IT is FITTING that an article on the lifeboats of the world should begin by acknowledging the fact that Great Britain was the cradle of the lifeboat and that from the early efforts of the 'National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck' (as the RNLI was originally called) many nations took their cue. Indeed, as happens today with the International Lifeboat Conference (ILC), a willing interchange of ideas and designs took place from the beginning of the awakening interest in sea rescue.

One of the more surprising aspects of sea rescue is the fact that thousands of ships and seamen had been lost over a period of many years before any attempt at organised assistance for vessels in distress was made. As seaborne trade was vital to the wellbeing, and possibly even the existence, of a number of nations—and most certainly of Britain—it is incredible that such valuable assets were squandered. From the humane point of view it would appear to have been callous in the extreme but possibly in those days it was looked upon as inevitable.

To move at once from the past to the present, since the inauguration of the International Lifeboat Conference with the first meeting in London in 1924, the interchange of ideas and experience has become progressively easier and more efficient. What started by being almost a one way system is now what might be described as a 'spaghetti junction' through which ideas, designs and details of experience flow in all directions.

The RNLI has not failed to take advantage of these facilities and the popular Waveney class which stemmed from the US Coast Guard 13.4m steel lifeboat is an excellent example of this profitable interchange. Possibly one of the most valuable features of the International Lifeboat Conferences is the opportunity they give to members to explain particular problems. This may result in another member providing an answer from personal experience but if no immediate solution appears the fact that the difficulties are discussed and considered by a wide range of highly competent sea rescue authorities can only be of great help.

But to consider briefly the European members of the ILC it will be convenient to start in the north with the Scandinavian countries.

Norway, with some 1,400 miles of extremely rugged coastline of which nearly half lies within the arctic circle, has a rescue problem of some complexity and magnitude. To deal with this situation a fleet of 37 fine powerful vessels has been built up, ranging from 13.8m with a speed of 20 knots to a majestic 28m rescue cruiser. Both Norway and Sweden operate rescue cruisers which sail in company with their fishing fleets, some of which work a long way from home.

Sweden, like Norway, has myriads of islands off her shores and has to deal with many calls for assistance from them. Much of the Baltic coastline is icebound in winter which adds to the difficulties. The southern and western coasts border busy shipping lanes and, as may be expected, provide the rescue services with plenty of exercise. The Swedish Sea Rescue Service (SSRS) has a fleet of 29 lifeboats in five classes: three 23.8m rescue cruisers with a speed of 12 knots; nine medium lifeboats from about 17m to 22m LOA; eight light lifeboats around 13m to 14m overall; six fast lifeboats of up to 14.5m overall with speeds of 20 to 26 knots; and three 5.4m Searider semi-rigid inflatables capable of 30 knots.

Cdr E. W. Middleton, VRD RNVR, joined the RNLI in 1946 as inspector of lifeboats (Western District), becoming district inspector (general) in 1951. He was appointed assistant chief inspector of lifeboats in 1954 and superintendent of depot in 1958. Since his retirement in 1964 he has helped the lifeboat service in a number of ways, such as in the preparation of a review of coastal operational activities from 1955 to 1965 and in the establishment of the YLA in 1969 and 1970. He is the author of Lifeboats of the World (Blandford Press, price £3.75).

Norway: Profile, deck plan and general arrangements of the 24.4m rescue cruiser Ada Waage; speed, 12 knots. Norwegian rescue cruisers acccompany their fishing fleets to sea.

Federal Republic of Germany: DGzRS has developed a range of rescue cruisers with 'daughter boats' for work in shallow water: (from top) three 44m aluminium John T. Essberger class lifeboats, with helicopter platform; three steel and aluminium 26.6m Georg Breusing class boats; four 23.2m steel and aluminium Theodor Heuss class boats; and five 18.9m aluminium Otto Schiilke class boats. In addition, the West German fleet has two 14m steel rescue boats and 19 beach boats ranging from 7m to 12m.

