Newspoint Technology and efficiency Technology moves on apace, and any organisation which seeks to stay effective and efficient must move with it.

Lifeboats are continually developing as new techniques and equipment become available. This summer saw the fast lifeboat programme reach a milestone when the latest carriage-launched boat - the Mersey - made her first public appearance. There is now a fast, new-generation boat for every application.

Although the Mersey is the RNLI's latest boat, and the first aluminium- hulled lifeboat, that is not the end of the story. Even now a Mersey with a fibre reinforced plastic hull is under evaluation, and work is progressing on the design of yet more advanced boats.

Some of the changes in this issue of THE LIFEBOAT also result from the search for efficiency. Substantial savings can be made by producing more of the magazine 'in house', and, as a result, this issue is the first to be produced on the Institution's new 'desk top publishing' system.

THE LIFEBOAT is already inexpensive to produce, and its value in keeping all those with an interest in the Institution in touch is well recognised.

The new system will be even more cost-effective, and will enable the magazine to be more flexible and more easily tailored to the needs of lifeboatmen, the RNLI and the many supporters and fund raisers.An historic meeting of two very different boats, each carrying the name Sir Galahad and with very strong connections, took place outside Tenby Harbour in Wales on 11 June, 1988.

A courtesy visit brought the new £30m Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir Galahad to Tenby, where the station's 47ft Tyne class lifeboat, RFA Sir Galahad went out to greet her.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel was launched last December, and is the third RFA ship to cany the name. Her predecessor was lost during the Falklands campaign, with great loss of life, when she was bombed while disembarking Welsh Guards.

The commanding officer at the time, Captain Philip Roberts DSO, was in command of the latest RFA to carry the name at the time of the visit, and was also prominent in a special appeal to raise funds for the lifeboat, in memory of those who lost their lives.

The date of the courtesy visit added poignancy to the meeting, it was six years, almost to the day, after the loss of the Sir Galahad in the Falklands.

The Tyne class lifeboat had been launched 32 times before the rendezvous - two of them that very morning. The meeting had been delayed, because at the appointed hour RFA Sir Galahad was heading in the opposite direction on her second call of the day, to help a motor yacht in trouble.RNLI helps flood relief in Bangladesh Ten D class inflatable lifeboats which had been withdrawn from RNLI service are being used to provide relief for the victims of the floods in Bangladesh.

When the extent of the situation in Bangladesh became known the RNLI contacted the British Red Cross to see whether it could be of any help, as it had been in the 1970 floods. Within hours the boats, and 15 40hp engines, had been bought by the Red Cross and transport details arranged.

Back-up and training was also provided by two experienced RNLI staff who flew out to provide instruction and maintenance.

All of the costs of the boats, transport and back-up were met by the British Red Cross Society.Maud Smith and Ralph Glister awards for 1987 The Maud Smith Award for the most outstanding act of life-saving by a lifeboatman during 1987 has been awarded to Roy Couzens, Acting Coxswain of the Dover lifeboat.

The award was given for the rescue of three crew members from the bulk carrier Sumnia during last October's hurricane.

Roy Couzens received a Silver medal for his part in the rescue, and is one of the medallists discussing the operations in 'After the Hurricane' in this issue (see page 14).

Roy Couzens has also received a reward under the James Michael Bower Endowment Fund, set up in 1955 by the P&O shipping company in memory of a Third Officer who lost his life in a rescue mission.

The reward is shared between the year's Silver and Gold medallists. There were no Gold Medals in 1987 and Coxswain Couzens' was the only Silver Medal.

An award for the year's most meritorious service by a lifeboat under 10m was also presented during the summer.

The Ralph Glister Award for 1987 went to the crew of the New Brighton Atlantic 21 for their part in the rescue of the yacht Samsal on 6 October 1987.

Helmsman Anthony Clare and crew members Geoffrey Prince and Anthony Jones searched for two hours before finding the yacht aground on the Burba Bank, being pounded by breaking waves.

The lifeboat had to cross a Training Wall before towing the yacht to safety through shallow and broken water.

