lifeboat committee member anda former crew member. Mrs MarjoriePeacock (c.) handed over the new model andit was accepted by Mrs Theresa Smellie,guild president. Many guests put contributionsin 'Khami's' hold and the whole evening wasa very enjoyable way of raising nearly £.200for local funds.photograph by courtesy of Eastern Daily

Press

port of Stromness last July, she broughtwith her a fine donation for the RNLI.Captain John Logan, her master,handed over to Coxswain AlfredSinclair a cheque for £140, the result ofvarious money-making activities by hisofficers. A large cake decorated with theStromness crest, made by the ship'scatering staff, was also presented to theRNLI for display and fund raising.

A total of £768 was raised byScarborough ladies' guild at a two-dayexhibition of paintings by the Rev.Edward Mowforth at Scalby last June.Of that sum, pictures he gave to theguild to be sold realised £530 and £200was an anonymous donation. Onepicture is of an old Scarborough life-boat, Lady Leigh which, on November10, 1872, saved the crew of five and aboy from the brig Palestine, wreckedin a full north-east gale on RamsdenScar; one of the men, Captain JohnSteel, was Mr Mowforth's father-in-law.

More than 100,000 tickets were soldthroughout the Lancaster and More-cambe area during last summer inLancaster branch's raffle for a DellQuay runabout complete with waterskis, fishing tackle and food hamper;an effort supported by many sailing,water ski and sub aqua clubs. FredGardener, a member of Morecambe ILBcrew, with the Mayor and Mayoress ofLancaster, Councillor and Mrs PeterSumner, drew the lucky ticket; thewinner was Police Constable JohnWilkinson. Proceeds from the venturewere £3,336, which, wi th the results of acoffee morning and other efforts, meansthat Lancaster branch contributed£4,750 to RNLI funds in 1976.

In what she describes as 'a madmoment', Mrs Angela Herbert, licenseeof the Norway Inn, Truro, challengedher daughter, Mrs Susan Flynn, licenseeof the Mermaid Inn, St Mary's, Isles ofScilly, to a ladies' gig race, sponsored inaid of the RNLI to be rowed off StMary's. Wednesday, July 28 was set asthe day, Roger Shaw of WestwardTelevision acted as official starter and,with a flotilla of boats on the water andspectators on shore, more than £2,000was raised. The race was won by theMermaid Inn team.

At Beccles last year a sponsored walkto Lowestoft in June raised £140, anda 17-mile sponsored Sea Scout canoeto Reedham in July raised £50. A new,fund-raising sub-committee has beenset up by Beccles and District branchand anyone who would like to help willbe welcome. Please write to the honorarysecretary, Lieut.-Commander P. H.Cator, Holly House, Barnby, Beccles,Suffolk.

By August last year Campbeltownladies' guild had already raised £2,200,£250 more than in 1975. They startedwith a record-breaking event on EasterSaturday, a coffee morning and Easterdraw which brought in £307 and £300respectively, and followed this withanother record, £430, on their flag dayon July 24. On that same day £356 wasrealised from a bottle and tablet stall atthe Round Table's 'It's a Knockout'.

Tynemouth ladies' guild has receiveda donation of £90 from a local firm. Oneof its employees, on retirement, askedthat the gift which would usually havebeen presented on this occasion shouldbe given, instead, to the RNLI.

Eastcote branch held a buffet dancelast October to conclude a very success-ful year during which £1,200 wasachieved—the branch has raised its totalto this amount from £300 in four years.At the dance the guests enjoyed the

For model makers...Aerokits Ltd have recently introducedinto their model range a kit for the48' 6" Solent class lifeboat, the proto-type of which (shown above) is beinggiven to Southwold Lifeboat Museum.A royalty will come to the RNLI forevery kit sold and kits can be obtainedthrough retail stockists price £34.95(excluding portholes, lifebelt, numbersand propellers).

* * *For those who like to build from

scratch, Langbaurgh Museum Service

(10-12 Fountain Street, Guisborough,Cleveland TS14 6PP) have model plansavailable, price 65p including postage,of the Zetland lifeboat, the oldest sur-viving lifeboat in the world. These planswere drawn by David Phillipson top)right), an attendant at the museum andRedcar's head launcher.

singing of Scarlet and Lace, a folk groupwho generously donated their time tohelp the Institution.

Formed in 1970, Ledbury and Districtladies' guild has gone from strength tostrength. Last autumn, by kind per:

mission of the Hon. Mrs HerveyBathurst, a highly successful party washeld in Eastnor Castle, raising £600,their best single effort so far. Althoughthe weather prevented those presentfrom enjoying their refreshments onthe terraces, the castle rooms, steepedin history, provided a most suitable andenjoyable setting.

An RNLI exhibition, opened by SirAlec Rose, was staged in Co-op House,Portsmouth, from September 2 to 11;first an Atlantic 21 at the entrance, thenup to the first floor where a D class ILBwas the centrepiece of the mainexhibition and photographic display.

There were continuous film shows and aChristmas card and souvenir stand.Manning was by volunteers frombranches in Portsmouth, Southsea,Hayling Island, Havant, Cosham,Waterlooville, Portchester, Denmeadand Hambledon. There was £174 profitfor the RNLI.

A disco at Gunnersbury Fair PublicHouse raised over £100 for the RNLI.The owners of the house, Goodhews Band S Ltd, plan to hold a number ofdisco's around the country in an effortto raise enough money to fund a life-boat.