The Finnish Lifeboat Society is one of the most lively and interesting of sea rescue organisations and in a country consisting to a considerable extent of lakes there can be few inhabitants who are not at home on the water. As with Sweden, much of the coastline is icebound in winter and four of the rescue cruisers are of steel construction to withstand the pressure of the ice. The society maintains 34 lifeboat stations with volunteer crews numbering about 300. On the Finnish lakes the Society helps the police force and organises boat owners to assist them.

Denmark one might say is nearly all coastline and there are few places more than 30 or 40 miles from the sea. The Danish Rescue Service is run by the state and in 1976 was reported to have 25 motor lifeboats in commission.

There are also a number of rocket stations on the east and west coasts. The Danish Rescue Service has consulted the RNLI on a number of occasions.

Continuing southwards we come to West Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, whose coastline fronts both the North Sea and the Baltic. Although for a short period after the war the German Society for the Rescue of the Shipwrecked (DGzRS) had to accept state aid, by 1957 it was once more able to relinquish the subsidy and revert to a purely voluntary system. In its big, fast rescue cruisers the DGzRS has produced what is probably the most revolutionary post-war design for this class of vessel. For work in shallow water a 'daughter boat' about 6m in length is carried on a slipway in the after part of the 'mother' lifeboat and this 'daughter boat' launches through doors which open in the stern. With a North Sea coastline consisting of a chain of islands interspersed with shallow waterways, rescue conditions can be extremely hazardous and a high degree of local knowledge is essential to the lifeboat crews.

In the Baltic the DGzRS guards a comparatively short piece of coast from the Danish border to the border with East Germany, the German Democratic Republic. Here the SDDR, the East German sea rescue service, takes over and operates nine rescue stations with rescue cruisers, lifeboats, inflatables and rocket gear.

To remain in the Baltic, and going eastwards beyond East Germany, the Polish Ship Salvage Company assumes responsibility for rescue at sea. The word 'Salvage' may cause misgivings to some yachtsmen but this is not really justified. In fact, the opinion of the Warsaw Pact countries is that the best way to save lives is to save the ship and there is a good deal of common sense in this. The Polish coastline is in general flat and sandy and ships which ground are rarely in much danger. This might well not apply to a yacht or small vessel, of course. The PRO, to take the initial letters of the organisation's Polish title, has 12 rescue and salvage stations with salvage tugs and vessels of various types including ice breakers, also lifeboats of about 13.7m in length.

All rescue operations are controlled by the rescue co-ordination centre Gdynia.

Along the south and eastern shores of the Baltic the USSR takes over sea rescue responsibility from Poland. The Soviet rescue service is controlled by the Ministry of the Maritime Fleet. In addition to the Baltic it has rescue sta- lions on the shores of the Barents and Black Seas and on the Pacific coast. A wide variety of vessels is used including tugs, ice breakers, lifeboats and high-speed rescue craft. The USSR is a signatory to the International Convention for the safety of life at sea and has rescue agreements with countries whose waters adjoin its own—Sweden, Denmark and Finland in the Baltic; Norway in the Barents Sea and Japan in the Pacific. Agreements have also been signed with China, North Korea, East Germany and Poland.

The emergency rescue service of the USSR controls more than 200 motor lifeboats, 3,000 pulling boats and a number of rescue cruisers.

The Netherlands: There have always been very close ties between the RNLI and the Dutch organisations, of which there are two. These are the North and South Holland Lifeboat Institution (KNZHRM) and the South Holland Institution (KZHRM). Both services were granted the prefix 'Royal' in 1949 on the occasion of their 125th anniversary.

The KNZHRM guards the coast north of Scheveningen and the KZHRM the remainder of the Dutch coastline to the south. This division was made at the suggestion of the Dutch pilotage authority which took an active interest in the formation of the rescue service.

