Look and learn Thousands of people visited Poole Headquarters during Open Days in July. Holidaymakers who knew little or nothing about the RNLI came away with a elear picture of the role of the modern lifeboat service. Those who have been involved in raising money for the Institution for many years also found much to interest them during their tour of the operations, fundraising and drawing offices, the lifeboats at the depot quay and the depot buildings themselves. The most frequent comment heard from visitors was '/ never knew so much went on tlown here'. Although Open Days were free to everyone, sales of RNLI gifts and souvenirs, lottery tickets, official guide books and straight donations meant that over £6.000 was taken at the end of the two days.Dublin appeal The City of Dublin Lifeboat Appeal was launched by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Bertie Ahern, at the Mansion House, Dublin, on July 30.

The appeal's target is to raise £250,000 towards the £480,000 cost of Howth's new 52ft Arun class lifeboat. City of Dublin. At the launch, attended among others by The Most Reverend Donald A. R. Caird. Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, the chairman of the appeal's executive committee, Mr Hugh Hamilton, said that the appeal was: "to industries, businesses and professions of our city, to the schools and sports clubs and most particularly to the »rdinar citizens, the people oj Dublin" French lifeboat tragedy Lifeboat crews of the RNLI and many yachtsmen who have visited the small Breton port of L'Aberwrach were shocked by the news of the loss of its lifeboat and five crew members while on service in early August. Messages of sympathy were sent by Rear Admiral W. J. Graham, the RNLI director, to the Societe Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer and to the families of the men who were lost.

New to the committee Sir Angus Fraser. chairman of HM Customs and Excise, and Mr Anthony Hannay, a partner in the Liverpool solicitors. Lace & Co., have accepted invitations to join the RNLI's Committee of Management. Sir Angus is the new chairman of CISPOTEL, the Civil Service, Post Office and British Telecom lifeboat fund, the biggest single supporter of the RNLI. Since it was founded in 1866. CISPOTEL has bought 40 lifeboats thanks to regular donations from civil servants and Post Office and British Telecom staff. The fund's latest lifeboat, a £450.0(X) Tyne class, was named in Holyhead earlier this year.

Mr Hannay is deputy chairman of the Port of Liverpool branch of the RNLI which encompasses three lifeboat stations.

15 fund raising branches and 12 ladies' lifeboat guilds which last year raised over £85.(XX). Both he and his wife are enthusiastic RNLI fund raisers and Mr Hannay is a keen amateur sailor.

Grand old man The RNLI's oldest pensioner. Colonel Richard Trenam, OBI-:. MC, who retired at the end of 1951, has sadly died just a month after celebrating his 100th birthday on August 8. Colonel Trenam was district organising secretary for the north east from 1935 until 1946 when he became organising secretary in Ireland.

Before the RNLI he served 31 years in the regular Army which included service in the first world war, the command of an armoured train on the North West Frontier during the Afridi rebellion in India and helping the royal Navy with anti-piracy work on the Yangtse in 1932. The Colonel was also a writer andcontributed to Punch and other magazines in his time.

Oakley repairs Good progress has been made in the work on the 37ft Oakley class lifeboats where softening of the wood around the fastenings has led to expensive and lengthy repairs. Of the four stations where the urgency of the repairs meant no relief lifeboat was available two have their own boat back in service and two are due to receive theirs back very shortly.

At the time the problem first arose the RNLI began to investigate the possibility of using a Lochin 33 experimental boat as an interim 37ft Oakley replacement. She was based on the Brede class lifeboat design but modified to be able to launch from a carriage, a slipway or over a beach.

During her trials at Hastings the Lochin 33 CSB, as she was known, performed well and showed how capable a boat of this type could be. However, before the trials were completed, the easing of the 37ft Oakley problem meant that there was no longer a need for the boat and trials were discontinued.

Thanks recorded For ten years the RNLI's rescue records department has been benefiting from the free use of a computer belonging to the Poole based Barclays International.