Mrs Gladys Harvey of Stoke Bishophas been running coffee mornings, fora number of charities, since right backin the 1930s. For a very long time nowthere has always been one each year forthe RNLI, and the 1976 party raisedmore than £175.

A group of 8- to 13-year-old children living in the Llandegaiarea of North Wales planned and ran a mini-fete in Dr and MrsTideman s garden last September, raising £52 for the lifeboatservice. In the photograph are Heather, Susy and EmmaChamberlain, Rachel and Julian Herbert, Mrs Tideman andJosephine and Ros Tideman.

(Right) Cyril Watts, with hiswife Rita, on board Centaur731, Eilean Sitheil, in whichlast summer he completed asponsored circumnavigation ofBritain, starting from theBristol Channel; he expectsto raise £1,000 for theRNLI. Mr Watts sends histhanks to his sponsors inindustry and on mileage, tothe 16 people who, in turn,joined his crew, and to fisher-men, boat owners, harbourmasters and RNLI crews whohelped during the voyage.photograph by courtesy of

Bristol United Press

245

REVIEWS• A welcome addition to the yachts-man's library of pilotage is the new bookChannel Islands Pilot by MalcolmRobson (Nautical Publishing, £7.50)which contains the following apprecia-tion by Major-General R. H. Farrant,CB, Chairman of the RNLI:

Malcolm Robson has handed overto the Royal National Lifeboat Institu-tion the author's royalties from the saleof this book—I am glad to be able toacknowledge this most generous actionby a yachtsman, whose work as aqualified pilot in the Channel Islandshas given him an abundance of localknowledge. I feel sure that the elegantand detailed presentation of thisknowledge will be of great benefit to hisfellow yachtsmen.

They are waters I know myself fromcruising in them as a yachtsman, butmore still I know them as waters where,summer and winter, the lifeboatmen ofthe Channel Islands have shown so wellthose qualities of courage and seaman-ship which are such outstandingcharacteristics of all the RNLI crews ofEngland, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Perhaps it takes an experienced sea-man to appreciate to the full what theselifeboatmen face and overcome.Malcolm Robson is certainly such aseaman, as apart from his intimateknowledge of Serquais waters, he hassailed his own yacht across the AtlanticOcean and in the Pacific. Indeed he hasfirst-hand knowledge of what it feelslike to be a seaman in distress, as yachtshave sunk under him in mid-ocean ontwo occasions.

The RNLI is most grateful toMalcolm Robson for his unstintedgenerosity.

0 In Great Sea Rescues (New EnglishLibrary, 50p) Commander E. W.Middleton faced something of a chal-lenge. This was how to retell the storiesof the most famous rescues by lifeboatsin a book which could be read as aconsecutive narrative and not as a seriesof barely related incidents. He hassucceeded admirably, largely because ofhis own extensive knowledge of thelifeboat service and a deep under-standing of what may and couldconstitute danger at sea.

In an introductory passage he writes:'This is the classic disaster: a sailingship unable to set sufficient sail to give

control with an unfriendly shore justunder her lee. It may be a ship under wayon passage from port to port but it couldequally well be a ship sheltering at anchor,suddenly embayed by a shift of wind.''

From this he goes on to recount howwhen a fleet of 13 ships was driven onto the Goodwin Sands in November1703 some 200 men were said to bealive and stranded there.

The loss of life which occurred aroundour coasts before there was an organisedlifeboat service is difficult to compre-hend today, for, as Commander Middle-ton points out, in the three years from1816 to 1818 some 1100 British shipswere stranded or wrecked and anaverage of 163 seamen lost each year.

Among the disasters and triumphswhich the author recalls are the loss ofthe whole of The Mumbles crew whengoing to help of Samtampa in 1947, therescue of survivors from PrincessVictoria in 1953 by the Donaghadeeand Cloughey-Portavogie lifeboats, andthe rescue from Indian Chief, whichW. Clarke Russell told so effectivelythrough the words of the Ramsgatecoxswain, Charles Fish.

In bringing the story up to dateCommander Middleton writes of thestranding of Torrey Canyon with acargo of 118,000 tons of oil: 'Oncemore, what could have been a disaster ofthe first magnitude with possibly the lossof most of the crews of both shipsinvolved, results in the majority of thecrew of the exploding tanker being saved.How they escaped seems little short ofmiraculous but perhaps it will not alwaysbe so.'

For the extraordinarily modest priceof 50p the book is exceptional value andwill, it is hoped, be read by many towhom epic rescues such as thoseachieved in the past by Ballycotton,Cromer, Moelfre and other crews areunfamiliar.—P.M.

• In the preparation of the history ofFiley station 'Golf, Lima, Foxtrot, Echo'(the international call sign of its life-boat) an enormous amount has beenpacked into a 32-page booklet. First,Jeff Morris, after much patient research,records the story of Filey lifeboats fromthe time, in 1823, when the residents ofthe town collected funds to purchasetheir own 30' boat, pulling 12 oars, upto the station's 150th anniversary in

1973. During that time conventionallifeboats at Filey were launched 396times and saved 253 lives—a story closelyinterwoven with brig and coble, trawlerand drifter—and in the last nine of thoseyears the ILB launched 117 times andsaved 82 lives.

The last few pages of the booklet,which is illustrated by the editor, MelWhittaker, are given over to briefhistoric shore notes, bringing the workof secretaries, committees and guildsinto the story and giving the reader agood look at the organisation at workbehind the scenes.

Copies from Filey honorary secretary,D. Liversidge, 21 Flat Cliff, PrimroseValley, Filey, price 50p includingpostage.—J.D.

