Lt Cdr Brian Miles reviews the past year ...and the ones to come There have been a number of recent events which have made me more aware than usual of the Institution's continuing responsibility to provide a lifeboat service to the highest possible standard.

First there was the tragic loss of the ferry Estonia in the Baltic. Such a tragedy reminds us how the cruel the sea can be, that safety standards can never be taken for granted and of our commitment to provide a lifeboat service capable of responding efficiently should a similar tragedy occur around our coasts. Our lifeboats frequently exercise with other search and rescue organisations in simulating a ferry disaster, and we will talk with our sister services in the countries involved with the Estonia to see whether there are any lessons to be learned.

Second, there have been reports in the media of a substantial drop in income by various charities, leading some of them to reduce their services. How depressing this must be for those who work so hard on their behalf, but on the other hand how encouraging for us to realise that despite the recession and its associated problems the RNLI continues to raise sufficient funds to carry on with its farreaching plans to improve the lifeboat service in the future. Our ability to remain successful in a difficult fuiuiraising environment does not happen by chance.

It happens because so many people involved with RNLI funclraising continue to work harder than ever to ensure that it remains successful. These efforts continue to be a great inspiration, not least to our lifeboat crews who are much encouraged by such dedicated support.

The third event I have in mind is my recent sponsored visit to New Zealand as a guest speaker at the annual conference of the Royal New Zealand Coastguard Federation. The Institution is held in the highest regard in New Zealand, but particularly at Nelson and Sumner on the South Island where ex-RNLI lifeboats have already earned the respect of their new crews. I received a marvellous welcome and it was a privilege to make many new friends who are as dedicated as we are to the task of preserving life from disaster at sea.

Speed of response We were all pleased when the allocation of the final Mersey toAldeburghlast December fulfilled our commitment to provide fast all-weather lifeboats by the end of 1993. 1994 has seen the first of the new generation of 25-knot all-weather lifeboats enter service at Alderney, Fishguard and Ramsgate - the first step in a further substantial improvement in our speed of response, one of the principal targets in our strategic plan.

At present our declared facility is to provide cover out to 50 miles from the coast of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and we also state that in fair weather lifeboats can reach virtually any point 30 miles off the coast within two hours and remain there for at least a further four hours. In severe weather virtually any point 30 miles off the coast can be reached within three hours.

The introduction of the 25-knot Severns and Trents means that by the end of the century virtually any point 50 miles from the coast could be reached within two and a half hours, approximately one third better than at present and a worthwhile target to achieve.

New initiatives 1994 has seen much work on our new initiatives in sea safety liaison and promoting the RNLI more effectively to young people. We have been greatly encouraged by the response to our initiatives in sea safety liaison, and the RNLI's willingness to make its knowledge and experience available has been welcomed.

We had recognised that knowledge and awareness of the RNLI were not as high among young people as we would have wished, and Anne Millman, the RNLI's new Youth Promotion Coordinator and a former teacher is actively putting this deficiency right. At the end of the year an imaginative primary resource pack was launched, aimed at 7 to 11 year olds. This will be used all over the country and will introduce the RNLI and the gallantry of its lifeboat crews to children in the expectation that they will develop an interest in the RNLI which will remain all through their lives. During the year great efforts have also been made to encourage children to join their Storm Force membership scheme, and of course the success of the 'Blue Peter' appeal brought the RNLI to the notice of young people everywhere, not to mention their parents and grandparents! On the coast In 1994 I have again been able to visit many lifeboat stations and attend numerous RNLI functions. I enjoy these visits enormously and return to Head Office feeling the better for having made them.

It is a particular pleasure to participate in various ceremonies, in particular those at Flamborough and Sheringham where Atlantic class lifeboats have recently replaced conventional all-weather lifeboats.

The decision to make these changes inevitably did not meet with universal acclaim, however, it was encouraging to visit both stations and to learn from the crews that the new Atlantic 75 lifeboats had already proved their worth on a number of lifesaving services.

Although the lull between the end of the Mersey class building programme and the allocation of the first Trent and Severn classes meant that there were fewer than normal naming ceremonies during 1994 there were various special occasions to mark the opening of new, or much improved, shore facilities.

Over the last few years the RNLI has been engaged in an ambitious programme to provide modern facilities at lifeboat stations, not just in housing the lifeboat and equipment but including the provision of a well-fitted out crew room with shower and toilet facilities. Where practicable a shop for the lifeboat station branch or guild has been included. In some cases old boathouses had to be replaced, and inevitably they are located in prominent sites so some difficulties have been experienced in obtaining planning permission.

These difficulties were surmounted and during 1994 new boathouses were opened at St Ives and Aldeburgh, and both communities seem delighted with the new facilities, not only from an RNLI point of view but also in the way they have enhanced the environment. The shoreworks programme has been expensive, but it represents a significant investment for the future.

Financial planning During 1994 I wrote to all branches and guilds to allay anxieties that the administrative and procedural changes introduced were making the RNLI unnecessarily bureaucratic. We must always try to improve procedures, but I do not envisageanyfurtheradministrative tasks being introduced in the foreseeable future.

This will allow our branches and guilds to concentrate on doing what they are so proficient at, raising funds for an ever improving lifeboat service.

Finally, I send my warm regards to each reader of this journal. I try to imagine the various ways in which you might be involved with the RNLI, perhaps a member of a lifeboat crew or a branch or guild, as a governor or as a member of the Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society or perhaps all of these at one and the same time! Whatever your involvement may be I thank you personally for all you do for the RNLI and extend to you and your families every good wish for a happy, peaceful and healthy New Year..