Channel Islands OUR MOST SOUTHERLY LIFEBOAT STATIONS by Joan Davies SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL Sailing waters in the world; a cruising man's dream in themselves and the gateway to Brittany. Such are the seas which surround Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark and Jersey and the many other smaller islets and rocks which together make up the Channel Islands. Yet these are waters which demand not only skilled pilotage but also the utmost respect. The very names of such offlying hazards as the Casquets, Roches Douvres and the Plateau des Minquiers are at once evocative of that yearning 'sea fever' recognised by every sailor and of the wariness and vigilance which must be at the heart of all good seamanship.

In his 'Channel Harbours and Anchorages', Adlard Coles speaks of: '. . . the varied coastlines, the strange rock formations, the sandy bays, the clear water and the constantly changing scene which results from a tremendous rise and fall of the tides . . . " Here right away, is the key to the nature of these waters: the tide. The range can be as much as 40ft and, of course, the tidal streams run particularly strongly in the Race of Alderney.

They also run like a recurrent theme through the notes in the Admiralty 'Channel Pilot'.

'The Channel Islands are encompassed by numerous rocks and shoals rendered doubly formidable by the great rise and fall of the tides and the great rates attained by the tidal streams.

'Gales from between south west and north west send in the heaviest seas amongst the islands and this is accentuated by the strength of the tidal streams . . .

'Overfalls and ripples form over submerged rocks and outlying banks when the tidal stream is running strongly; in poor visibility such indications can be used to advantage . . . " 'Owing to the great range of the tide, rocks and islets have a marked difference in appearance at high and low water . . . ' Indeed in some places, what at high tide may appear to be an unobstructed sheet of water will be revealed by the ebbing tide as an obstacle course of sharp-toothed rocks waiting for the unwary.

Such a coastline presents dangers to shipping in fog as well as in gales, and it presents a great challenge to lifeboat crews. It is inevitable that, sooner or later, in the worst possible conditions for inshore work, they will be called upon to pick their way among these rocks. It is a challenge met by plain good seamanship; by the local knowledge which comes from lifetimes of experience of pilotage in these exacting waters; by an up-to-the-minute approach which enthusiastically embraces every available technical facility in the lifeboats themselves and in the professional back-up ashore; and by the lively co-operation which flourishes between the RNLI and all the other island services.

In fact the sparkle, the energy and the sheer vitality of the sea is reflected in everything to do with lifeboat work on the Channel Islands, be it operational or fund raising; and there is a special extra element—a wonderful community spirit.

Station branches Guernsey lifeboat station at St Peter Port, established in 1803, and Jersey lifeboat station at St Helier, established in 1884, both have fast afloat lifeboats, and speed in itself can play a vital part in an area of strong, fast tidal streams.

Sir William Arnold, a 52ft Arun maximum speed about 19 knots), is stationed at St Peter Port, a station which has been closely involved with the development of the Arun class from its earliest days. Thomas James King, a 44ft Waveney (maximum speed about 16 knots) is stationed at St Helier.

Since 1969 Jersey has also had a D class inshore lifeboat (capable of some 20 knots) stationed at St Catherine Bay, on the east coast.

Both John Petit, coxswain of St Peter Port lifeboat, and Michael Berry, coxswain of St Helier lifeboat, are pilots.

So is Jersey's second coxswain, Frank Lawrence. All three of Guernsey's deputy coxswains—Lloyd de Mouilpied, Peter Bougourd and Michael Scales—are professional seamen. All other members of both crews are seamen of long and tried experience, be they professional or amateur.

Both station honorary secretaries are harbour masters: Captain H. L. Wolley at St Peter Port and at St Helier Captain R. S. Taylor, who is also the launching authority for St Catherine's 1LB station. Each is responsible for the co-ordination of search and rescue in his area, for there is no Coastguard on the islands. Both harbour offices are continually manned and here, at the hub, duty officers are always on hand to take control of rescue operations which may demand the active help of a number of people and other organisations both within and without the islands themselves. Like a stone drop- 1 in a pool, when a call comes the 'es of activity spread out to encomnot only the island people and L island organisations, but also, perhaps, SAR organisations on the mainlands of England or France.

The immediate circle of ripples, of course, brings in the lifeboat crews.

