THE weekend of 15th/16th August, 1970, was the busiest the life-boat service has known in its entire history. Winds of force 10 or more were blowing, and there was a spate of activity by both life-boats and inshore rescue boats, par- ticularly in Wales. The total number of calls on life-boats was 40 and on inshore rescue boats 22. Off the Welsh coast alone there were launches by the Barry Dock, Fishguard, New Quay, Pwllheli, Rhyl and Tenby life-boats and by the Aberdovey, Abersoch, Conway, Criccieth and Mumbles IRBs. The previous busiest weekend was in July, 1956, when 52 life-boats were launched after a hurricane had sprung up unexpectedly. At that time of course there were no IRBs in service.

When such disturbances occur in the height of summer there is clear evidence that among the many who find themselves in trouble and in need of the help of the R.N.L.I, some are skilled and experienced yachtsmen.

ARRANMORE'S NEW LIFE-BOAT The life-boat involved in the Longhope disaster in 1969 has returned to service after being completely overhauled. She is now on operational duty at Arranmore, where the crew have spoken in the highest terms of the boat's qualities. A number of them had the opportunity of gauging her performance in a variety of conditions during the long passage of the life-boat from Little- hampton, where the overhaul and modifications were carried out, to the station in County Donegal. The after cabin of the life-boat has been made watertight.

She is fitted with a watertight door at the forward end of the cabin and with a watertight stretcher hatch near the after end. These structural changes have also necessitated a modified system of ventilation for the cabin. In addition four freeing trunks have been fitted in the wheelhouse deck and all the side scuppers have been removed. The primary purpose of the modifications is to increase the range of stability of the boat.

COST OF LIFE-BOAT AND IRB STATIONS The question is frequently asked: what is the cost of a life-boat station ? There is no clear-cut answer. The actual disbursements of station branches do not represent the real costs because they cannot take into account the ultimate cost of replacing the life-boat or the money spent on research work and the ancillary services needed. A closer approximation can be reached by taking as a starting point the total cost of the service after money spent on fund raising and publicity has been deducted. Certain other deductions have also to be made, and the sum then left may be divided by the number of stations. Clearly life-boat stations are much more expensive to run than IRB stations, and the method adopted by the R.N.L.I. is to divide costs in the ratio of 9 : 1 life-boats to IRBs. The figures which result from this exercise are that in 1969 the average cost of running a life-boat station was £10,750 and the average cost of running an IRB station £1,600.

NEW TYPES OF IRB UNDER EVALUATION Four new types of fast inshore rescue boat developed from designs prepared at Atlantic College in South Wales have been undergoing evaluation trials on different parts of the coast. Two of the new boats are 21 ft in length and fitted with twin 40 h.p. outboard engines. The other two are 16 ft in length and have a single 40 h.p. outboard engine. All four boats are termed 'rigid inflatables',as they have a wooden bottom containing four water-tight compartments. This is attached to the buoyancy tubes. The larger of the boats is fully equipped for night operations. The estimated speed of each new boat is 28 knots. The future use of these craft for operational purposes will be decided after a detailed study of the results of the evaluation trials.

RACING CARS HELP LIFE-BOATS Mr. Edward Gordon Thomson, a former chairman of the Ben Line, made a munificent gift to the R.N.L.I. in the form of 17 post-vintage thoroughbred and historic racing cars. They were all auctioned by Sotheby's at Gleneagles Hotel in August and produced the gross sum of £58,630. The net figure was £53,786. One 1955 Jaguar 3 litre D-type two-seater sports car was sold for no less than £10,000. This car was the winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1956. The car's new home will be in Fife, the owner having decided that he wanted to ensure that this historic car remained in Scotland. A 9-year-old American boy, Todd Jenkins of Richmond, Virginia, successfully bid £1,150 for a 1960 Cooper Monaco..