• 'The story of the lifeboat service is astory of heroes...' These are the openingwords of a fine booklet which has beenproduced in the Irish EnvironmentalLibrary Series on The Lifeboat Servicein Ireland. Written by Philip Mahoney,assistant national organiser, Ireland, andgenerously illustrated in colour by PeterJay, it gives a brief history of the RNLIand an explanation of its organisationwith particular reference to Irish stations,lifeboats and crews. The booklet endswith a record of some of the mostmemorable services by Irish lifeboats,including those to the Daunt Rocklightship by Ballycotton lifeboat and tothe Liberian tanker World Concord byRosslare Harbour lifeboat.

Copies from RNLI, 10 MerrionSquare, Dublin 2, price 75p includingpostage.—J.D.

• How many of us have sat on the highstool in a ship's chartroom and gazedat the long row of books on the shelfwithout ever wondering what that lotcosts! Sailing directions, tide tables, listsof lights, lists of radio signals, nauticaltables, almanac, books on the weather,flags of all nations . . . all paid for byBig Brother. And then, one day, yousqueeze your way into its counterpartin your own boat, bumping your headon the beam carved with certifiednavigation space 0.001 tons and realizethat this time you are Big Brother. Soyou buy a copy of 'Reed's'—Reed'sNautical Almanac (Thomas ReedPublications, £4.95). And, unless you areplanning to go further afield thanWestern European waters, you practicallyhave the lot. Not only that, but you havea seamanship manual, a navigationmanual, a first aid handbook, a diction-ary of nautical terms in five languagesand a lot else besides.

If one dared to criticize such a noblepublication it would be to say that thereis too much of it in a single volume. Aquick count shows that of 26 sections,17 contain permanent information andonly nine those things which need to bereprinted annually. Section 9 is saved upfor some future subject as yet undis-closed—what about the International

246

Yacht Racing Association rules? I amsure that there are many yacht ownersand small ship owners who wouldwelcome two volumes, even if the result-ing economy in paper left the effectiveprice unchanged.

There have been some minor re-arrangements and improvements in thenew edition. A colour insert gives thenew IALA buoyage system (see backcover of the last number of THE LIFE-BOAT). The new International CollisionRegulations are reprinted again, after afalse start last year. There are bound tobe some errors and omissions (I couldpoint to a couple) but these will no doubtbe put right in the half-yearly supple-ment published on April 1, which is allpart of the service.—K.M.

• Sailing Directions and Anchorages,North and North East Coasts of Scotland(Clyde Cruising Club, SV Carrick, ClydeStreet, Glasgow Gl 4LN, £3.00, postage20p) is the second of a new series ofsailing directions issued by the CCC, andmaintains the same high standard as thefirst, Orkney, reviewed in No. 454 ofTHE LIFEBOAT. Each of many small portsand anchorages from Cape Wrath toKinnaird's Head are treated with astandard layout of chartlet and tabulated

details of tides, approaches, anchorages,facilities and points of interest.

To my mind there is one small retro-grade step in the second of the series andthat is that the scale of the chartlets,which was consistently given in milesand cables, is now given in a confusingalternation of metres and cables, but thenI told myself not to be silly becauseeverybody knows that the cable is 185.2metres except in the UK where it is185.32 metres!—K.M.

• For the man who has had enoughexperience of sailing to want to designhis own boat, but who does not knowjust how to set about it, Designing SmallCraft by John Teale (Nautical Publish-ing, £3) offers a straightforward,practical guide. Let him but read theintroduction and he will be encouragedto make a start. 'There is nothingdesperately difficult about any aspect ofboat design', writes the author, and,while his experimental effort is not likelyto be in the first flight, ' . . . it shouldcertainly float at its designed waterlineand do all sorts of unambitious things in aperfectly satisfactory manner'.

Before the reader has time forhesitation or doubt he is presented with

a list of the equipment he will need,shown how to set about drawing thelines plan and led into the necessarycalculations to determine draft, dis-placement and longitudinal centres ofbuoyancy and gravity. The first steptaken, with growing confidence he canprogress with the author from simpleflat bottom boats to chine forms andfinally round bilges.—J.D.

• It is a proof of the popularity of MikePeyton's sailing cartoons that by thetime last winter's journal had appearedwith its review of his first book ofcartoons, a)) copies had been soJd. Wewish its successor equal, if perhaps notquite so speedy, success.

Come Sailing Again (Nautical Publish-ing, £1.95) is described by the author as'my second sincere attempt to warnpeople of the so-called joys of sailing'.Eighty-eight excellent cartoons depictperil at sea in small boats, and for any-body who goes afloat there is an uneasypleasure in laughing at the predicamentsillustrated here. As Mr Peyton pointsout, 'although these incidents have notactually happened to you, if you saillong enough they will. But you will notbe laughing then.'—A.H.G.

Competition CrosswordCOXSWAIN ARTHUR LiDDON of Dover, who has compiled thiscrossword puzzle, is kindly giving as a prize for the firstcorrect solution to be opened a colour enlargement of

Dover's 44' Waveney lifeboat Faithful Forester enteringharbour in rough seas. The picture is autographed by allmembers of crew. Entries, with name and address written incapital letters, should be sent to THE LIFEBOAT, RNLI, WestQuay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ by Monday, February28. Please mark envelopes 'Crossword'.