When a call comes the maroons are fired by the harbour officers, who will themselves be in direct radio contact with at least some of the crew members working within the confines of the port.

The local telephone exchanges are alerted and, from carefully prepared crew lists which they hold, they know exactly who to call. Jersey has found from experience that most of its calls come at the weekend and two crew members are on stand by from Friday evening unti] Monday morning.

One member of Guernsey lifeboat station who is always at hand in an emergency is the branch chairman, Jurat Guy Blampied. As soon as the lifeboat is called out he goes down to the port signal station and remains there until the boat is on her way in; by the time she reaches harbour he is down on the jetty ready to work the diesel pump and look after the landward side of refuelling; and by the time the crew have moored the boat and come ashore he will have hot tea waiting for them.

The circles spread out next to local services. St Helier lifeboat station works closely with the States of Jersey Fire Service, which itself has two inflatable rescue boats permanently manned and ready to be trailed to any part of the island to deal with bathing and holiday incidents ('We beat them on the east coast, with our own ILB!' claim the crew.) The RNLI's ILB is stationed in St Catherine Bay and is closely linked with St Helier Yacht Club. She was donated by the club and is manned by club members and, once again, a crew is on stand by throughout the weekend. As well as watching over holiday makers and sea anglers, she can back up the club's own guardboat in an emergency; St Catherine Bay is a favourite sailing water for dinghy racing and off the breakwater the tide can at times prove too strong to allow capsized dinghies to be righted.

Guernsey lifeboat station works closely with the St John Ambulance, which not only runs the land ambulance service but also a high speed marine ambulance, Flying Christine II.

Flying Christine may well be made available to help with sea searches under the RNLI direction; equally, the lifeboat may bring a sick or injured person from one of the smaller islands or from a ship when the weather is too extreme for Flying Christine. Among many other services which it performs with supreme efficiency for Guernsey residents and visitors, the St John Ambulance also has inflatable inshore rescue boats on trailers housed at the ambulance station ready for roundthe- clock immediate use, and also inshore boats moored in St Peter Port Harbour. It also maintains a fully equipped cliff rescue trailer complete with portable searchlight and, of great importance, a mobile radar unit which can be taken to any part of the coast and which is an invaluable aid in combined search and rescue operations at sea.

Combined. That is the heart of the matter. On each island the lifeboat station knows that it will have unstinted help from everyone: the States departments, the Police, the Fire Service, the Ambulance Service and also the Airport, from which VHP DF bearings are immediately available. A great deal of thought has gone into planning, with particular attention being given to arranging direct and immediate communication between all the services.

When, in February 1978, the oil rig Orion ran aground on Guernsey's west coast and a major incident developed, everyone knew what had to be done; each service played its part with confident authority; and every islander who could help ashore—taxi drivers, for instance, and hoteliers—pulled their weight. The success of the operation proved the value of all the preparatory work. For his part in this service, Coxswain John Petit was awarded the silver medal for gallantry.

The ripples may well widen out to include SAR services across the sea.

The Channel Islands lifeboat stations are in close communication with Brixham Coastguard and also with search and rescue services in France: the Centre Regional Operational de Surveillance et de Sauvetage, Secteur Manche (CROSSMa), established at Jobourg near Cap de la Hague; French coast radio stations; and the French Coastguard. To the north, service helicopters from the English mainland may well work with Guernsey lifeboat going to the help of a ship in the Chan- nel, while further south it may be a Protection Civile helicopter from France which joins a search and rescue operation.

Liaison is also good with lifeboat stations along the neighbouring French coast.

The speed of the two modern Channel Islands offshore lifeboats has meant a great/ saving of time in reaching a casualty. Equally, by the use of all direction finding aids available, a casualty can usually be located with the minimum delay; with DF bearings from civil airports and from CROSSMa, and with radar signals received by the lifeboats' own radars and, round Guernsey, by the St John Ambulance mobile radar, a good working 'fix' can, on most occasions, quickly be obtained. All lifeboats and all shore establishments, French and British, carry a chart of the area on which a grid has been superimposed to help in coordinated searches.

On the spot information about a casualty can, perhaps be obtained from other responsible people in outlying parts of the islands; like, for instance, the port officer of Alderney Harbour.