Helmsman Clare has already received the Thanks of the RNLI on Vellum and the crew members involved have been sent a Letter of Thanks from the Chairman for the rescue.Come into the garden A party of coxswains, crews and their families, from stations throughout the country, attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Thursday 28 July 1988 in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.

The members of the group, which also included some RNLI staff, were all chosen to attend the party in recognition of their long and devoted service to the Institution.

The Director, Lt Cdr Brian Miles, and Deputy Director, Ray Kipling, led the group, which also had the opportunity to meet the President of the Institution the Duke of Kent, accompanied by the Duchess, while at Buckingham Palace.

In attendance were: Robert Kemp (coxswain, Walton and Frinton), Keith Horrocks (helmsman, Blackpool), Brian Madrell (crew member, Peel), John Pope (crew member, Lymington), Peter Lacey (Deputy Regional Organiser for the North East), George Jeffs (coxswain, Barmouth), Maurice Hutchens (coxswain, Sennen Cove), George Woodland (second coxswain, Selsey), Graham Walker (second coxswain, Wells), Robin Dyer (crew member, Minehead), Brian Cater (coxswain, Salcombe), David Gallichan (coxswain, Beaumaris), Richard Davies (Poole depot) and Edward Walker (Committee Clerk and London office manager).Change of status The RNLI's Search and Rescue Committee has agreed changes in operational status for some stations operating lifeboats of less than 10m.

An extended season, until dusk on 30 November, will now operate at North Berwick, Stranraer, Sunderland, Whitby, Bridlington, Mablethorpe, Portsmouth (Langstone Harbour) and Cardigan.

Shoreham Harbour and Dun Laoghaire have been redesignated for winter operation.

The 1989 summer season will commence at first light on 18 March, except at Cardigan (26 February) and D class stations in the Republic of Ireland (11 March).The East End's Royal Box The RNLI's collecting boxes appear almost everywhere, thanks to the unstinting efforts of branches and guilds.

Following the much discussed box in The Bull at Ambridge (on Radio 4's The Archers' for those who do not follow the series) another one made a very public appearance recently when the Queen Mother called in at the Blacksmith's Arms in East London during a visit to the area. A Daily Mail photographer recorded the scene - and there on the bar was one of the familiar- shape boxes.

The RNLI has announced that the new Thurso lifeboat is to be named The Queen Mother.

Her Majesty the Queen Mother is a patron of the RNLI, and Thurso, in Caithness, is the nearest lifeboat station to the Queen Mother's Scottish residence at the Castle of Mey.

The new boat is expected to go on station early next year.

• The Director of the RNLI, Lt Cdr Brian Miles, sent a telegram of congratulations to the Queen Mother on her birthday, 4 August, on behalf of all those involved with the Institution.Jewellery Appeal strikes gold - with more to comeThe RNLI Jewellery Appeal has reached a notable landmark - the total raised having now passed £25,000.

The appeal was started just under two years ago in the Farnham area by the chairman of the Farnham Branch, Roy Norgrove. It proved so successful that it was extended to a national appeal in August 1987 with advertisements in local papers throughout the country.

As a result large quantities of jewellery have been sent to the Institution, which Mr Norgrove sorts, and then either repairs orsells for scrap value. He and his helpers spend considerable time repairing and packaging the jewellery, which is passed on to branches for resale - the proceeds then passing through that branch's account.

Quite substantial sums can be involved, at one branch function in Surrey during the summer Roy Norgrove sold more than £350 of jewellery, and a single item sent by post during the appeal was later sent for auction and raised more than £450.

Although the initial impetus of the appeal is subsiding Roy Norgrove is looking for ways to give it new life, so £25,000 is by no means the end of the story.

Hand in glove The RNLI has been awarded the prestigious Golden Glove by the Worshipful Company of Glovers.

The award is made each year to a large user of British-made gloves by the Company, which is one of the City Livery Companies, and which like to help with 'charity through gloves'.

The Golden Glove was presented at the Glovers Livery Luncheon in London on 19 July, where it was received on behalf of the RNLI by the Chairman, the Duke of Atholl.

