THE seventh International Life-boat Conference took place in Estoril from the 12th to the 16th of June, 1955.

The Portuguese delegation acted as hosts, and Commodore Vasco Alves of the Portuguese Ministry of Marine was chairman of discussions.

Twenty-two nations in all were represented. In addition to the dele- gates from the Institution, consisting of Captain the Hon. V. M. Wyndham- Quin, Chairman of the Operations Committee, Colonel A. D. Burnett Brown, Secretary, and Commander T. G. Michelmore, Chief Inspector, and from the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, which was represented by Commander J. H. Lewty, Chief Inspector of Coastguard, there were delegates from Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the U.S.A., and the U.S.S.R.

Among the subjects on which papers were read on the first day were the application of the Geneva Convention; the problem of Government subsidies to private life-boat institutions; a new Dutch light alloy life-boat; life-belts and life-jackets; and telecommunica- tions. On the second day the sub- jects on which papers were read in- cluded the organization of a rescue service in the North Sea; new utility boats built for the United States Coast- guard; and medical and physiological problems of life-saving. On the third day distress signals, co-operation with aircraft and the use of helicopters and identification signals were discussed.

On the fourth day the Conference was addressed at length by Dr. Alain Bombard, who attended as a guest of honour with the French delegation and who described his crossing of the Atlantic on a raft on a diet of sea- water.

i The delegates had an opportunity of 1 seeing a number of Portuguese life- I boats as well as a new German life-boat which had come from Bremen. A displav of life-saving by breeches buoy was also staged at Cascais.

The papers read by the British delegates dealt with the lessons learned from two great storm periods in Feb- ruary 1953 and November 1954; the new Fowler tractor; and methods of launching life-boats. The paper on methods of launching life-boats is given in full on page 109.

The meeting was socially a great success. From the initial dinner to welcome the delegates to the final banquet, the Portuguese hosts and their wives were extremely hospitable and did everything possible to ensure that the delegates enjoyed their visit.

At a final dinner Mrs. Burnett Brown proposed a vote of thanks to the Portu- guese hosts, in which she said: "We came as strangers, but we go away friends.".