In fact, a few sentences from the journal report of Guernsey lifeboat's service in 1975 to the tanker Point Law, aground in a south-westerly gale on the extreme south-west tip of Alderney, illustrate well the sort of co-operation that can be expected: " . . . Sir William Arnold then stood by, being held by her engines stern to the sea within 100 yards of Point Law. At about 0300 MFV Christmas arrived and lay off astern of the lifeboat. She carried Alderney pilots on board who were able to advise Coxswain Petit when he enquired regarding rock hazards nearby.

Meanwhile, Alderney Fire Brigade and Cliff Rescue Team arrived at the top of the 300ft cliffs and helped in illuminating the area with searchlights . . . ' This was the service for which Coxswain Petit was awarded a bar to his bronze medal (he has since been awarded two further bars). A bronze medal was also awarded to Emergency Mechanic John Robilliard, who ferried six of Point Law's crew across to the lifeboat, rowing an inflatable dinghy secured on a veering line.

They are busy lifeboat stations, in the Channel Islands. Throughout the sailing season the waters are alive with yachts and motor cruisers, small motorboats and dinghies. With so many small boats at sea there is, of course, a good deal of self help and lifeboat crew members speak highly of the seamanship displayed in bad weather by yachtsmen from the islands themselves and from Britain or France.

The pleasure boats most at risk are perhaps yachts chartered on the French coast by people with little experience (when Jersey lifeboat goes alongside a French yacht, Derek Seymour, a crew member of many years standing and a good linguist, can give invaluable help as interpreter).

There are calls to fishing vessels and commercial ships, particularly for Guernsey lifeboat, stationed as she is some 15 miles south of the English Channel shipping lanes. With ferries large and small, with hydrofoil ferries and with aircraft daily plying to and from the mainlands and between the islands the lifeboats are in fact watching over the safety of many thousands of travellers by air and sea.

Gold medals Since the end of the last war, the gold medal for conspicuous gallantry has been awarded to a coxswain of both St Helier and St Peter Port lifeboats. The gold medal of the Institution and the gold medal of the Norwegian Lifeboat Institution were awarded to the late Coxswain Hubert Petit of St Peter Port (father of the present coxswain) for the service on February 5, 1963, to the Norwegian vessel Johan Collett, listing heavily 14 miles west north west of Les Hanois Lighthouse. In winds rising to storm force, very rough seas, snow and bitter cold, nine men were successfully taken off the listing ship, the last six when she was on her beam ends. For this service the bronze medal was also awarded to John Petit, then a crew member, and to Motor Mechanic Eric Pattimore, both of whom received the Norwegian Lifeboat Institution's silver cup with a diploma.

The gold medal was awarded to the late Coxswain Thomas James King of Jersey for the service in a single screw reserve lifeboat on September 13, 1949, to the yacht Maurice Georges with four people on board. The lifeboat was returning to station after a long search for a missing French aircraft through rain and fog in very rough seas, when a light flashing sos was seen; despite the fact that the lifeboat was running short of fuel, Coxswain King without hesitation took her inshore, found the yacht, which had been driven in among rocks near La Sambue after her anchor cable had parted, and, in the face of severe hazards, towed her clear and back to port. Jersey's present lifeboat is named after Coxswain King who, in his ninetieth year, was present to see Thomas James King named by HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1975.

It was for a service to another yacht, Bacchus, driven in among the rocks near La Sambue by west-southwesterly gales that Coxswain Michael Berry was awarded the silver medal in 1973. Despite grounding on submerged rocks, Coxwain Berry felt his way slowly in and took off the yacht's crew of six. The Fire Service Zodiac rescue boat had also launched to help, but, as it was considered too dangerous for her to make the return passage, her crew were taken aboard the lifeboat and she herself was taken in tow. Jersey harbour launch, Duchess of Normandy, manned by Captain Taylor and lifeboat crew members, was standing by and helped to guide the lifeboat out from among the rocks. Co-operation yet again.

Lifeboat appeals The Channel Islands not only have an impressive operational record; their fund raising record is also quite remarkable. When, for instance, in the early 1970s new fast afloat lifeboats were needed to replace more traditional boats, both Jersey and Guernsey rose to the occasion magnificently.

