Disabled sloop in storm On September 14, 1975, we, the crew of the yacht Chayka of Ardgour which was in distress off the Needles, were rescued by the Yarmouth lifeboat.

No words or gestures can adequately express the deep gratitude we feel towards you and your crew. We hope, however, that you will accept the enclosed Metropolitan Police plaque and ties as a small measure of our admiration and esteem. The courage, skill and devotion of you and your crew were an inspiration to us, and confirmed our already high regard of the lifeboat service. We were delighted to hear of your well-merited award for gallantry.

With very best wishes to you and all members of the Yarmouth lifeboat crew.—DAVID J. MORGAN, 14 Bexhill Road, New Southgate, London Nil 2RG.

This letter was written to Coxswain David Kennett of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, and it was very much appreciated" by himself, his crew and the Institution. The service to Chayka of Ardgour, for which Coxswain Kennett was awarded the silver medal for gallantry, is reported on page 113.—THE EDITOR.

Silver Wedding On January 31 my wife and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary.

In preference to a wasteful party and the attendant unnecessary expense, we decided to make a contribution to the RNLI.

Would you therefore please accept the enclosed cheque as a tribute to the courage of your lifeboat crews? There are many varied stories of their unselfishness and bravery. It would seem fitting in our celebration to contribute to a body of men to whom so many owe so much.—R. G. LIGHTFOOT, 59 Bedford Hill, Balham, SW12 9EZ.

To free a trapped pilot On December 13 last, at the invitation of British Aircraft Corporation, the crews of Lytham-St Anne's lifeboat, ILB, helpers, DLAS and myself visited their Warton factory for a demonstration of what to do if a fighter aircraft ditches with the pilot inside.

If, in such circumstances, a would-be rescuer accidentally actuates the ejector seat the consequences might be disastrous to himself and the pilot. As test flights of aircraft with ejector seats are taking place almost daily over the Ribble Estuary such an occurrence is not improbable.

BAC laid on a film showing the design and construction of the Jaguar fighter followed by an actual demonstration of how to free a man wearing full equipment from an ejector seat. We were then shown a newly completed aircraft, fuelled and with ejector seat armed, followed by a lecture and demonstration of air sea rescue technique by the helicopter crew.

One point that emerged was that if the perspex canopy over the cockpit is closed it would have to be cut away to get at the pilot.

The visit was both instructive and valuable, particularly as BAC made it very clear what not to do!—JOHN KENNEDY, joint honorary secretary Lytham St Anne's, 12 Hastings Place, Lytham, Lancashire.

Mobile Training Unit I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Institution for giving Shoreham Harbour lifeboat station the use of the facilities of the Mobile Training Unit.

As you are aware, the MTU has been in use at Shoreham for the past six weeks.

I personally attended a]J the radio classes but regretably was unable to make the navigation weekend.

In my opinion this MTU is possibly one of the best projects that the Institution has undertaken. When I first heard about it, although I thought the idea was good, I must confess I did have certain reservations. However, having gone through the course, I can honestly say, and these are the feelings of all of us at Shoreham, that it was all very worthwhile and interesting.

Lieut.-Commander Peter Fulton and Mr L. Vipond were very easy to get along with and they have certainly both put a lot of thought and hard work into the syllabus. My only criticism about the course was that it was not long enough. We would have liked six threehour lessons rather than six two-hour lessons. Perhaps you will regard this not so much as a criticism but as a compliment and a measure of success.

I would strongly recommend all lifeboat stations to make full use of the MTU facilities; they will, I feel sure, find them interesting, instructive and be sorry when the course is over.—KEN VOICE, coxswain, Shoreham Harbour lifeboat, 69 The Green, Southwick, Sussex BN4 4FX.

Book reviews Your review of my book 'Begin Cruising under Sail' sent me rushing back to re-read the chapter on the Rule of the Road. Your reviewer, E.W.M., criticises the book in the phrase 'nor should the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea be dismissed quite so lightly; it is the duty of the master of any vessel to understandunderstand fully his obligations to other vessels and this demands a good working knowledge of the Rule of the Road'.

Nobody could possibly disagree with this statement, and it was with some relief that I re-read my own advice on the subject: 'The rules governing right of way at sea, in so far as they affect a yacht, must be known positively and studied until they can be instantly and instinctively observed without thought or reference'.