Across1 Where Ann sailed in Japan (6, 3)6 The result of a large number of losing bets ? (5)9 You may be uncertain but do you have the answer ? (5)

10 Would they mainly be found entering tide-races? (9)11 Assign to an old penman (7)12 Denounce with understandable force (7)14 Kipling's flannelled fools (10)16 Former Russian police go up here in confusion (4)19 Othello's ancient comes in as Portia goes out (4)20 Lifeboatman's ally drags out a hundred (10)24 It can be dangerous to expel a member (7)26 Worker and girl going back together for reception (7)27 Way of falling upon events we hear (9)28 A testing time for any lifeboat (5)29 Billy's nursery friend ? (5)30 Two ships and a prickly type for the valuers (9)

Down1 A brave leader—and so was Coxswain Fish when he went to her

rescue (6, 5)2 A gin with lunch could be the start of a hectic night out (9)3 This could be the outcome of an inexpert solo attempt (2, 6)4 Distrust a group who surround us softly (7)5 Dear Pat shows how to fit a square peg into a round hole (7)6 Old copper with villain in tow has quite an arresting influence

(6)7 Founded as in place of retirement (5)8 Initially 23 (1, 1, 1)

13 No reason to think that one would not get square meals fromthem (5, 6)

15 The length of time we are returning (3)17 It may be used for storing food or sailing around (5, 4)18 Stirs up scattering stones about it (8)21 Pedro's mundane outlook is partly responsible for the bloomer

(7)22 They support lifeboat crews when things get rough (3, 4)23 A time for celebrating—or just the opposite ? (6)25 An aid to navigation at sea but not on car (5)27 You may need local knowledge to find any particular one! (3)

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248

Lifeboat Services(from page 226)

Bridlington, HumbcrsideAugust 3, 20, 22 and 24.Broughty Ferry, TaysideAugust 28 and 29 (twice).Calshot, HampshireJune 10, 19 (twice), July 18 (twice), 19, 29

(twice), August 22 and 27.Campbeltown, StrathclydeAugust 11.Clacton-on-Sea, EssexJune 19, July 10 (twice), 11, August 8,

24 and 28.Clovelly, North DevonJune 15, 16, 20, July 4, 5, 15, August 7,

8, 21 and 22.Courtmacsherry, Co. CorkJune 27, July 8 and August 2.Cromer, NorfolkJune 23 and August 7.Douglas, Isle of ManJune 6, 15, 19 and July 29.Dover, KentJune 3, 6, 12 19 (twice), 23, July 21,August 8 (twice), 14, 15 and 24.Dungeness, KentAugust 17 and 19.Dun Laoghaire, Co. DublinJune 29, July 28 and August 1 (twice).Dunmore East, Co. WaterfordJune 20, July 9 and 18.Eastbourne, East SussexJuly 10.Exmouth, South DevonJuly 24, 28 and August 22.Eyemouth, BordersAugust 29.Falmouth, CornwallJune 14, July 5, 14, August 6, 19 and 30.Filey, North YorkshireAugust 27.Fishguard, DyfedAugust 7 (twice) and 22.Fleet wood, LancashireJune 27, July 9, August 22 and 28.Fowey, CornwallAugust 23.Galway Bay, Co. GalwayJune 7, 16, 30, July 9, 16, 19, August 6,

16, 20 and 26.Girvan, StrathclydeJune 30, July 10 and August 24.Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, NorfolkJune 7, 23 and August 22.Harwich, EssexJuly 14, 29, August 8, 18 and August 26.Hastings, East SussexJuly 10, 13 (twice), August 5 and 26.Holyhead, GwyneddJune 27 and July 30.Howth, Co. DublinJuly 8.Hoylake, MerseysideAugust 21 and 26.Humber, HumbersideJune 17 (twice) 27 and August 12.Invergordon, HighlandJuly 3.Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and GallowayAugust 22.Kirkwall, OrkneyJuly 2, 14 and August 30.Lerwick, ShetlandAugust 14 and 29.The Lizard-Cadgwith, CornwallJuly 11 and August 22.Llandudno, GwyneddSeptember 16.Lochinver, HighlandJune 25, July 20 and August 5.

Lowestoft, SuffolkJune 18 and July 18.Macduff, GrampianJune 19, July 1 (twice), 7 and 15.Malta ig, HighlandJuly 16, August 11 and 14.Margate, KentJuly 19 and August 29.Moelfre, GwyneddJuly 28.The Mumbles, West GlamorganJuly 15 and 27.Newbiggin, NorthumberlandJuly 18, August 1 (twice) and 29 (twice).New Quay, DyfedJune 16 and August 17.North Sunderland, NorthumberlandAugust 28 (twice).Padstow, CornwallJuly 12, 31 and August 15.Penlee, CornwallJune 19, 30, August 1 and 28.Peterhead, GrampianJune 25.Plymouth, South DevonJune 1 and 19.Poole, DorsetJuly 19, August 5, 13 and 29 (twice).Port Erin, Isle of ManJune 10 and August 29.Porthdinllaen, GwyneddJuly 4, 14 (twice), August 1, 19 and 31.Portpatrick, Dumfries and GallowayJuly 18, 30 and August 22.Portrush, Co. AntrimJune 22.Port St Mary, Isle of ManJune 11 (twice), July 9 and August 7.Pwllheli, GwyneddAugust 19.Ramsey, Isle of ManJuly 18 and August 22 (twice).Ramsgate, KentJune 5, 29, August 6, 21, 24 and 28.Redcar, ClevelandJune 3 and 12.Rhyl, ClwydAugust 28.Rosslare Harbour, Co. WexfordJune 19, July 11, 30 and August 11.Runswick, ClevelandJune 4 and August 29.St Davids, DyfedJuly 15, August 1 and 16.St Helier, JerseyJune 1, 6, 16, 27, 29, July 2, August 7