The Director and two coxswains - bronze medallists Derek Sargent of Weymouth and Robin Castle of Sheerness - were also invited to the presentation.THE LIFEBOAT of the future Some 150,000 copies of THE LIFEBOAT are printed every quarter, and are read by subscribers to the membership scheme, lifeboat crews and many of the Institution's supporters throughout the country and overseas.

THE LIFEBOAT serves as a 'journal of record' of the RNLI's affairs, but it is also your journal; a way of keeping everyone with an interest in the work of the RNLI in touch with what is happening.

The readership is diverse, ranging from those intimately connected with the sea to those who work hard to raise funds from an inland base.

We try to reflect the varied nature of the Institution's work and its supporters, but it is you, the reader of THE LIFEBOAT, who can help us to tailor it more accurately to your needs.

The letters page is waiting for your views on any aspect of the lifeboat service, and we welcome any suggestions for improvements.

Write to the journal, tell us how it could better reflect your own interests, make suggestions, criticise, and help to keep THE LIFEBOAT a lively reflection of the the RNLI and its work.

Mike Floyd, Editor Mike Floyd has joined the RNLI to take over as Editor of THE LIFEBOAT from this issuePlanning for the future As part of the planning to meet future operational requirements on the coast two new 'all-weather' lifeboat designs are under development by the RNLI. Both are designated at 'fast afloat boats' (FAB) and are at present known only as FAB III and FAB IV. They are intended as successors to the Waveney class, which entered service in 1967, and the Arun, introduced in 1971.

Model trials are already being conducted on FAB III in the British Marine Technology testing tank at Teddington, and it is anticipated the boat will have an overall length of around 55ft and will be capable of a speed considerably in excess of that of the Arun class. It is planned that boats of this new class will be available to enter service from about 1992.

Work on FAB IV is still only in the preliminary stages, and this new boat is likely to be around 45ft to 46ft overall and will also have a much enhanced speed capability over her predecessors. Every effort is being made to get lifeboats of this class into service in the early 1990s.

A number of the operational requirements for FAB IV are similar to those incorporated in the Medina, which will not be entering service as an RNLI class. This 35ft development of the Atlantic 21 'rigid inflatable' principle showed considerable promise but it did not prove possible to achieve the very high standards of allweather operational performance and reliability demanded of all RNLI lifeboats.

The Medina development project has proved invaluable and many lessons learned will be carried over to what promises to be an exciting new generation of fast afloat lifeboats for the RNLI. New material makes a big splash The fibre reinforced plastic FRP) hulled Mersey prototype was at the Poole Depot during August for a series of tests and trials - including the drop test pictured here, a 'first' for an RNLI lifeboat.

The upper photograph shows the moment the slings were released, and the lower one the inevitable result.

Tests are continuing on the new hull material which promises savings in weight with increased hull stiffness.Record 'round-Britain' runs benefit the RNLI Two well-publicised Round Britain circumnavigations were completed within days of each other during the summer - both trips raising funds for the RNLI.

A team from the West Midlands Fire Service claimed a new record on 30 June, when they completed the circumnavigation in 95 hours and 46 minutes, only to have it snatched from them three days later when a team from the Royal Marines brought their boat home in 90 hours and 34 minutes.

However the Marines used different crews in relay, while a single crew of firemen went the whole way round.More visitors than ever before at Poole and Cowes Open Days the open day, despite the rain, and that there were plans to repeat the event.

More people than ever before had the chance to see how the RNLI operates when the Poole HQ and depot and, for the first time, the Cowes base held open days for the public during July.

Cowes started the ball rolling on Saturday 23 July when an estimated thousand people looked around the base, which handles all aspects of the RNLI's fleet of inflatable lifeboats.

Displays of boats, equipment, and outboards and a series of videos captured the visitors attention, and the Superintendent of Cowes base, Cdr Peter Gladwin said he was pleased with the success of On the following weekend, 29 and 30 July, the fourth of the two-yearly Poole open days was held in better weather - with even more visitors than before.

They were able to see the new training centre, built since the last event in 1986; more lifeboats, including the first appearance of the new Mersey; and more displays, including winching exercises and launching and retrieving an Atlantic 21; and almost 1,000 people took guided tours around the main headquarters building.