WHEN 1 first visited Ring, Co. Waterford, in 1925, the Helvick Life-boat was housed at road-level in a kind of hanger built out over the water on stilts. A barometer was fixed outside, with the two legends familiar to seamen—'First rise after low foretells stronger blow' and 'Long foretold long last, short notice soon part'. Inside the house, set on a wall beside the yellow oil-skins and life- belts and other gear, a simple plaque set out the names of the craft aided by the life-boat, the year of the rescue and the number of lives saved.

The life-boat itself, an old 'puller and sailer' type, was cradled on rails which ran down into the sea. When the crewman were in position the doors were opened, the retaining bolt was pulled, and down she rushed. I never saw one of these launches, not even in exercises. But it must have been a stirring sight, particularly since the crew in those days fished from the old hookers and were well used to 'pull and sail'.

In the course of the years the 'puller and sailer' was replaced by a series of modern diesel-powered craft, the life-boat lay at permanent moorings in Helvick harbour and the life-boat shed was taken down. At the kind invitation of the honorary secretary I often accompanied the crew on their trial trips and got to know the routine fairly well. But in July, 1945, came a real surprise. I was asked if I would like to accompany the reserve boat, Agnes Cross, and bring back the Helvick boat from its re-fit at Baltimore. The re-fittings are now carried out at Malahide Shipyard in Dublin, at the Crosshaven Boatyard or at Messrs. John Tyrrell's at Arklow.

Since its foundation by Lieut.-Col. Sir William Hillary in 1824 the Royal National Life-boat Institution (originally 'The Shipwreck Institution') has *This article, which has been slightly amended, is reproduced by permission of the Editor o/The Irish Times from their edition of 29th January, 1969.become justly famous for its thoroughness and efficiency. Every day at Helvick, even in high mid-summer, I could see the life-boat engineer starting up the diesel engines and running them as for an immediate alert. When the boat was sent for re-fit, it was 'taken down', to the last nut and bolt, cleaned, repaired and re-painted as new. When you realise that the total number of life-boats in the active fleet (including two 70-foot craft) is 150, that the total number of inshore rescue stations is over 100, that each station costs £8,500 a year for maintenance and that research and replacements are going on all the time, then it is easy to understand how the total expenditure of the Institution in 1967 was £1,921,000.

On the other side of the ledger the life-boat service, up to December, 1968, had saved over 90,300 lives.

SENSE OF EXCITEMENT So, bright and early on a morning of July, 1945, off we went from Helvick in the Agnes Cross. To those who don't live with it the powerful throb of a life-boat engine under the feet conveys a sense of excitement difficult to describe. Not for a moment did it occur to me that there was a war just over and that drifting mines were not unknown around the south coast. Nor did I realise how favoured we were by the weather. It was a flat calm, which was just as well, because life- boats are built for buoyancy, and a tumbling sea or—much worse—a heavy swell can make life-boat travel highly unpleasant. But as soon as we were well out into the deep water and the coast flattened into a straight line where bays and inlets were indistinguishable I realised how apt was the description of his ocean cruise given by a disenchanted tourist: 'Miles and miles and miles of sweet damn-all'.But sailing the Agnes Cross held the same kind of interest as driving a vintage car. A homely old 'Norfolk and Suffolk' type, now obsolete, she was very broad- beamed with an open deck and was rigged with a dipping fore1-lug and mizzen.

She weighed just over 13 tons (including 1.7 tons of ballast), carried four tanks of water ballast and with tanks empty had a load displacement of 16 tons. For all that, her draught was less than two feet forward and less than three feet aft, her buoyancy being due to 98 air cases and five water-tight compartments.

NOTHING TO CHANCE The heart of a life-boat is the engine. In this case it was a Tylor four-cylinder which could make a full speed of over 8 knots in smooth water, with a radius of action of 55 miles—at cruising speed half that again. The R.N.L.I, leaves nothing to chance, and it was difficult to imagine the Agnes Cross engine breaking down.

It had two alternative water-systems—fresh and salt—with three alternative ignitions. And with the housing screwed down the engine would continue to throb away even if the boat were to be submerged. That this could happen was evident from the figures given to me by the engineer. With crew and gear in place and gunwale awash the boat could take aboard 135 men, with decks awash and ballast tanks empty, 236. Where on earth—or rather on the Agnes Cross—they would go without a stevedore is hard to say. In shipwreck, I suppose, men are not particular.

'RADIANT AS A BRIDE' Well, we collected the Helvick Eileen at Baltimore two days later and set off for our miles and miles and miles of you-know-what. An oldish boat of the 1919 Watson class, the Eileen was open-decked like the Agnes Cross, with the same type of engine. But after her re-fit and in her dazzling fresh blue, red, white, yellow and gold, she was radiant as a bride going to the altar. We saw nothing at all on the way home but got a great cheer from the waiting crowd when we slid to our Helvick moorings at sundown.

Since 1945 the Eileen has been replaced by boats of the modern Watson class, with cabin fore and aft, engine room, search-light, loud-hailer and radio- telephone. Meanwhile continuous research goes on, new designs are being tried out and new approaches studied. There are now 70-foot steel boats in the Institution's fleet, and the latest type of craft to go into service is the 44-foot steel type. Six of these new craft have been launched, one of the six being now at Dun Laoghaire. In addition, inshore rescue boats have appeared and prototypes of fast rescue-cum-boarding boats have been built. This means fewer stations but speedier rescue technique. What a pity the Helvick boat must be one of those to go. She was a dainty little lady and we shall miss her from her moorings..