With a flat, nearly featureless coastline and many sandbanks offshore the dangers to mariners are many. The KNZHRM operates a number of different types of craft, depending on launching difficulties and the dangers in the vicinity. The KNZHRM controls 24 rescue stations with a fleet of six 20.37m self-righting lifeboats, five 14.88m flat-bottomed launches, a 12.52m fast lifeboat (28 knots), 13 10.32m beach boats, two 9.7m flatbottomed launches and a 14.98m lifeboat. The KZHRM maintains a fleet of four twin screw 'all weather' motor lifeboats, three of them 21m LOA, the fourth 17.8m, three single screw 9.8m 'vlets' and three Atlantic 21s, as well as rocket apparatus. The two organisa- tions are supported by voluntary contributions and as in Britain the crews are mostly volunteers with full-time men employed where necessary for boats which need constant maintenance.

Again as with Britian the crews are drawn from men of all trades but all have a seafaring background and are completely familiar with their local waters.

Belgium has a very short coastline of only 35 miles. As with other nations involved in World War II the country suffered major losses of boats and equipment. Three 14m Watson type lifeboats were built at Cowes under RNLI supervision in 1948 and these are now being replaced. A 16.5m steel lifeboat is under construction. Rescue craft are stationed at Ostend, Zeebrugge and Nieuport. The rescue service is under the control of the Belgian government.

For many years France had two sea rescue organisations, the Central Society for Saving the Shipwrecked and the Breton Humane Society. In 1967 these two bodies were merged into one, named the National Society for Rescue at Sea (SNSM). In 1977 the fleet consisted of 52 'all-weather' lifeboats, 90 fast vedettes and 286 inflatables. Of the 274 lifeboat stations, seven are in the West Indies and ten in the Mediterranean.

There is a considerable concentration of stations round the dangerous, rock-bound coast of Brittany.

In 1971 the Spanish Society for Life Saving at Sea, which was founded in 1880, was merged with a new organisation, the Spanish Red Cross of the Sea.

The new society showed great interest in RNLI designs and two British lifeboats visited Spain in the autumn of 1971. These were a 14.8m Solent class and the 15.8m prototype of the Arun class. The Solent class boat. The Royal British Legion Jubilee, went to the assistance of a Spanish trawler during her visit.

The Spanish rescue fleet consists of three lifeboats, nine launches and 323 inshore lifeboats. More boats of all classes are under construction.

In Portugal the Institution for the Rescue of the Shipwrecked was formed in 1882 and throughout two world wars and right up to the present day the rescue service has continued its work and improved its fleet and equipment.

With the whole of its shoreline open to the Atlantic, conditions are by no means easy but the Portuguese lifeboatmen splendidly maintain their long seafaring tradition. The fleet consists of 21 lifeboats and five inshore lifeboats. The Institution also operates 80 ILBs on inland waters. A 13.4m Waveney and two 11.4m Oakley lifeboats are under construction.

To return to the Mediterranean, details are lacking of the rescue arrangements over long stretches of coastline. Italy places the responsibility for sea rescue on the Ministry of Merchant Marine, with day to day control in the hands of the port authorities, the Capitanerie de Porto. A number of duties are involved (other than sea rescue) and various types of craft are used including RNLI Barnett type lifeboats, rescue cruisers of the German pattern and USCG steel 44ft lifeboats, with many smaller craft and inflatables.

It may come as something of a surprise to learn that Switzerland, with no sea coast at all, has a flourishing rescue organistion with no less than 74 lifeboats. These are stationed at strategic points on the Swiss lakes where storms of considerable intensity are liable to occur.

Apart from Spain, France and Italy there is little information available about the other coasts of the Mediterranean although it may be assumed that Greece maintains rescue services. Turkey has a sea rescue service controlled by the Turkish Maritime Bank but facilities appear to be concentrated in the Black Sea. In 1950 a 10.8m selfrighter of RNLI design was built at Cowes for the Turkish organisation.

(To be continued).