Flying the RNLI flag Three members of Port Talbot lifeboat crew represented the Institution at the Annual National Service for Seafarers at St Pauls Cathedral on 19 October 1994.

Ronald Jones, Peter Thomas and Robert Parker formed the RNLI's colour party to represent the more than 4,000 lifeboat men and women at the Institution's 212 lifeboat stations.

Peter Race, coxswain of Teesmouth lifeboat for the past eight years, was the Institution's representative at the Festival of Remembrance at the Albert Hall on 12 November.

NEWSPOINT Although more than half of the Institution's service are now to pleasure vessels the continuing needs of commercial shipping, and the different nature of the services involving them, have been highlighted by events in recent months.

In August 1994 Ramsgate and Margate's lifeboats were involved in the evacuation of large numbers of people following an engine room fire on a cross-Channel ferry, and in October Lerwick's Arun was once again called to the aid of a factory ship. This time 67 people were taken off by the lifeboat-in horrendous conditions as the report on page 257 of this issue reveals.

The large numbers of survivors involved present a totally different set of problems both in the conduct of the service - taking off 67 survivors often means at least that number of difficult and dangerous approaches, taking off one survivor at a time - and in designing and equipping lifeboats to accommodate them.

The possibility of a major incident in a busy shipping area obviously also influences the Institution's level of cover in any particular area, and again our look at the Dover Straits stations in this issue is timely and relevant.

254The Annual Meetings The RNLI's annual presentation of awards is one of the highlights of the Institution's year, with more than 2,000 people gathering each year to see lifeboatmen receive bravery medals and fundraisers presented with awards for long service.

In 1995 the venue for the meeting, and for the RNLI's AGM which precedes it, has been changed to the Barbican Hall in the City of London as the RNLI considers this venue is able to offer facilities better suited to the occasion. In addition, the date of the meetings has been changed to Thursday 18 May to avoid both the new date of the bank holiday and the VE Day celebrations.

Both meetings will be held in the Barbican Hall, the Annual General Meeting at 1130 and the Annual Presentation of Awards at 1430.

Governors should find their application forms for both meetings enclosed with this issue of THE LIFEBOAT - if not, please contact the AGM office at RNLI headquarters.

The AGM is restricted to Governors of the Institution but the afternoon presentation of awards is open to all - members, supporters and other interested parties are cordially invited to attend.

Tickets are available from the AGM office at headquarters and all requests should be received by 31 March, for despatch in early April. Full directions on how to get to the Barbican Centre will be enclosed with the tickets, together with details of the facilities available on the day, such as cafes, bars, RNLI stalls and exhibitions.

This year a registration system is being introduced and supporters will be asked to register at a central point before attending either meeting. This system should result in fewer empty seats in the lower part of the auditorium.

The AGM office at RNLI headquarters will be pleased to answer any queries which may arise before the date of the meeting.

Please note amended dateSafety on the Sea A new booklet, the first to be produced by the RNLI's Sea Safety Liaison Working Group and called Safety on the Sea, will be available from January 1995.

The free 16 page publication has been designed to give basic safety guidelines that all recreational boat users should be aware of before going to sea, and has been produced in an easy-to-read style with each section illustrated with at least one apt cartoon.

Incorporated with the back cover of the booklet is a detachable card enabling boat owners to join the Coastguard's Yacht and Boat Safety Scheme by providing their local Mari-ing areas and safety equipment .

The Sea Safety Liaison Working Group is made up of representatives from the RNLI, the Coastguard, Marine Safety Agency, RYA, British Marine Industries Federation and the Royal Lifesaving Society, and the booklet can be obtained from any of them.Dashing home to Porthleven On 14 September 1994 a lifeboatwhichhadleft Porthleven some 65 years before made a triumphal return to the Cornish village.

Dash was built in 1902 and had served at Porthleven from 1926 until the station was closed in 1929.

Theboathouse was used as a store until it was renovated in 1992 and turned into The Shipwreck Centre which houses a good collection of photographs and details of Dash's services.

Sold out of service in 1929 Dash was converted to a ketch rigged yacht and renamed Naomi. She was discovered in G week and rescued in the nick of time by a Porthleven resident, who has brought her home for restoration.

A charitable trust has been set up to carry out the considerable restoration work required.Treasure trail comes to an end Saturday 5 November saw the RNLFs 17th and final auction of 'treasure' sent in by 'Blue Peter' viewers during the Pieces of Eight appeal. The appeal total broke through the £lm barrier at the previous auction at Ringwood on 21 October and now looks well on target to make £1.4m.