and 30.St Ives, CornwallJune 30, July 6, 18, 27, August 18 and 30.St Mary's, Isles of ScillyJune 22, July 21, August 11 and 20.St Peter Port, GuernseyJune 30, July 19, 30, August 26, 28 (twice)

and 30.Salcombe, South DevonJune 16, 17, 24, July 2, 10, 13, 21 (twice),

August 1, 22, 26 and 28.Scarborough, North YorkshireAugust 19, 22 and 27.Selsey, West SussexJune 4, 19 and 21.Sennen Cove, CornwallJune 8, July 15 and August 4.Sheringham, NorfolkJune 2 and July 11.Skegness, LincolnshireJune 29 and August 4.Stromness, OrkneyJune 4, 24 and August 16.Swanage, DorsetJune 13 (twice), 14 (twice), July 4, 13, 21,

29, August 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 21 and 22.Tenby, DyfedJune 1, August 9 and 11.

Thurso, HighlandJune 12.Troon, StrathclydeJune 6, 16, 19, 20, 23, 26, July 2, 4, 5, 7,

18, 31, August 4, 8, 17, 25 (twice) and30.

Tynemouth, Tyne and WearJuly 31 and August 29.Valentia, Co. KerryJune 22, July 2, 25, August 8 and 14.Walmer, KentJune 3, 19, August 4, 7, 26 and 29.Walton and Frinton, EssexAugust 22.Weymouth, DorsetJune 18, July 17, 30, 31, August 12, 25

and 28.Whitby, North YorkshireJune 3.Wicklow, Co. WicklowJune 6, July 17 and August 2.Workington, CumbriaJuly 2 and August 4.Yarmouth, Isle of WightJuly 16, 29, 30, August 13 and 28.Youghal, Co. CorkJune 12.

Services by InshoreLifeboats, June, Julyand August, 1976Aberdovey, GwyneddJune 3, 26, 27, July 10, 11, 17, August 3,

10 (twice), 16, 17, 20, 27 and 29.Abersoch, GwyneddJune 1,13, 30, July 21,28, August 19 (twice),

20, 27 (twice) and 28.Aberystwth, DyfedJune 22, 24 and July 31.Amble, NorthumberlandJune 12, 13 and 26.Arbroath, TaysideAugust 31.Arran, StrathclydeJune 15, July 17 and August 2.Atlantic College, South GlamorganJuly 4, 26, 30, August 4 (twice), 9 and 25.Bangor, Co. DownJuly 18, August 7 and 29.Barmouth, GwyneddJune 18, 27, July 1, 20, 25, August 21, 22

(4 times), 26, 27 (3 times) and 28.Barrow, CumbriaJuly 12, August 22, 26 and 28.Beaumaris, GwyneddJune 10, 11, 20, 29, July 1, 4 (twice), 25,

August 16 and 30.Bembridge, Isle of WightJuly 14 and August 23.Berwick-upon-TweedJune 2, August 27 and 29.Blackpool, LancashireJune 5, 6, 21, 22 (twice), 24, July 2, 5

(twice), 9, 10, 22, 30, August 18, 20 and22.

Blyth, NorthumberlandJune 6 and August 29 (twice).Borth, DyfedJune 2, 23, 26, July 11, 12, 16, 21, 24,

27 (twice), August 4, 17, 20, 23, 27 and30.

Bridlington, HumbersideJune 1, 7, 11, 12, 26, 28, July 2, 9 (twice),

11, 18, 24, 26, 31, August 1 (twice), 2,22, 23 and 30.

Broughty Ferry, TaysideJune 8, 24, 27, July 4, August 5, 8 and 16.Bude, CornwallJune 30, July 3, 11, 31, August 4, 9, 13

and 22.

249

Burnham-on-Crouch, EssexJune 19, August 20 and 27.Burry Port, DyfedJune 10, 20, 29, July 4, 14, 29 (twice).

August 1, 8, 9, 10, I I , 13, 17, 23 and 24.Cardigan, DyfedJune 16 (3 times), July 31, August 18, 24

and 29.Clacton-on-Sea, EssexJune 1 (twice), July 11, 18, 29 (twice),

30 (twice), August 6, 8, 10, 14 (3 times)and 15 (4 times).

Conwy, GwyneddJune 27.Coverack, CornwallJuly 14, 31 and August 28.Craster, NorthumberlandJune 12, 18 and July 27.Criccieth, GwyneddJune 27, 29 and July 1.Crimdon Dene, Co. DurhamJune 6, 19, July 11 and 28.Cromer, NorfolkJune 26, July 6, 11 (twice), 15, 24, August

4 and 13.Cullercoats, Tyne and WearJune 6, 12, 27, July 7, 11 and August 29.Dunbar, ForthJune 4 and 6.Eastbourne, East SussexJune 18, 19 (twice), July 1, 5, 18, 31,

August 1 and 27.Eastney (D184), HampshireJune 19 (3 times), 26 (twice), 29, July 3

(twice), 4 (3 times), 10 (twice), 11(twice), 17, 18 (3 times), 19, 25 (twice),August 1 (4 times), 15 (twice), 21(twice), 22 (twice), 27, 28, 29 and 30.

Eastney (B530), HampshireJune 19 (twice), 27 (4 times), 29, July 4,

10, 11, 18 (3 times), 24, August 1(5 times), 7 (twice), 8 (twice), 13, 22(twice), 27 (twice) and 30.

