IT IS THE GREAT AMBITION of F0rOya Bjargingarfelag, the Faroese Lifesaving Society, to develop a lifeboat service as an extension to the coast rescue equipment companies it has already established at various strategic points round this archipelago of 18 islands, lying far north in latitude 62°, which make up the Faroes. It is concerned for the wellbeing of its large community of deep-sea fishermen, casting their nets in a world of long, dark and bitterly cold winters and stormy seas, with home ports only reached through rocky approaches.

To this end, the Society, anxious to fire the Faroese Government and people with its own enthusiasm, invited the RNLI to send one of its 70' lifeboats on a visit to the islands. All expenses were to be met by the Faroese Government.

So, at 1300 on Friday July 11, 1975, RNLB Grace Pater son Ritchie, the Clyde class lifeboat designed by John Tyrrell normally stationed at Kirkwall, sailed out of Lerwick in thick fog, Faroes bound. On board were Lieut.- Commander P. E. C. Pickles, a deputy chairman of the Institution; Lieut.- Commander Brian Miles, a one-time divisional inspector now an executive assistant to the director, in command of the lifeboat; Leslie Vipond, inspector for training; Tom Peebles, district engineer Scotland South, in charge of machinery; Alex Strutt, station mechanic Kirkwall; and James Ross, boat mechanic.

Mr Sofus Poulsen, Faroese deputy commercial attache in Aberdeen, was also embarked and he acted as interpreter.

With the fog persisting, a landfall wasmade early next morning, and at the agreed ETA of 0900 Grace Paterson Ritchie arrived at Tvoroyri, the main town of Suduroy, South Island of the Faroes. There she was met by Dr Peter Reinert, Minister of Fisheries for the Faroese Government, and by a delegation consisting of the chairman and five representatives from Feroya Bjargingarfelag who were to accompany her throughout her visit.

The welcome awaiting Grace Paterson Ritchie here, as at every other port of call during her four-day cruise, wasalmost overwhelming and left no doubt that her visit had been awaited with keen anticipation for some considerable time.

Wherever she went, and at whatever time she arrived, be it early morning or late at night, a large, warm-hearted, friendly crowd of people, many of them fishermen, would have gathered at the harbour to greet her, waiting with the impatience of their enthusiasm, on the one hand to see all that the RNLI party could show them, and on the other to introduce their visitors to all they could of their own magnificent country and way of life.

Down by the harbour there would be demonstrations by Grace Paterson Ritchie's ILB and of other equipment such as her salvage pump, rockets and first aid equipment, while a steady stream of people would be shown round the lifeboat herself, her crew answering innumerable searching questions. Such was the interest and enthusiasm that after the lifeboat arrived at Klaksvik, the second largest town in the Faroes and the centre of the fishing industry, at 2330, two of her crew were still showing visitors round at 0130 the following morning! Already the long rays of a summer dawn were spreading across the harbour and it was decided that a halt would have to be called and operations resumed later that day.

But to return to the day of arrival, after reciprocal inspections of the RNLI lifeboat and a display of Faroese coast rescue equipment, the party were taken to the main hotel at Tvoroyri, there to be met and entertained to lunch by the Prime Minister, Mr Atli Dam. On returning to the lifeboat, Mr Dam and Dr Reinert were invited to embark for the short sea passage to Sandvik Pier at the north of Suduroy. They not only accepted but throughout the hour's passage took it in turns to steer and handle the boat.

It was on the next stage, the ten milepassage to Sandoy, that the fog finally lifted and from then on the RNLI visitors were able to enjoy the spectacular scenery of these beautiful islands.

Perhaps the most memorable passage was from Midvag (where a whale kill had recently taken place—dried whale meat and blubber is an essential part of the staple diet for the long, dark winter) northward through the Westman Sound between the Islands of Vagar and Streymoy, and round the north of Streymoy and Eysturoy. Throughout the whole passage the scenery was superb. The cliffs are over 2,000' high, dropping sheer into the sea and populated by hundreds of thousands of sea birds. The sea was calm, the sky cloudless and visibility perfect.

Everywhere there was so much to see: on Sandoy timeless villages of turfroofed houses and unmade roads; at Sandavagur miniature eight-oaredreplicas of Viking longships assembling for a regatta; at Klaksvik a fish processing factory and the navigational school; near the capital, Torshaven, an old Faroese Lutheran Church; harbours, schools, modern road tunnels and causeways and sailors' homes, as well as local branches of the CRE. Entertainment was of the most hospitable andoften the visitors were introduced to the food of the country: 'skerpikjot', mutton air-dried in a 'Ijallar', the wooden lean-to on each house; 'lundi', stuffed puffin breasts.

There were wonderful presents, too: from the Faroese Lifesaving Society a wall-light made of a pair of horns for the RNLI and Faroese sweaters for eachman on board; a beautiful cushion of Faroese wool for the lifeboat; and a splendid model of a traditional skiff from the Minister of Fisheries, Dr Reinert, who also presented each member of the party with a signed copy of a book on the Faroes.

At a farewell dinner given by the Government at Torshaven on July 15, Commander Pickles emphasised that the RNLI would be delighted to offer the Faroese Lifesaving Society any advice or information it could in the establishment of a lifeboat service; and following the visit the Society has already submitted a formal application for membership of the International Lifeboat Conference.

Less formal, and reflecting the happy spirit of the visit, was the conducted tour of the old part of Torshaven by Dr Reinert, which started as the dinner came to an end in the early hours of the morning and was rounded off with refreshments in the Minister's office at 0500. When Grace Paterson Ritchie finally departed for Kirkwall at 1300 on July 16 there were many new friends to bid her a good voyage..