Quite honestly, reading the entire section, I cannot see where your reviewer got the idea that I was dismissing the regulations lightly, unless it was the one remark that you probably need not remember by heart what lights a seaplane under tow should be carrying at night (can you remember? I can't!).

I think this is probably fair enough, as I regard it as quite impractical to expect the ordinary cruising yachtsman to memorise every single combination of lights which he might ever conceivably meet. Of course he should know all the ordinary ones, but it is much more important that he should have a quick reference guide to the others than that he should half-remember them and make a wrong decision owing to an inaccuracy in his memory.

As a governor of the RNLI, I was most upset to be labeiled in the pages of THE LIFEBOAT as a yachtsman and writer who attaches too little importance to such a vital part of the science of safety at sea, particularly as many of your readers will know me, but will not have read the book and be unable to draw their own conclusions. I would be most grateful if you would publish this letter to put the record straight.—MARK BRACKENBURY, Stubbards Croft, Great Bardfield, Essex CM7 4SP.

With the help of our friends It was a very merry Christmas and it has started to be a very prosperous new year for Port Talbot station; all due to a few of our many friends.

With the Christmas mail was a card from ex-crew member the Reverend Lionel Webber, now serving his calling in another part of the country; it contained a cheque for £18.50, made up of gifts in memory of one of the ladies of his parish. Another gift—£5 raised by a charity football match played over Christmas—was received from the bar boys of the local RNA Club.

Two of our new year presents are very welcome pieces of equipment. One is a radio receiver costing £108; the other gift is a large Calor gas fire; this cost £50 and with it comes the promise of free gas when needed. It will help to cut down the station's electricity bill and is much appreciated by the crew, now on winter service.

Both the new year gifts were acquired and paid for through the generosity of two English friends, Frank and Shirley Clarke. They own a small licensedrestaurant close to our station and both are great favourites with the crew members and their families because of their sincere interest in the station. It started some time ago with hot coffee or something a little stronger when the lads returned from a service or an exercise.

Through this kindness a firm friendship has grown.

The fire was paid for by the raffle of a giant teddy bear, the money left over going towards another big bear on wheels so that the raffle should continue.

When Mr and Mrs Clarke heard the lads talking about the new radio they offered to put on a buffet evening, all profits to be donated towards the-'Set.

They agreed to prepare and cook the food and other friends offered their services behind the bar free.

Tickets were £2.50 each. We had to limit numbers to 60 because of the size of the restaurant; we could have filled the place over again and had to disappoint a number of our friends.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Avon, Councillor and Mrs Ted Owen, were guests of honour at this informal gathering, and we were very pleased to have Lieut.-Commander and Mrs George Cooper with us; both are always very welcome in Port Talbot.

It was a wonderful evening and one that will be talked of for a long time to come. The table was a magnificent sight: every kind of cooked meats including venison, a variety of freshwater and sea foods, salads and a fine selection of pastries, and all home made.

Festivities went on past midnight—and then it was Shirley Clarke's birthday and our turn to show our appreciation.

I think that everyone will agree that it is nice to have friends, especially the right kind of friends. One very touching moment in all this festive gathering was when I was called aside by one of the ladies present and was given an envelope: she had been asked by an old-age pensioner to say that although she could not possibly attend she had heard of our cause and had sent a donation. The envelope contained a pound note. I will probably never meet that lady, and I wondered if she could afford such a gift. With all the money being spent that evening for such a cause, that one pound was something very special. May God bless her and the many more like her.—DAVID F. AUBREY, honorary secretary Port Talbot, 24 Handel Avenue, Sandfields Estate, Port Talbot, West Glamorgan.

Saltburn station Do any of your readers versed in early lifeboat history have information on a lifeboat stationed at Saltburn, North Riding, Yorkshire, toward the end of the last century and early this century? I have heard that my grandfather and his family were associated with this boat and I seem to remember as a boy in the 1920s seeing a lifeboat house on the lower promenade. Having lost touch with my family some 40 years ago I have no means of confirming this.—s.

SPRINGETT, 28 Northway, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

A lifeboat was established at Saltburn in 1849 by a local association, which in 1858 requested the RNLI to take it over. The station was closed in 1922, 24 launches having been made and 51 lives saved.

Perhaps there are readers who remember some of the crew members.—THE EDITOR..