Exmouth, South DevonJune 11, July 3, 9, 13, 21, 25, August 20,

23 and 28.Filey, North YorkshireJune 2, 9, July 17, 25, 26, August 2 (twice)

and 29.Fleetwood, LancashireJune 6, 24 (twice), 27, 29, July 6, August

15 and 26 (twice).Flint, ClwydJune 4, July 2, 3 and 29.Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, NorfolkJune 3, 7, 12, July 11,13 (twice), 19, 21,

28, 29, August 1, 6 (3 times) and 8(twice).

Happisburgh, NorfolkAugust 1, 7, 16, 18, 28 and 30.Hartlepool, ClevelandJuly 11 (twice), 12, 29, August 10 (twice),

23 and 24.Harwich, EssexJuly 1, 6, 18, August 8, 14, and 18.Hastings, East SussexJune 13, July 1, 8, 18, 28, 29, August 13,

15, 21 and 22.Hayling Island, HampshireJune 12, 13, 19 (3 times), July 4, 8, 9, 12,

18, 19, 27, 28 (twice), 29 (twice), 31August 4, 9, 14 (twice), 21, 22 (4 times)and 27.

Helensburgh, StrathclydeJune 13, July 1, 31, August 2 (twice) and

20.Holyhead, GwyneddJune 27 and August 22.Horton and Port Eynon, West GlamorganJune 30, July 3, 11, 17, 31, August 2, 4,

26 and 28.Howth, Co. DublinJune 8, 17, 18 (twice), 23, July 6, August 8

and 19.

Humbermouth (Cleethorpes), HumbersideJune 6, 28, 29 and August 31.St Catherines, JerseyJune 29, July 24 and 29.Kinghorn, ForthJune 5, 12 and July 29.Kippford, Dumfries and GallowayAugust 3 and 18.Largs, StrathclydeJune 30, July 5, 10, 11, 18 (twice), 21, 31,

August 17, 19 and 28.Little and Broad Haven, DyfedJuly 4, 18, 19, 27, August 2, 7, 13 and 21.Littlehampton, West SussexJune 3, 9, 13 (4 times), 18, 19 (twice), 29,

July 2 (twice), 19, 21, 28, 29, August 1,8 (twice), 15 (twice), 23, 24 (twice) and29 (twice).

Littlestone-on-Sea, KentJuly 13, 16, 28, 30 (twice), August 15, 19

and 21.Llandudno, GwyneddJune 12, 22, 23, 27, July 13, 23, 29, 31

and August 9.Lyme Regis, DorsetJune 6, 14, 20 23, July 18 (3 times), 24,

29, 31, August 4, 5, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22,23 and 26.

Lymington, HampshireJune 19, 27, July 16 and 18.Lytham-St Anne's, LancashireJuly 1,4, 7, 8, 10 and 18.Mablethorpe, LincolnshireJune 6, 12, 19, 27, July 6, 7, 18 (twice) 30,

31, August 4, 24 and 29.Margate, KentJune 1, 12, 23, July 1, 5 (twice), 6, 19,

August 8, 14, 22 and 24.Minehead, SomersetJune 2 (twice), 30 and July 18.Moelfre, GwyneddJune 4 (twice), 6 (twice), 21, 26, 30, July 4,

13, 14, 18, 25, 27, 28, 30, August 1, 4,12, 18 (twice) and 28.

Morecambe, LancashireJune 16 and July 5.Mudeford, DorsetJune 1, 9, 12, 20, 23, July 11, 24, August 1,

7, 8 (3 times), 17 and 23 (twice).The Mumbles, West GlamorganJuly 22, 25 and 27.New Brighton, MerseysideJune 5, 8, 27, 30, July 9, 21, 26 and

August 6.New Quay, DyfedJune 12, 13, July 27, August 3 and 19

(twice).Newquay. CornwallJune 14, 16, 25, July 11 (4 times), 18, 25

(twice), 28, 31 (3 times), August 3, 6.9 (twice), 11, 16, 18, 19 (twice), 22, 23(twice), 29, 30 and 31.

North Berwick, ForthJune 4, July 8 and 18.North Sunderland, NorthumberlandAugust 15 and 29.Oban, StrathclydeJune 2, 10, 14, July 4 and 7.Peel, Isle of ManJune 19, July 30 and August 15.Poole, DorsetAugust 25.Porthcawl, Mid GlamorganJune 1 and 12.Port Isaac, CornwallJuly 11, 12, 18, 26, August 3, 8, 10, 16,

18, 21, 25 and 29.Port St Mary, Isle of ManJuly 11.Port Talbot, West GlamorganJuly 3.Pwllheli, GwyneddJune 1, August 20 and 30.

Queensferry, ForthJune 6 (3 times), 8, 12, 15, July 14, 18, 20,

August 2, 5 and 15.Ramsgate, KentJune 1, 5 (twice), 12 (twice), 25, July 14,

22, 25, 30, August 14, 16, 21 (twice),24, 26 and 28.

Red Bay, Co. AntrimJune 12, July 4, 23 and August 28.Redcar, ClevelandJune 10, 12, 23, 26, July 3, August 8 and

10.Rhyl, ClwydJune 3, 13, 27, 28, 30, July 1 (twice), 5,

18, 26, 28, August 13, 15, 22, 23 and30 (twice).

Rye Harbour, East SussexJune 13, 28, July 4, 5, 9, 11 (3 times),

22, August 8, 10, 14 (twice) 15 (twice)16, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26 and 30.