The chairman of Jersey branch, Jurat R. E. Bailhache, opened an appeal in 1972 to fund a new lifeboat, the future Thomas James King, and in less than two years he was able to present to the Institution a cheque for £100,000, the cost in those days of a 44ft Waveney; £3,500 came from a sponsored boarding boat row by six members of the lifeboat crew from St Peter Port to St Helier but most of the remaining money was built up with donations from individuals and organisations within the island, which has a population of some 72,000.

At just about the same time, an appeal was under way in Guernsey for the future Sir William Arnold, and the island people, some 52,000, managed to raise £55,212, more than half the cost, then, of an Arum. £40,000 had been the target set, but money kept coming in.

There were very few large donations. It was a community effort representing a cross section of the island's activities with contributions coming from clubs of all kinds, from schools, from church collections, from flower shows, from people who opened their gardens . . . There was another sponsored row, this time by the Police from Salcombe to Guernsey, when well over £1,000 was raised.

These results are even more impressive when it is remembered that these appeals were quite separate from ordinary annual fund raising. During those years Jersey, for instance, collected over £13,000 for general funds in 1972 and over £10,000 in 1973. It helps of course, that a great many people will be coming to the islands on holiday but the residents are remarkably generous, not only in what they give at the present but also in the thought they give to the future so that bequests play an appreciable part in branch income. The islands have a very good record, too, for Shoreline recruitment.

In Jersey a flag day is only permitted once in three years. The total revenue for those years is phenomenal: 1975, £20,355; 1978, £31,980. But the intermediary years are not all that far behind! It is the ladies' guild, with its long history reaching back to the 1920s, which organises the flag day. The men help, of course. The guild honorary treasurer is in fact a man, P. E. F.

Newbald, and the crew members make sure that boxes are distributed to all pubs. There is one hotel just across the road from the harbour office, the Pomme d'Or, very sympathetic to the lifeboat service; George, the barman, always has a box at the ready and with money thus collected and raffles of woolly animals provided by the ladies' guild, he has raised more than £9,000 since 1967.

Jersey ladies' guild has a committee of 35 to 40 members and each of the 12 parishes on the island is represented.

As well as receiving many regular subscriptions, between them they plan all kinds of other ways of raising money: coffee mornings, bridge parties, collections of used stamps and coins, perhaps a sponsored slim or a house opened in conjunction with the Flower Club. A bring and buy sale at Church House in 1978 proved a great success; it was a beautiful day, banners were streamed across the street in St Helier and holidaymakers came pouring in. More than £1,100 was raised between 10 o'clock and 1230. Two open days have been held at the lifeboat station and souvenir stalls are run at a number of events, such as race meetings.

Boat shows Very often Jersey fund raising events are local efforts but the second Channel Islands Boat Show (the first was held in Guernsey last year) brought everyone together. The show, from May 1 to 5 was the first to be held in St Heller's new Exhibition Centre at Fort Regent—and very bright and attractive it was too; the RNLI stand was the first visitors saw as they entered the hall. Many of the ladies' guild members helped with manning including the chairman, Lady Thompstone, vicechairman, Mrs Eileen Moore, and honorary secretary, Mrs. S. D. Felkin.

Eileen Moore had arranged for three local celebrities—ex-boxer Billy Walker, the singer Stuart Gillies and the Irish comedian Pat Mooney—to visit the stand and autograph programmes.

The yacht basin, where boats were also on show, was visited by Thomas James King on the Thursday and Saturday and one way and another, with souvenirs, raffles and boxes, £1,173 was raised.

The occasion was also taken for the ladies of the guild to meet together in other ways. Lady Fitzpatrick, wife of His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor and the guild president, held a reception for the guild at Government House on the evening of the opening day of the Boat Show, and the next day Mrs Betty Simms-Hilditch arranged a luncheon party at her home. Two delightful occasions in themselves and a wonderful opportunity to review guild affairs informally.

In Guernsey, fund raising is shared between the branch and the ladies' guild, which was formed after the appeal for the Arun lifeboat was closed in 1973. Between them, in 1977 they raised £ 16,075 and in 1978 £23,574. The branch's sphere is in the main subscriptions and collecting boxes. Lt Cdr J. R.

Thompson is the box secretary and manages to keep an amazing 200 'in play'; it takes three visits a day, seven days a week, to keep them emptied and in 1978 alone, between them, they collected £3,600. He has boxes housed in pubs, in hotels, in jewellers shops; there are boxes on ferries, at Herm—even as far afield as Spain. Top collections in 1977 and 1978 (£196 and £575 respectively) were both achieved by Bob Roberts, mine host at Houmet Tavern up in the north of the island.

