Drama after the draw! The former Beirut hostage, John McCarthy, and comedienne Sandi Toksvig drew a massive crowd to Weymouth's harbourside when they kept a promise to the RNLI to pick the winning tickets in the 66th National Lottery.

The pair visited the RNLI stand at the London Boat show in January as they prepared for a 2,000 mile voyage of discovery. There they met Anthony Oliver, deputy head of Fundraising and Marketing, and promised to make the draw on 31 July - but at that stage they had no idea where their travels would have taken them by that day.

They set sail on the 1911 pilot cutter Hirta in the middle of May to make a series of eight half-hour programmes for the BBC, to be called 'Island Race'.

As the end of July approached it was touch and go where they would be on the last day of the month. They had been held up by bad weather and storms in Scotland and down the east coast. They might be in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight or they might have made it as far as Weymouth.

With only days to go before the draw the location was decided - they would reach Weymouth by the 30th - and by 4pm on the afternoon of Sunday 31 July hundreds of locals and holidaymakers were lining the quayside outside Weymouth lifeboat station to witness John and Sandi's arrival.

Hirta was moored on the opposite side of the harbour to Weymouth lifeboat Tony Vandervell so the local ferryman took a few minutes off from rowing queues of holidaymakers across the harbour to bring them to the steps by the lifeboat station, to be greeted by the cheering crowds.

Anthony Oliver and station honor-ary secretary John Culley officially welcomed Sandi and John before asking them to draw the sixteen winning numbers.

Before asking Sandi Toksvig to pull out the first lottery ticket, Anthony Oliver announced that the 66th National Lottery had raised £136,726 - £1,000 up on the last lottery, drawn at the end of April.

The top prize went to Mrs R. Blogg of St Leonards on Sea. A familiar name, and, as it turned out Mrs Blogg's husband Martin is the lifeboat hero's great grandson.

A huge cheer went up from the crowd as John drew the ticket for one of the £100 prizes - a local man from Portland.

After signing copies of his book John joined Sandi on board Weymouth lifeboat which launched under the command of Coxswain Robert Runyeard to catch up with Hirta, now on her way to Dartmouth.

But as the lifeboat approached Portland Bill, with Hirta in sight, there was a report of an upturned dinghy, so a swift about-turn was executed and full speed made to the scene of the incident - with John, Sandi and the film crew participating in the unexpected drama .On arrival they found the dinghy had been pulled ashore by another boat minutes earlier.

Meanwhile Hirta had continued towards Devon, and by the time the lifeboat reached Portland Bill for the second time she was only a dot on the horizon! However John and Sandi were finally put aboard and Hirta continued on her way with a full crew again.

The prizewinners were: £2,000 Mrs R. Blogg, St Leonards on Sea, Sussex.

£1,000 M.R. McCracken, Wirral, Merseyside.

£750 Mrs L.M. Brainwood, Grays, Essex; Mrs J. Oliverson, Glasgow. £500 Mrs E. Wilson, Birmingham. £250 Jean Ryan, Leeds. £100 C. Hodson, Rochdale, Lanes; B.E. Hobbs, Beaumaris, Gwynedd; Mrs J.M. Clegg, Deeside, Clwyd; R.P.C. Farrell, Portland, Dorset; Mr & Mrs D. Sims, Scarrington, Notts. £50 Mrs M.A. Clark, Yelverton, Devon; Miss J. Cole, Guildford, Surrey; Mrs H. Nixon, Consett, Co Durham; N. Collet, Egham, Surrey; Mrs F. Hunter, Perth, Scotland.

''This Island Race' will be broadcast next spring on BBC1.Long Service Badges The Long Service Badge for crew members and shore helpers who have given active service for 20 years or more has been awarded to: Aberdovey - Crew member A. Coghill Aldeburgh - Second Coxswain R.G. Burns, Assistant Mechanic G.R. Burns Appledore - Crew member T.R. Harkness Blyth - Crew member D. Taylor Eyemouth - Crew member G. Walker Filey - Crew members R.W. Robinson, J.P.

Ward Flamborough - Crew member D. Freeman Horton & Port Eynon — Crew member L.J.

Grove Howth - Crew member E. Howard Kirkwall - Coxswain J. Mitchell Newhaven - Deputy Second Coxswain I.D.

Johns Peel - Crew members B.B. Maddrell, C.A.

Makin, W.P. Quane Portrush — Crew member L.T. Craig Portsmouth - Crew member C. Beeston Ramsgate - Crew member T.E. Hurst St Bees - Shore helper E.W. Forbes St. Ives - Head launcher J. Stevens, shore helpers D. Clarke, W. Paynter.

Stornoway - Coxswain Mechanic M.

MacDonald Sunderland - Shore helper G.A. Clark Tenby - Crew member K.J. Lewis Workington - Coxswain J. Reay Yarmouth - Assistant Mechanic S. Pimm, crew member A. HowardOn Station The following lifeboats have taken up station and relief fleet duties: •«.

ALL-WEATHER Exmouth - Waveney 44-019 (ON 1045) Louis Marchesi of Round Table on 8 July 1994.

Fenit - Arun 52-22 (ON 1081) Ralph and Bonella Farrant on 19 August 1994.

Fishguard - Trent 14-03 (ON 1198) Blue Peter VII on 2 September 1994 INSHORE Relief - D458 Maureen Samuels on 18 May 1994.

Skegness - D460 Leicester Fox on 3 June 1994.

Portaferry - B706 Blue Peter V on 13 June 1994.

Criccieth - B707 Mercurius on 30 June 1994.

Port St Mary - D462 Frances on 13 July 1994.

Blyth - D464 Wren on 20 July 1994.

Looe - D461 Spirit ofRAOC on 12 August 1994.

With effect from June 1994 the following inshore lifeboats have been on all-year-round service: Aberdeen - D386, Arbroath - D330, Barmouth - D374, Borth - D344, Dunbar - D397, Moelfre - D381, New Quay - D339, Pwllheli - D372, Rhyl - D348.