In June, to mark a decade of Barclay's generous service which allows the Institution to process and analyse information about everv lifeboat launchand every life saved, Lt Cdr Brian Miles, deputy director of the RNLI, presented a framed record of thanks to Mr Don Lonsdale, divisional general manager of Barclays, London.

Flares recalled Any boat owner who has supplies of Pains-Wessex Schermuly Miniflare 3 kits is being asked to return them to their stockist. The manufacturer has discovered a possibility that a small percentage of this type of flare may fail to operate correctly and is therefore recalling all kits with lot numbers from 001 to 080. All customers will be provided with a replacement kit.The Medina class lifeboat The RNLI has been developing the Medina class lifeboat for some years and the project has met with many relatively minor but very frustrating problems. The Medina is a large inflatable boat, similar in concept to the Atlantic 21 which was originally designed by Rear Admiral Hoare at Atlantic College and developed su tuccessfulfy at the RNLI Cowes Base. The Medina hull, at 38ft almost twice as long as the Atlantic, has proved extremely seaworthy and there is little doubt that it will make a good safe lifeboat. The problems have been with the propulsion of the boat. Having tried outdrives and outboards, the latest trials have concentrated on jet propulsion. Jets have the great advantage of no projections to hit rocks, injure survivors in the water or befouled bv debris. The Committee of Management advised bv the Boat Committee, has decided to continue the development of the Medina by building a fourth hull, adapted to lake account of the experience gained on trials. This hull will be built when the design work on the fust carriage lifeboat is completed (see UPDATE on p.50). It it encouraging to note that the Dutch, ('onadim ami Norwegian lifeboat services are all operating large rigid inflatable lifeboats which have been bused on the pioneering design work carried out by the RNLI.Top ten The Charities Aid Foundation has recently published its annual charity statistics for 1985/6. The list of the top ten charities by voluntary income alone (this excludes trading, investment, local and central government income) is reproduced below. Clearly. Band Aid and the Ethopia famine have had a great effect on the statistics and evidence shows that extra money and new donors (particularly the young) resulted from the famine, rather than there being a large shift of money from other causes.

('harities 1 Voluntary income £56.5 million £49,5 million £35.5 million £27.7 million £23.5 million Band Aid 2 Oxfam 3 Save the Children Fund 4 National Trust 5 RNLI 6 Cancer Research Campaign 12(1.0 million 7 Salvation Army £19.7 million 8 DrBarnado's £19.5 million 9 Imperial Cancer Research Fund £18.2 million 10 NSPCC £17.6 million NEWS POINT VOLUNTARY—BECAUSE IT WORKS A public opinion survey has recently been carried out by the RNLI to show how the man and woman in the street views today's lifeboat service. The overriding message received from the survey was one of great admiration for lifeboatmen and the essential work they do, coupled with a general willingness to support the cause financially. More surprising, however, is the result that the majority of those questioned believe that the government should fund the lifeboat service, if not entirely, at least in part.

This is not the opinion of the RNLI. The Institution provides one of the most modern and efficient lifeboat services in the world and it achieves this, not in spite of. but because of its voluntary status. Lifeboatmen who volunteer their services derive encouragement to do so from the wholly voluntary nature of the RNLI and it is probably because they are volunteers that they are prepared to give so much in time, effort and skill. Furthermore, the independence that total reliance upon voluntary contributions brings allows the Institution to concentrate its expertise on the single task of saving life at sea and continually to provide its lifeboatmen with the most up-to-date tools for the job. To apply directly to the traditionally generous public to pay for new boats and equipment will always be more effective than to rely on hard pressed local council or ministry budgets.ANNUAL MEETINGS 1987 South Bank, London, Tuesday May 12 Annual General Meeting of Governors: 11.30 am in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall.

Annual Presentation of Awards: the afternoon meeting will be in the main auditorium, Royal Festival Hall.

Further details will be circulated with the winter edition o/THE LIFEBOAT..