When the appeal was launched on the popular BBC1 children's programme in November 1993 it was hoped that enough money would be raised to place six new 'Blue Peter' inshore lifeboats at Beaumaris, Cleethorpes, Littlehampton, North Berwick, Portaferry and St Agnes.

But the treasure flowed into the Ringwood warehouse so rapidly that within a week of the appeal being launched a newtarget was set - 'Blue Peter' would have its first all-weather lifeboat.

It was decided that the allweather lifeboat Blue Peter VII should be a new Trent class - costing around £lm - and would be based at Fishguard in Wales. Blue Peter VII is now a reality - she has already been involved in five services.

New inshore lifeboats are on station at St Agnes, Cleethorpes, Portaferry and New Berwick - with new boats due at Littlehampton and Beaumaris in the future.

The work involved in open- The first 100 The RNLI had 100 serving female lifeboat crews for the first time when 24 year old Holly Phillips joined the crew of Poole lifeboat in October.

The first ever lifeboat woman joined the crew of Atlantic College's inshore lifeboat in 1969 and although numbers have fluctuated since then they have never before reached triple figures. Female crew members are now active in both the Institution's inshore and all-weather lifeboat fleets.ing and sorting around 1.5m parcels of treasure, ranging from a silver candelabra to a rusty spoon, has kept 13 people busy full-time for a year.

At one time two warehouses were stacked from floor to ceiling with Royal Mail cages and the last of the parcels, delivered last January, was finally opened in September.

'Blue Peter' cameras filmed the final auction and the BBC broadcast a 'Blue Peter Pieces of Eight Special' on 7 November.

In charge of the entire sorting and auction operation was David Duncombe-Anderson, a keen lifeboat supporter, who was employed on a contract to organise the Ringwood warehouse and auctions for the duration of the appeal. He so impressed auctioneers Phillips that he has since been offered a job at their Winchester branch, with the chance to conduct auctions.

The highest price obtained for any single item was at the final auction, where a late 19th century renaissance pendant (which had been found in a box of costume jewellery) was sold as a single lot.

The pendant, which is of gold and set with baroque pearls and old cut diamonds, fetched £3,500.

Fittingly the pendant went to one of the regular dealers who had supported the RNLI 'Blue Peter' appeal throughout.On show at Southampton The RNLI has had a fundraising presence at the Southampton Boat Show for many years, organised and run by the Southampton Board - a grouping of the local branches and guilds.

Over the years the show has grown in prestige and importance, so for the 1994 event - held between 17 and 25 September - the resources of the Institution's display and public relations teams were added to the efforts of the local volunteers.

The result was an extremely successful eVent with a highly professionallooking stand providing a good base for the sale of souvenirs and membership and an Atlantic 75 'simulator' (a moving centre section and console) attracting the younger visitors to the benefits of Storm Force membership.

An Atlantic class lifeboat from the nearby Inshore Lifeboat Centre at Cowes took part in many of the search and rescue demonstrations put on during the show, adding to the Institution's high profile at the event.Island's Royal HRH The Duchess of Kent visited St Helier lifeboat station on 31 October.

While at the station she presented the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum to Nigel Sweeny, helmsman of the nearby St Catherine's Atlantic lifeboat and framed letters of appreciation from the RNLI's presentation director to crew members Paul Richardson and John Heyes.

The awards followed a service by the Atlantic on 1 January 1994 when a surfer was saved in darkness and very poor conditions. A full account of the service appeared in the Autumn 1994 issue of THE LIFEBOAT.New Agency Land and Sea The RNLI has appointed a new agency to conduct its advertising campaigns after a presentation of ideas by three companies approached about taking on the Institution's account.

Burnett Associates will now be looking after the advertising account for the Institution's membership and other fundraising approaches.

For 12 years the RNLI had worked with The Response Initiative, which had been responsible for many of the current and very successful fundraising advertisements, but the company wished to move along a different path.

The RAC's link with the RNLI reported in the Autumn issue of THE LIFEBOAT continues, with the motoring organisation now extending their offer of direct donations to the Institution's funds whenever an insurance quotation is given or a policy taken out.

The RNLI receives £1 for every quotation and a further £14 for every policy taken up, together with £5 per renewal.

The RAC is also offering discounts on insurance and breakdown membership to RNLI supporters.

More details are given on the advertisement inside the front cover of this issue..