St Abbs, BordersAugust 29.St Bees, CumbriaAugust 27 and 28.St Ives, CornwallJune 2, 16, 30, July 2, 19, 27, August 13,

15, 18 and 26.Scarborough, North YorkshireJune 10, 13, July 2 and 4.Selsey, West SussexJune 4, 14, 18, August 3, 14 and 19.Shoreham Harbour, West SussexJune 6, 11, 12, 17, 19, 26 (twice), 30,

July 1, 5, 11, 14, 18 (4 times), 31 (twice),August 1 (4 times), 2, 8, 14, 22, 26 and27 (twice)

Silloth, CumbriaJuly 4 and 18.Skegness, LincolnshireJune 9, 11, 14, 18, 29, July 5, 7, 18, 28,

August 16, 20 and 23.Southwold, SuffolkJune 1, 30, July 2, 6, 8, August 4, 8, 10

and 11 (3 times).Stonehaven, GrampianJune 6.Stranraer, Dumfries and GallowayAugust 2 and 29.Tenby, DyfedJune 2, 6, 27, 30, July 7, 8 (twice), 11, 19,

20, 22, 23, 24, 25 (twice), 26 (twice),28, 31 (twice), August 1 (twice) 3, 9,(3 times), 15, 17, 21, 23, 24 (twice), 25,28 and 31.

Torbay, South DevonJune 1, 8, 11, 13, 26 (twice), 29, July 3,

8, 10, 19, 21, 26, 29, August 21, 22 and23.

Tramore, Co. WaterfordJune 18, July 2, 18 (twice), August 17, 22,

27 and 28.Trearddur Bay, GwyneddJune 15, 27 and 28.Tynemouth, Tyne and WearJune 6, 13, 27, July 31, August 10, 23 and

29 (twice).Walmer, KentJuly 15, 17, 22 and August 22.Wells, NorfolkJuly 29, August 1, 4 and 22.West Mersea, EssexJune 1, 12, 29, July 2, 11 (twice), 13, 14

(twice), 27, 29, August 8 (twice), 10and 14.

Weston-Super-Mare, EssexJune 26, August 2, 7, 10 (twice), 19(twice) and 22 (3 times).

Whitstable, KentJune 9, 12, 30, July 3 (3 times), 11, 15,

16, 21, 31 and August 14.Withernsea, HumbersideJune 20, July 2, 15, 26, 30 and August 1.Yarmouth, Isle of WightJune 19, July 13, 16, August 1 (twice), 27.

250

A matter oflife or death

The service we provide,saving life at sea, is a

completely voluntary one withno State aid.

Over the years, more than 100.000 people have beenrescued thanks to the efforts of our lifeboatmen and yourcontinual support.

Contributions from flag days, gifts and legacies, help withthe purchase of new self-righting boats.

But with today's delivery price, at least i'130.000, and theever rising cost of maintenance, we do need more assistance.

For £3.00 a year (minimum subscription) you couldsupport us by joining Shoreline.

This would be help on a regular basis. Help we desperatelyneed to help save more lives.

Please write to The Director. RNLI. West Quay Road,Poole, Dorset BHIS IHZ. enclosing either £3.00 for OffshoreMembership or £10.00 to be a Member and Governor.You can of course, just send a straight-forward donation. RNLI

['ntirety supported by voluntary contributions.

DON'T FORGET TOBUY YOUR TICKETSFOR THE BIG BAND

CONCERT(in aid of the RNLI)

Saturday, March 12th 1977at 7 p m.

NEW VICTORIA THEATREWILTON STREET, LONDON SW1

featuring

THE BAND OF H,M, ROYAL MARINESTHE CHRIS BARBER JAZZ I BLUES BAND

THE SYD LAWRENCE ORCHESTRA

Tickets obtainable fromBOX OFFICE, NEW VICTORIA THEATRE

Tel: 01-834 0671/4

engines

iere complete reliability under arduousconditions is essential to human life,theRNLI specify MERMAID marine engines.

MERMAID quality and reliability is alsospecified by Boatbuilders worldwide whotake pride in the craft they produce.

Make sure your next vessel is poweredbyMERMAID-

Contact us NOW!TELEPHONE O1-398 68O2or write to-

MERMAID MARINE ENGINES LIMITEDTHAMES MARINA _^PORTSMOUTH ROAD,THAMES DITTONSURREY, ENGLAND.

251

Index to Advertisers

Aerokits LtdBirds Eye FoodsCogswell & Harrison LtdEvett Sailwear LtdFairey Marine LtdFunctional Clothing LtdDavid Jolly (Tiller Master)Mermaid Marine Engines L td . .Neco Marine LtdRNLI Big Band ConcertRNLI ContributionsTiller Master (David Jolly)TWARentokilV. WebsterC. P. Witter Ltd

.. 218Inside Back Cover

.. 248

. . 248

.. 218Inside Front Cover

.. 252

.. 251248

. . 251251

. . 252Outside Back Cover

248.. 252.. 252

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC

When your organisation holds its next fund raising effort at acarnival, fete, donkey derby, boat show or similar activity youcan make an additional £200 in a few hours by running aTeddy Bears Picnic. No financial risk as all stock is supplied atwholesale price on full sale or return, nothing to pay untilafter the event, then you pay for what you use, return thebalance. Send for full details giving Club/Guild name andstatus to:

V. WEBSTER (DEPT LB)

BRINELL WAY

HARFREYS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

GREAT YARMOUTH

NORFOLK NR31 OLU

Classified AdvertisementsEntries under ACCOMMODATION areoffered at the special rate of £6.00 for up to50 words, including address and phonenumber. Additional words at 20p each.

Other Classifications are at 20p per wordwith a minimum of ten words.

