Thank you, Kinghorn I am writing to express my thanks to the Kinghorn D class inflatable lifeboat crew and the RNLI who over the years have made it possible for me to sail my sailboard off Kinghorn secure in the knowledge that if I do have a problem, all is not lost. As you know, today I misjudged the conditions in a strong offshore wind and found that I needed help. I was quickly picked up, dropped off at Pettycur and not even given a sermon! A marvel of tact and efficiency.

—CURLY MILLS, Kinghorn, Fife.

The afternoon of Sunday September 11, 1983, was blustery with the wind near gale force. Kinghorn duty crew were keeping an eye on a lone board sailor about a mile away when they saw him drop and roll his sail. The D class inflatable lifeboat was launched and found Mr Mills sitting astride his sailboard, having tried to fire pocket flares which failed to ignite. He and his sailboard were picked up and landed safely ashore. The letter from Mr Mills, addressed to Dr R. M. L. Weir, Kinghorn station honorary secretary, was accompanied by a donation.—EDITOR.

Another evening cruise It is not only on the East Coast that gremlins can spoil an evening cruise (THE LIFEBOAT, autumn 1983). We in the West Country have piskies that are every bit as efficient in making trouble.

The Chacewater and District Male Voice Choir decided for their annual outing to have an evening cruise on the River Fal to St Mawes. With families and friends the complement was 112 and the point of embarcation the village of Malpas. The down-river trip was delightful and much interest was shown in the huge ships laid up in the river at King Harry Ferry. An hour ashore was allowed at St Mawes and at 2130 it was time to re-embark for the homeward journey.

It was not long afterwards that things began to go wrong. Fog descended, getting thicker as a slow progress up river was continued. Unofficial practising of some of the choir's pieces helped to keep spirits from flagging unduly, among them an appropriate rendering of 'For Those in Peril on the Sea'.

Among the friends aboard were two giving rise to some concern, a diabetic and a dialysis machine patient for both of whom medical services were becoming overdue. There was no radio telephone aboard but happily a yacht moored up river had that equipment. A call to Falmouth Coastguard, and soon Elizabeth Ann, Falmouth's 52ft Arun lifeboat, was alerted and set off to the rescue with the station honorary medical adviser on board.

The lifeboat's arrival, greatly assisted by her radar equipment, was a welcome sight to the fog-bound passengers. Also at sea, and fog-bound, was the St Mawes to Falmouth ferry. She had to be located and escorted to the Prince of Wales Pier. At one stage a large ship was leaving harbour and she crept past like a gigantic wall at what seemed an arm's length separation.

But the piskies were not finished even when everyone had got back to land.

The cars were naturally still at Malpas, ten miles away. And what if the house keys were in the car? Would we like to do it again? Well, we'll see when the time comes, but we will keep close to our keys!—R. MCFARLANE, Falmouth, Cornwall.

Hong Kong Being a Shoreline member and also an honorary committee member of the RNLI/RFA Sir Galahad fund, I was very interested in the report about the Hong Kong branch given in the autumn 1983 issue of THE LIFEBOAT. I therefore wrote to Mrs J. B. Wilson, stating that RFA Regent, upon which there are many staunch supporters of the RNLI, would be visiting Hong Kong during February 1984.

While alongside HMS Tamar on Sunday, I received a telephone call from John and Paddy Wilson, inviting me for a drink and a chat that lunchtime. This resulted in a very rewarding day all round, as several other committee members of the HK branch, together with John and Paddy, visited RFA Regent that evening.

Having met some of the ship's company and toured the ship, an exchange of RNLI 'goodies' was made. I am now selling RNLI umbrellas, previously only available from the Hong Kong branch, at £3.50 each and RNLI/RFA Sir Galahad T-shirts at £5.50 each, several of which were passed to the branch.

On a lighter note, one of the HK branch normally reads the morning news over the radio. He was challenged to wear his T-shirt the following morning or risk paying a forfeit for not doing so. Unfortunately, for the fund that is, the shirt was worn.

Should any other Shoreline member be visiting Hong Kong at any time, I can truly recommend them to contact the RNLI branch, where a very warm welcome is guaranteed. Thank you, Hong Kong.—PETER R. GEORGE, NAAFI Manager, RFA Regent.

The HK telephone number of Mr and Mrs Wilson is 5-469766.—EDITOR.

Wedding gift Here is a money raiser I have not heard of before. At a recent wedding, my son Fyfe, aged 14, being the youngest of the guests, was recruited by the band leader to help with the entertainment.

During the show the guests were invited by the band leader to take out a lOp piece, or other coin, to tap on the table in time to the dance tune.

Later, trays were carried round to collect the coins, nobody knew what for. Fyfe was left holding the combined collection. After some banter, it turned out that the band leader's next move was to present the collection to Fyfe as everbody's thanks for his part in the show.

After a moment's reflection, Fyfe decided it was too big a sum to accept so lightly and that the money should go to the RNLI instead. The announcement was warmly applauded. So, here is Fyfe's £10.40. If that little routine was more widely known . . . —B. H.

CRAWSHAW, Carnoustie, Angus.

Sir, is this a record? In the winter issue of THE LIFEBOAT the King's Head, Roehampton, asked if the £115.50 collected from its lifeboat box is a record.

On January 24 this year the lifeboat box at the Swan, Pangbourne, produced £121.30; this large amount was not due to the fact that the box had been left for a long time because it had been emptied of £48.22 a month before, on December 24.

In September last year the Leather Bottle at Goring yielded £139, after not having been cleared since May.—w. R.

FLETCHER, honorary box secretary, Pangbourne branch, Berkshire.

Message from the sea . . .

While antifouling my ex-lifeboat one of the RNLI souvenir plastic model lifeboats, which originally contained a bottle-shaped bar of soap, was washed up alongside. My first thought was that I wished my boat was only that size when it comes to antifouling, and then I realised there was a bottle in the boat.

Alas, it was empty except for a piece of paper. With quaking heart and trembling fingers I unscrewed the top to read the message. Just one word: 'Hie!' A. G. MERRIMAN, Liss, Hampshire..