Aith, July 25,1986: With a population of just 220, Aith played host to their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales and welcomed more than 600 seated guests and participants for the naming of the community's new Arun class lifeboat Snolda and the opening of the pier which has been built to accommodate her. To the accompaniment of music provided by the Lerwick Brass Band, 200 smartly uniformed young people representing the various youth organisations on the island began the ceremony by marching to the site to provide an avenue of honour.

Alongside the new lifeboat lay the boat she was replacing, John and Frances Macfarlane. Among other vessels paying tribute were the motor tug Lyrie, its fire hoses on full pressure in the background and, to the delight of all associated with the RNLI, the Norwegian lifeboat Skomvaer III.

On their arrival, the Prince and Princess were escorted to the platform along the narrow pier past crowded seats by two young Shetland fiddlers, J. R. Deyell and A. Deyell, playing a tune specially composed for the occasion by B. Sandison. The proceedings were opened by the Aith branch chairman, Dr Margaret Shimmin, who invited Mr Edward Thomason, Convener of the Shetland IslandsCouncil, formally to hand over the pier to the RNLI. Prince Charles then unveiled the spendid granite commemorative plaque and declared the pier officially open. Mr P. Everett, managing director of Shell UK Exploration and Production, was introduced as representative of the donors of the lifeboat. He duly handed the lifeboat over to the Duke of Atholl, chairman of the RNLI, who in turn delivered her into the safe keeping of station honorary secretary, Mr D. Garrick.

After the service of dedication a battery of cameras clicked as the Princess of Wales rose to her feet, to name the lifeboat Snolda. She pressed the button and the bottle of champagne broke, with an alert Coxswain Henry standing poised to deal with any technical hitch that may have arisen but who was delighted when only required to call for three cheers for the charming and friendly namer. With the formalities over the royal couple walked to the boat to meet the crew (above) and then joined invited guests in Aith School Hall for light refreshments and to witness Mrs Henry, the coxswain's wife, cut a huge and splendid christening cake provided by Mr Boland with its top tier a remarkable likeness to the station's new Arun class lifeboat.—K.T. photograph by courtesy of Dennis Coutts.