THE DEATH of Captain Nigel Dixon was a serious and sudden loss to the RNLI.

He became Secretary of the Institution.

a t i t l e which was later altered to that of Director, at a difficult time in 1970. Not long after he took over the Fraserhurgh lifeboat disaster occurred. Following so soon after the I.onghope disaster, this led many people to question the q u a l i t y of R N I . I lifeboats and there was considerable public controversy. The Committee of Management began a reappraisal of its policy and decided on a major boat-building programme with the object of having a fleet of lifeboats, v i r t u a l l y all with a self-righting capability, within about ten years.

There followed the many administrative problems arising from the move of the head office from London to Poole and the great spate of fund raising and public relations a c t i v i ty which marked the RNLI's I5()th anniversary in 1974.

Like other chief administrators before him. Captain Dixon was faced with periods of grave financial concern. He faced all problems as they arose with equanimity and good judgment, and his leadership of the RNLI was exemplary.

We extend our deep sympathy to his widow. Jo, who supported him splend i d l y throughout his term of office, and his family.

Christinas and New Year troubles For the second year running lifeboat crews have faced grave dangers at sea over Christmas and RNLI stations have suffered damage in New Year storms. On Christmas Eve 1977 Kilmore lifeboat capsized with the loss of one member of her crew. On Christmas Eve 1978 Broughly Ferry lifeboat was launched late in the evening to go to the help of a coaster which was in trouble a few miles north of the entrance to the River Tay. The sea conditions were as bad as any this newArun class lifeboat had ever experienced.

She was struck by what was described as 'a solid wall of water' estimated at between 30 and 35 feet.

Nearly all the crew were injured and damage was done to the lifeboat's mast and searchlight. Coxswain John Jack tore a ligament in his leg and the second coxswain, Hugh Scott, had a badly broken ankle.

The worst storms in January 1978 occurred on the east coast from the Humber to North Foreland. This New Year. too. the east coast of England was the scene of some of the worst damage. At Clacton the doors of the main lifeboat house and those of the ILB house needed extensive repairs and the tipping cradle was distorted. At Walton the pier which gave access to the lifeboat berth was washed away.

Seaham and Sheringham were other east coast stations to suffer damage to their installations, and in the south west of England repair work had to be done at The Lizard-Cadgwith. Lyme Regis. Penlee and Sennen Cove.

For sound financial reasons the RNLI carries its own insurance, and the cost of putting right all the damage which occurred will once again run into many thousands of pounds.

Helicopter rescues The crew of the coaster to which Broughty Ferry lifeboat put out late on Christmas Eve were rescued by a Sea King helicopter of the RNAS. This was one of a number of fine rescues in recent months by helicopters of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

All round our coasts lifeboatmen and lifeboat officials are full of admiration for the manner in which their colleagues in rescue helicopters have been carrying out dangerous and exacting tasks. Unfortunately the successes of these helicopters have led to some not very well informed public comments, in which suggestions have been made that much of the work of lifeboats can and should be taken over by helicopters.

All those with first hand experience know that the two types of rescue craft, the lifeboat and the helicopter, are in many respects complementary, and a similar view is taken in other countries.

The United States has always been ahead of the rest of the world in helicopter development ever since Igor Sikorsky, the Russian who settled in the United States in 1919. began his pioneer experiments. The United States Coast Guard, a highly efficient body which is not starved of funds, operates both the lifeboat and helicopter rescue services around the coasts of the United States. In spite of all the progress made in American helicopter design and construction the US Coast Guard not only continues to operate a large lifeboat fleet but builds numerous new lifeboats. It would hardly do so if the lifeboat was likely to be obsolescent in the foreseeable future.

Closure of a station It is always sad when a lifeboat is withdrawn from a station, but this is a price which has to be paid for the maintenance of an up-to-date fleet, including faster lifeboats with greater range, and for a policy of flexibility.

Earlier this year the lifeboat was withdrawn from Seaham after detailed studies had shown that the operational requirement for a lifeboat had considerably declined. The RNLI was also thereby spared expenditure of up to £100.000 which would have been needed for the station's maintenance.

Seaham has a splendid record dating back as an RNLI station to 1870. Sixteen years earlier an independent lifeboat had been established there.

The saddest event in the station's history occurred in November 1962. when the Liverpool class lifeboat (icarincontinued on pane 112.