Thanks and remembrance I, as a Shoreline member, am writing to you following the sad death of my brother, the international yachtsman Rob James. He died as the result of an accident while approaching Salcombe in his trimaran Colt Cars GB II.

My family would like to express our gratitude not only to the RNLI but also to the Coastguard and Air Sea Rescue Service all of whom made every effort to save him from drowning. Unfortunately not every rescue attempt is successful but this in no way detracts from the efforts made by all concerned even when those efforts are to no avail.

Rob was a much liked and respected yachtsman and I know that many people have made donations to their local branches of the RNLI in his memory.

Donations have also been made to the Coastguard and the Air Sea Rescue Service.—STEPHEN JAMES, Colchester.

At 0525 on Sunday March 20 the honorary secretary of Sa/combe lifeboat station was told by Brixham Coastguard that a man had gone overboard from the trimaran Colt Cars GB II two miles south of Salcombe Harbour; despite all their endeavours, including one man himself going into the water, the trimaran's crew had been unable to get their skipper, Rob James, back on board. It was a fair morning with a moderate to fresh westerly breeze and moderate seas. Salcombe's 47ft Watson lifeboat The Baltic Exchange.

under the command of Coxswain John Griffiths was under way by 0535. A helicopter was scrambled and HMS Wotton.

which was within range, was alerted.

The lifeboat was able to give the helicopter an accurate position of the flashing buoy which had been thrown into the water from the trimaran; the helicopter lifted Rob James from the water and flew him to hospital, but, sadly, he was dead. Two lifeboatmen boarded the trimaran to help her exhausted crew and the lifeboat escorted her into harbour. As well as contributions to local branches, more than £350 has been received at RNLI HQ Poole in memory of Rob James—EDITOR.

Shoreline—and more This year I will again be going down to the sea with my family for our holidays to take my pleasure from deep water. But if the weather shows any sign of becoming bad I will have long since sought a safe haven.

I lack the peculiar form of courage that enables a man to leave his home and family for a heaving dangerous world in order to save a stranger in peril on the sea, although I would like to be associated in a small way with those who have such courage.

You advertise that for £7.50 my family may have a membership of your Institution and I am enclosing a cheque for us to join. The cheque is for a little more than you ask for the simple reason that the price is too low; so I have doubled it, and then added a little bit more. If the excess is enough for two car stickers and a 'harbour quality' pennant reminding the world that the RNLI exists, and the cost of sending them to me, I would be proud to display them to the world.

Please add a sincere 'Amen' to the prayer that I offer when contributing to one of your collecting boxes that the elements will never examine my seamanship so closely that I must look to the RNLI for aid. For in truth, sailing only on my holiday, I can never study enough nor have the experience to meet the full power of an angry sea.—COLIN G. HAINES, 30 Hunger Hills Drive, Horsforth, Leeds.

Long memory Having served five wartime years in the Royal Navy, and now a Shoreline member, I was fascinated to read in the letter headed 'Long memory' (spring edition, page 200) that there was such a vessel as a 'ballroom barrage ship', no doubt a formidable improvement on the superseded balloon barrage of my memory.

Did the ship's telegraph register "Slow, slow, quick, quick slow'? And was Victor Sylvester advised, or perhaps we should tell it all to the Marines? Yours with a smile—not to say tongue in cheek.—R. G. TUCKER, ex Lt-Cdr, 21 Woodside Road, Worthing, Sussex.

My apologies. I missed a step there.—EDITOR.

An evening—and an idea On Saturday April 9 our branch had the privilege and great pleasure of organising 'An Evening with Coxswain Derek Scott, BEM' in Knebworth Village Hall. The evening was a tremendous success; nearly 200 people attended including members of other branches.

Shoreline members and Lifeboat Enthusiasts.

Derek Scott is a charming man as well as a most interesting speaker, and everyone was quite captivated by him.

The evening started with a film and we had the usual range of lifeboat souvenirs on sale. So many of our customers were impressed by the way in which the souvenirs were displayed that we thought other branches might like to know how we do it.

The idea was thought up by Tony Starky, one of our members. Tony collected a number of wooden trays, similar to those used by bakers for van deliveries of cakes. He cleaned them up and, with partitions, made in each tray a number of compartments each the right size to hold a particular item and each of which can be labelled with its own item's price and description.

The beauty of the idea is that the trays can be pre-packed and then displayed on the sales table in a matter of minutes. No more delving in umpteen cardboard cartoons and trying to find room on the table. Similarly, when packing up. the trays can be stacked on top of each other and carted away in no time at all.

In conclusion, reverting to our 'evening', we were pleased to note that a large number of Shoreline leaflets on display were picked up and taken away and there were many entries in a book that we keep for people wishing to be informed of future lifeboat functions.

Altogether a very happy evening— and about £300 was raised.—H. J. ENTECOTT, Mrs, honorary secretary, Knebworth branch, 31 Hornbeam Spring, Knebworth, Hertfordshire.

Please pass it on ...

May I heartily endorse the counsel, proffered by the spring edition of the journal: 'When you have read your copy of THE LIFEBOAT, please pass it on'. I would suggest that members re-circulate editions in places where attendance is inevitably preceded by a wait, sometimes of great duration, for instance the doctor's waiting room.

Think of what it may mean for a person, a little anxious, perhaps even a little afraid, to be able to pick up a superbly bound edition of THE LIFEBOAT and from it learn of the relentless but unspoken resolve of lifeboat crews to carry out their vocations. Can this be any other than an encouragement? Perhaps it might 'encourage' them to enlist their support for such work.

It is an unending source of satisfaction to me when I receive our quarterly.

The professional 'feel' and appearance of THE LIFEBOAT goes a long way to assuring members that the charitable institution to which they subscribe is built on very firm foundations and the cause secure.—J. I.. DAVIES, 1 Ashdene Road, Wilrnslow, Cheshire.

Petersfield branch gives a journal to the Public Library each quarter, and puts in it a handful of Shoreline enrolment forms, together with a slip of paper with the name, address and telephone number of the branch honorary secretary.—EDITOR..