The branch also has an RNLI room in the museum in Castle Cornet. It is a small room, but bright and well arranged. For instance, the Arun model made by Robert W. Brown, set in a 'sea' and giving a fine impression of speed, is flanked by plans of the boat—a profile and general arrangement.

The case for this and models of earlier lifeboats were made by the College of Further Education, and a services board has particular impact because the position of each incident is marked on a map. Money collected at the museum by July this year, £283, was three times as much as had been taken by the same time last year.

Guernsey ladies' guild has steadily increased its totals from £1,664 in 1974 to £5,574 in 1978—and it has done it with a spirit of great exuberance. A lot of laughter accompanies the hard work in Guernsey and, with Mrs Alberta Ashton as chairman, overflowing with energy, enthusiasm and fun, that is really no surprise. The year starts with a fund-raising luncheon, goes on to an Easter dance and then settles in to vigorous souvenir selling; assistant honorary secretary Mrs Joan Bagley, wife of the author Desmond Bagley, is the hardworking souvenir secretary. Between May and August the guild's 'Lady Goodwill' model lifeboat stall is set up each week in St Peter Port's Old Market; in October Creasey's, a departmental store, allows the guild to set up a stall within its precincts for a day and a half to sell Christmas cards; then for three weekends before Christmas the stall is set up in the Fish Market. That means a very early start and is one of the occasions when the ladies are most grateful for the help received from their husbands. As Alberta Ashton writes in one of her cheerful poems, thanking the men: '300 women in the guild, 600 hands are always filled With work, for raising lots of cash.

While doing it with much panache They sometimes need a kindly man To help them to complete a plan . . . " A great deal of money raised comes in coin, and, with £1,404.26 taken last year at the Fish Market, this has meant a great deal of hard work just at the festive season for the honorary treasurer, the Hon. Mrs Nicola Renny.

Manning is planned by Mrs Leslie Foss, the honorary secretary, who is particularly skilled at matching friends to work together.

Of course, there are other, more individual, events during the year such as coffee mornings and bring and buy sales (at one held in February there is a special stall for unwanted Christmas gifts). One member not only collects stamps, but she sorts them into sets.

Each year Guernsey guild tries to arrange one very special event, a 'red letter day' which everyone will enjoy and remember. This year it was two first class demonstrations on one day in Beau Sejour, the same venue as the dance. In the afternoon there was a demonstration of flower arranging by Fred Wilkinson who, coming from Winkfield, the school started by Constance Spry, has arranged the flowers at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace for a number of Royal wedding or birthday celebrations. In the evening Sarah Nops of the London Cordon Bleu School of Cookery prepared a splendid four-course dinner while everyone watched. This year, in fact, with the Easter dance, the demonstrations at Beau Sejour and a gift of £500, the guild raised £1,314.44 in just 28 days.

Sark takes part in Guernsey's flag day each year, and so does Alderney.

Alderney Alderney: now there's another remarkable island. It has a population of only 1,800 and yet, in 1978, it sent to Guernsey for lifeboat funds some £3,187.29—and it is just as generous to many other charities. Everyone knows each other so that there is a family feeling about the island's fund raising. And at the heart of the 'family' is Mrs Joyce Allen, who, an untiring worker herself, has the gift of getting the best out of everybody. Perhaps someone will hold a cocktail party, or go carol singing, or sell vegetables from the garden—very popular with the many yachtsmen who visit Alderney Harbour in the summer.

One gift of £100 was the percentage of an antique dealer's sales; and raffles can be of anything from chocolates to a brandy cake made by an ex professor of surgery at St Thomas's Hospital! There is 'something' going on all through the year, but the main events are centred around flag day in July, when Guernsey crew are welcome guests. As well as the flag and souvenir selling on the day itself, a cocktail party is arranged for the previous evening.

Friendship with Guernsey crew is close and much prized. If ever Sir William Arnold should have occasion to come into Alderney Harbour at the end of a service, the crew will be very well looked after; and when the Alderney lifeboat people visit Guernsey they are equally well entertained by the crew.

Holiday islands? Perhaps, but how hard the Channel Island volunteers work for the lifeboat service, at sea and on land..