THE VARIETY OF SERVICES which modern lifeboat crews may be called upon to perform were clearly illustrated by awards made during the period under review in this number of THE LIFEBOAT.

On one occasion the West Mersea inshore lifeboat was called out to help two yachts which had gone aground on a sand spit at the eastern end of Osea Island in north-easterly winds gusting to gale force. The approach, in shallow water, called for great skill as the two streams of ebb tide around the island, reaching 3 knots, were meeting and causing confused, steep seas. Nevertheless the helmsman, James Clarke, ran out anchors into deep water to secure the two yachts, took off the two crews of four people and put them safely ashore.

When a young man lying seriously injured at the base of cliffs was reported to Tramore inshore lifeboat station, DLA and honorary medical adviser Dr O'Brien-Moran immediately embarked as a member of the crew. The ILB had to fight her way through a tide-race off Newton Head in strong south-westerly winds with gale force squalls before making the run in to a narrow shingle beach through breaking seas.

A little later in the summer Llandudno lifeboat launched to go to the help of a yacht in difficulty some 12 miles north by east of the station. The yacht was towed first to Llandudno Bay and then, as a safe mooring was not available, to Deganwy. Coxswain Meurig Davies and his crew were at sea for nearly 11 hours in gale force winds.

The helmsman of the Port Isaac ILB, Clive Martin, faced a difficult approach to bring his boat through heavy surf and submerged rocks to a man who had fallen from cliffs and was severely injured.

None of these services resulted in the award of a medal for gallantry, although all were officially recognised.

Further examples of the variety to be encountered in the lifeboat service occurred when a lifeboat station on the north east coast of England was called out because the exceptionally bright lights of the Aurora Borealis were thought to be distress flares. A German who was rescued by another lifeboat described her crew as 'lovely boys'.

Government Committee meets in Poole The Government Committee to Coordinate Marine Search and Rescue Arrangements, of which the RNLI is a member, met for the first time in Poole in October, 1977. Other bodies represented on the committee are HM Coastguard, the Ministry of Defence (Navy and Air Force), the Post Office, the General Council of British Shipping, the Royal Yachting Association, Trinity House, the Meteorological Office and seafaring trade unions. The chairman of the committee, John Archer, is Under Secretary of the Marine Division of the Department of Trade and Industry.

At the meeting at Poole the committee examined search and rescue facilities along the south coast from Prawle Point to the Greenwich meridian, just west of Beachy Head. It came to the conclusion that facilities in this area were adequate to meet any calls; that yacht clubs provide their own rescue facilities for small boat racing and that, where there are large numbers of people out on the water, one will help another, are significant factors in an area where there has been a very considerable increase in pleasure boating.

The committee did express some concern about the mis-use of flares to call attention to what might be called inconvenience rather than to real distress, and the need for disciplined use of radio telephones at sea.

Drive-off trolley at the Boat Show The increasing sophistication of the RNLI's inshore lifeboat fleet has resulted in the development of a number of new and valuable devices.

The Atlantic 21, in particular, being appreciably larger and heavier than the standard D class ILB, has presented problems of launching and recovery at exposed sites. The RNLI has therefore developed its own launching trolleys, which can be regarded as safe, mobile docks. An example of these, the selfpowered immersible drive-off trolley known for convenience as SPIDOT forms the principal RNLI exhibit at the International Boat Show at Earls Court, London, in January. An article on Atlantic 21 launching trolleys appears on page 83.

Foreign coins and lotteries New technical developments in the operational field are being matched by new methods of raising money which can be applied throughout the country.

Changes in legislation have enabled the RNLI for the first time to stage a national lottery to raise funds. The draw for the first lottery prizes was held at Poole at the end of September 1977, the first prize being £1,000. 60,000 tickets were sold over a period of two months.

Another draw will be held in March, and it is hoped that even more tickets, each of which costs 25p, will be sold this time.

An experiment in collecting foreign coins for the benefit of the RNLI is also progressing well. Hitherto most of these coins have come from British and Irish holidaymakers who have returned home with a certain amount of small change in foreign money. The RNLI now hopes to attract foreign coins from overseas visitors by placing collecting boxes in suitable hotels and banks. Suggestions for ways of increasing revenue by this method will be welcome.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Royal Festival Hall, London TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1978 New C of M members John Lunch, former Director General of the Port of London Authority, Henry Mounsey, a senior partner in a Liverpool firm of chartered accountants, and Donald Redford, managing director and chairman of the Manchester Ship Canal Company, have been elected to the RNLI Committee of Management.

All are keen sailors and each has been associated with RNLI fund raising..