All Classifieds are subject to pre-paymentand copy, together with cheque or PO,should be sent to:

DYSON ADVERTISING SERVICES,PO BOX 9,GODALMING, SURREY.

FUND RAISINGAdvertising pencils, superb ballpens, combs,diaries, each gold stamped Lifeboat name,etc., raise funds, quickly easily. Bran TubToys: samples from Northern Novelties,Bradford BD1 3HE.

LIFEBOAT MINIATURE MODELSDetailed custom-built replicas of individuallifeboats, with crews, mounted on sea basesin miniature showcases. Similar to my wellknown yacht and other sailing craft minia-tures. Details: Brian Williams, MarineModel Artist, 20, Bridgefield, Farnham,Surrey.

TROPHIESRACE SETS—MAINSAILS—DINGHIES—CUPS. W. & E. Astin, 7 Westerly Lane,Shelley, Huddersfield. Kirkburton 2368.

INSURANCEFOR ALL INSURANCE, Phone, Call orWrite J. A. Harrison (Brokers) Ltd,'Security House', 160-161 BromsgroveStreet, Birmingham B5 6NY. Telephone:021-692 1245 (10 lines). For keenest rates,service and security.

FINANCEFinance for new and used craft, private andcommercial. Quick decisions up to 10 yearsfor suitable private propositions. GEO.H. GOWER & PARTNERS (IncorporatedMortgage Finance and life assurancebrokers), The Insurance Advice Centre 41High Street (Bells Lane), Tenterden, Kent.

ACCOMMODATIONCORNWALL, FEOCK (South Coast).Beautifully appointed bungalow, detached,secluded. Three double bedrooms (H & C)carpeted throughout. Sun balcony, gloriousviews. Careful tenants appreciated. Safebeach. For sailing types—own 11 ton sloopmoored mile away. Details: S.A.E.SOUTHWELL, ORCHARD CLOSE,GWITHIAN, HAYLE, CORNWALL.TEL: HAYLE 753077.

We offer a warm welcome to our comfort-able family home. Peaceful highland settingoverlooking loch. Home baking; TV; H &C all bedrooms. Ideal centre for sailing,fishing, golf, etc. Downstairs room suitabledisabled/elderly. B & B £3; with eveningdinner £5. GRAHAM and EVANNEWOODLEY, BALEGREGGAN HOUSE,CAMPBELTOWN, ARGYLL. TEL-(0586) 2062.

NORTH WALES, RHYL, 'RAVENS-CROFT' GUEST HOUSE, 14/16 BATHSTREET. Tel: 4210. (18th Season.) Oneminute Promenade. Per person per night:B/B from £3; B/B.E.D. (4 course) £4.(B/B only July 16-August 6.) Also 1-roomedflatlets for 2-5 persons. S.A.E. please.MESDAMES G. CLARKE and J. E.FROST (R.N.L.I. Guild Members).

BRIXHAM, SOUTH DEVON. Reallycomfortable holiday apartments, TV,fridges, modern facilities for 2-6 persons.Magnificent position overlooking outerharbour, public slipway and Torbay Life-boat. Open all year. Crew member pro-prietor. S.A.E. for brochure, G. A. SMITH,'HARBOUR LIGHTS', 69 BERRY HEADROAD, BRIXHAM. Phone 4816.

Six fully-furnished lakeside Bungalows in12 acres; each with Lakeboat and Seagull.Fishing free Lough Derg; suit countrylovers, sailors, parents with aquatic off-spring. Rates £45 to £75 per week.DESMOND WATT-SMYTH, MOUNT-SHANNON, CO. CLARE, IRELAND.

PORT ISAAC—overlooking the Bay; Bed,Breakfast and Evening Meal. Homelyaccommodation. Hot & Cold in bedrooms.Colour television. Car space. Lifeboatsupporters welcomed. MRS K. M.CASTLE, 12 TINTAGEL TERRACE,PORT ISAAC, CORNWALL. Tel: PORTISAAC 383 (24-hr Robophone Service).

When you have finished with your copy ofTHE LIFEBOAT

PLEASE PASS IT ON...

TOWINGBRACKETS

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

Please save a little for the people whosave a lot—give generously to theR.N.L.I.

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

THE ORIGINAL

TILLER MASTERFOR

WHEEL OR TILLERSTEERING ON A

COMPASS COURSE

OSTAR 1976Single banded transatlantic raceNine chose Tiller Masters—Four finished in first eight I

SOLAR AND WINDBATTERY CHARGERS AVAILABLE

DAVID JOLLY

3 Little Russel, Lytchett Minster, Poole,Dorset BH16 6JD. Tel.: 020 122 2142

Telex: 41495

Designed and Printed in Great Britain by Ditchling Press Ltd., Ditchling, Hassocks, Sussex

Backbone ofthe FishingTrade.

This was one that didn't getaway. One of a thousand million.

A thousand million of thereasons why every day and nightmen put out to sea in all weathersto earn their living.

A thousand million reasonswhy lifeboatmen are needed asmuch as they are.

We at Birds Eye would like tovoice our appreciation of thelifeboatmen. We are proud of ourlong association with them.

TWA tO:NewYorkBoston

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With connections to TWA's 36 US cities.Call your travel agent or TWA.

N91 across the AtlanticmmTWA carries more scheduled passengers across the Atlantic than any other airline.

Documents

THE JOURNAL OF THE RNLI...Magazine of th Caravae n Club jj^ .. I. have bee givinn ang extensive wea tnaHr o outdoor clothing mad e by Functional of Mancheste . .r . All I can say i