Lt Cdr Brian Miles, Director of the RNLI, looks back on 1989 - and forward to a new decade J.t is difficult to believe that a whole year has passed since my last message in the journal. The old adage of time passing ever more quickly as the years advance is proving to be true.

1989 has, not unexpectedly, proved to be another busy year for the RNLI, with some satisfying progress to report. Last year mentioned the work involved in completing the evaluation trials of the Mersey class carriage lifeboats. Orders for 18 of these lifeboats have now been placed and at least a further 10 will be required to fulfill our commitment to have fast lifeboats in service at all stations by the end of 1993.

Contract The cost of £455,000 for each Mersey class lifeboat has already been announced, but it is pleasing to confirm that we have been able to negotiate a contract which virtually guarantees the cost of the entire build programme. We have not been able to achieve this before, and it represents a significant step forward which will be of enormous help in future financial planning for the Institution.

It was a particular pleasure to be present to participate in the naming ceremonies of the first two Mersey class lifeboats to enter service, at Bridlington and Hastings. It was even more encouraging to receive confirmation from the coxswains and crew members at both stations that they are delighted with the performance and seakeeping qualities of their new lifeboats. It is impossible to emphasise sufficiently that for all of us this is the highest accolade that any new lifeboat can receive.

1989 was a marvellous year for naming ceremonies and obviously the long hot summer helped to guarantee some happy and memorable occasions. The naming ceremony and service of dedication of a new lifeboat is invariably a great day for the station concerned.

Details of all the ceremonies appear in the journal, but there are two which I recall for special reasons. No one fortunate enough to be present will forget the day at Thurso in August when our Patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother named the new Thurso Arun class lifeboat The Queen Mother. In welcoming Her Majesty the Chairman, Mr Michael Vernon, pointed out that Thurso was the seventh naming ceremony to be carried out by Her Majesty, and that this represented an outstanding record of support for the RNLI.

I also recall another lovely day at Salcombe in June when the station's new Tyne class lifeboat was named Baltic Exchange II by Mrs Joy Frame, the wife of the Chairman of the Baltic Exchange.

Before the ceremony a special certificate was awarded to lifeboat enthusiast Jim Wallbridge, who was attending his 100th offshore lifeboat ceremony. Mr Wallbridge attended his first naming ceremony in Sheerness on 18 May 1974, and only two other naming ceremonies had taken place that year. In 1989 there have been 36 naming ceremonies and I believe this illustrates perfectly the spectacular increase in our new lifeboat building programme in recent years.

Prototype We have now almost completed the build programme of Arun and Tyne class lifeboats and the final boats of these two successful classes will enter service in 1990. Satisfactory progress continues to be made with the development of two, new fast lifeboat classes for the future. A prototype of the larger class will be completed early in 1990 and evaluation trials will commence on the coast.

We have gained much experience in recent years with the devel-opment of lifeboats to meet modern requirements, but it is only when we can try the boats in a coastal environment that we can be reassured they are in every respect fit for the future demands which will be placed on them.

Designing, building and equipping lifeboats for the future is a top priority but we must also be sure that the boathouses, store-houses and other shore facilities match the requirements of the RNLI. We have been studying these in 1989 as some of our shore facilities are becoming outdated. In some cases, and St Ives, Skegness and Ramsey are examples, totally new boathouses are being built, reducing launching times and incorporating improved facilities for our crews.

Visits During the last year I have been able to visit many lifeboat stations and a number of financial branches and ladies guilds. Although some of these visits have, I am afraid, been brief I am always grateful for the kind welcome I receive and I am aware that a similar friendly welcome is extended to all those who manage to visit from the Committee of Management and from Head Office.

Finally, we have now entered a new decade and I believe that the RNLI faces an exciting and as challenging a future as at any time in its long history. I know we are all confident we will achieve success in all our endeavours to improve our service still further in the future; nevertheless we have to recognise that along the way we will probably have to experience some disappointments.

Changes These are often caused by decisions involving a change or regrading in lifeboat cover. I believe we owe it to ourselves and to the multitude of people who support the RNLI so generously to ensure that we always provide the very best level of cover around the coast to meet our declared commitment.

The RNLI needs to review this constantly. The availability of a new and improved class of lifeboat with greater speed and increased capability, a change in local conditions caused by the silting up of a harbour or plans to build a marina all have a bearing on these considerations.

I can only confirm that such changes are only contemplated after the most detailed thought by the staff and the Committee of Management and, most important of all, only after the station concerned has been fully consulted.

Thanks I extend my renewed thanks to all the readers of THE LIFEBOAT for the support they give to the RNLI in such a wide variety of ways. I have been delighted to meet so many of you during the last year and I look forward to further opportunities of meeting you in the years ahead.

On behalf of all my colleagues at Headquarters I wish you all a Happy, Peaceful and Healthy New Year..