THIS article appeared in The Field on 8th April and is reproduced by permission of The Field'?, editor. We consider it a most helpful, informative and balanced article, although the comment about the attitude of crews towards self-righting life-boats is somewhat misleading. It is true that the older types of self-righting life-boats were not popular with many of the R.N.L.I, crews but these life-boats are no longer in service.

The criticism that self-righting life-boats are inherently less stable than non-self-rightingones is in no way applicable to the various kinds of self-righter now in the Institution's service.

These are the Oakley 37-foot and 48-foot 6-inch boats, the Solent class, and the 44-foot steel life-boats of the U.S. Coast Guard design.

There is no shortage of pundits eager to seize the opportunity offered by broadcasting time and newspaper space to criticise things British. A classical example, still to die the death, occurred last year after the Fraserburgh life-boat disaster, when it was found (continued on page 138)that the Royal National Life-boat Institution faced some difficulty in meeting the cost of building a fleet of self-righting vessels. The self-appointed experts advised the government to establish a coastguard service along the lines of that operated by the United States Department of Transport.

It seems unlikely that the implications of such a step have been considered. At present H.M. Coastguard Service comes under the peace-time jurisdiction of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry as a coastwatching organisation, countering illegal immigration, fishery protection and salvage operations, and alerting the rescue services when needed. Rescue most often means the Royal Life-boat Institution's volunteers, but sometimes Royal Air Force and Royal Navy helicopters are available, with R.A.F. Nimrod maritimereconnaissance aircraft for longer-range search duties.

The United States Coast Guard Service operates its own fleet of aircraft, including helicopters, and an assortment of ships, somi of which approximate to the coastal minesweepers used by the Royal Navy on fishery protection duties.

The establishment of such a service in this country would merely mean transferring men and equipment from the existing armed forces, from the R.N.L.I. and, to an extent, Trinity House, to a new para-naval force.

The result would mean loss of flexibility in deploying part of this country's defences, without any real improvement in the excellent liaison and co-operation now existing.

What would also be lost by including the R.N.L.I.

in such an organisation would be the concept of voluntary service to the community, which is already under pressure on other fronts, and the opportunity for the general public to show their appreciation and their order of priorities.

Worse, the ups and downs of the economy may be affecting the R.N.L.I. badly as it is, but this isnothing compared to the effect of cuts in defence expenditure on the Armed Forces, of which the proposed coastguard service would be a part by virtue of its duties, if not control.

That the R.N.L.I. can rise above its difficulties is shown by the fact that, in 1970, a loss of some £300,000 was anticipated. But public reaction to the Fraserburgh tragedy resulted in a surplus of £200,000, sufficient encouragement for the start of nine new selfrighting vessels (although the total bill will be in excess of £600,000). A government department could seldom act with such speed or single-mindedness.

There is a happy medium between extravagance and neglect, but seldom does the State find it. Wholesale replacement of the Watson class life-boat, mainstay of the R.N.L.I. fleet, would be wasteful since these can cope with all but the worst conditions of our coasts.

The Watson class also has the confidence of many lifeboatmen, and some consider self-righting vessels to be unstable and something of a handful for crews.

The last government discovered that three Nimrod aircraft could replace every five ageing Shackleton maritime-reconnaissance aircraft, and therefore ordered only the pitifully inadequate force of 38 Nimrods (developments of the Comet jet airliner) which are left with the task of patrolling Home and North Atlantic waters, the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.

The R.N.L.I. has a proud record of public service dating from 1824, and has seldom been found wanting.

Nothing mortal can be perfect, and the Institution would never pretend to be without faults, but an alternative would be hard put to match its success.

There can be little doubt that its efficiency is due in part to being independent of state control and able to arouse both a willingness to serve and a desire to give.

On the other hand, the armed forces are in a vicious circle of economy and poor recruiting figures, the uncertainties of the former often contributing to the latter.

The R.N.L.I. should be left well alone..