Prince Charles visits Rock Rock lifeboat station personnel were delighted and honoured to be visited by HRH The Prince of Wales just four days after their new boathouse was opened. Prince Charles had shown much interest in the new lifeboat station when it was planned over three years ago as it lies on Duchy of Cornwall land.

HRH spent 40 minutes talking to RNLI officers, lifeboat crew and other volunteers - the atmosphere was very relaxed and the Prince, not only interested in RNLI matters, spoke to the people he met about their occupations and activities. It was a most enjoyable experience for all those involved and a great start to the new boathouse.

The station would like to thank all those who contributed money and helped in achieving the target of £150,000 for the lifeboat and the new boathouse.

The Duke visits HQ RNLI headquarters in Poole had a very special visitor on 25 June when HRH The Duke of Kent KG came to sit in on an executive committee meeting and name a brand new Trent class lifeboat, Edward Duke of Windsor, after his late uncle.

With almost perfect timing, the rain stopped for the naming ceremony which was held on the depot quay and attended by many guests and visitors. RNLI Director, Brian Miles opened proceedings and handed over to Chairman David Acland who thanked the generosity of the donors and accepted the lifeboat on behalf of the Institution.

Funding for the lifeboat came from the bequest of the late Duchess of Windsor along with other legacies. HRH the Duke of Windsor was President of the Institution between 1919 and 1936 while he was Prince of Wales.

Following a service of dedication, and a fly-past by Portland Coastguard helicopter Hotel Lima, HRH named the lifeboat Edward Duke of Windsor and took a short trip afloat.

N E W S P O I NT This issue marks yet another step forward for The Lifeboat, being the first ever to appear with full colour throughout the magazine.

Thanks to advances in printing technology, and the increasing circulation of The Lifeboat as the number of RNLI members grows, the move to full-colour has not only been achieved without any increase in printing costs, but has actually enabled us to negotiate a considerable saving in our print bill! Supporters sometimes query the cost of distributing the magazine to each member, and a number have opted not to receive it on the grounds of perceived cost. Unfortunately this shows that the magazine has become a victim of its own success, as members are comparing the publication with the commercial magazines they see on the news-stands with cover prices of well over £2 per issue.

In fact the actual cost of each issue of this fullcolour journal will be in the region of 20 pence, and even when distribution and postage charges are added the cost rises to only around 52p - delivered to your door.

Advertising income reduces this further, and when the other fundraising material - such as lottery tickets which would otherwise have to be posted separately - are taken into account The Lifeboat s an extremely economical way for the RNLI to keep in touch with its supporters and those who have not yet joined the fold.

We have achieved this by bringing all of the production of the magazine 'in-house' and producing it on the same desk-top publishing equipment needed for other fundraising, operational and legally required productions. The Institution also puts the printing and distribution out to tender at intervals to ensure that you, the members, governors and other supporters receive the RNLI's news at the minimum cost.

The Lifeboat on audio tape The Lifeboat is also available on audio tape in conjunction with Talking Newspapers.

The audio tape version is free, although recipients may wish to make a donation to cover the additional costs involved.

To receive The Lifeboat on a C90 audio tape please write to: The Editor, The Lifeboat, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH151HZ.

BTp Global Challenge Challengers return After 163 days and 11 hours at sea, Toshiba Wave Warrior finally returned home, in a superb second place, after their gruelling challenge.

The crews, including six RNLI crew members, had sailed nearly 30,000 miles the wrong way' around the world against the prevailing winds and tide.

Global Teamwork finished in sixth place with Nuclear Electric in seventh. Chris Gaskin, West Kirby; Angela Morris, Fishguard; Haydon Edwards, Craster; Jack Goldie, Largs; Elaine Adams, Poole and Richard Tudor, Pwllheli had all completed their opportunity of a lifetime. There were many moments to remember, to cherish and even some to forget! In the Southern Ocean the wind was relentless. There were gales and storms, followed by even more gales and more storms! Chris broke a rib and Haydon suffered a compression fracture of his leg and spent much of his time confined below in his bunk.

Even there, he managed to get drenched when he was tucked up in bed! One crew member described taking part as living in a washing machine, getting washed and spun but never getting dry. Elaine said the worst parts were absolutely horrendous and she had never been so frightened.

Chris said that the 38 days he spent there felt like three years! In contrast, the good moments included nights out on the ocean when all was quiet and they could see thousands of stars in the clearest sky in the world. At other times they'd watch the flying fish and the dolphins swim under the bow in the moonlight. The beauty of Sydney Harbour with the opera house and bridge lit up is a sight Elaine will never forget.

On returning home the crews now appreciate home comforts even more. The first thing Haydon wanted to do was to have a bath, 'and one of the nicest things to do was to use a toilet that wasn't leaning at 45 degrees!' Seeing the greenness of the countryside was great after spending weeks surrounded by blue. Chris also now appreciates the importance of watching clouds for any signs of approaching bad weather, 'as you never know when the lifeboat may get called out!' Geoff Pack It is The Lifeboat's sad duty to inform readers that Geoff Pack, editor of Yachting Monthly and a member of the RNLI's Public Relations Committee, died in May after a brave fight against cancer.

During his time on the committee Geoff was the source of invaluable advice to the PR department and his magazine, always full of news about the RNLI, has recently carried extensive editorial support of Offshore membership and a recent article fully describing the virtues of the Severn class lifeboat.

Falmouth's Severn named Falmouth's new Severn class lifeboat The l/l was named at a ceremony attended by several hundred people on 16 July at Falmouth lifeboat station.

The lifeboat was funded by The Will Charitable Trust set up with the money from a bequest from Mrs Hobbins. Mrs Hobbins and her husband had a sailing barge, also called The Will and it was the wish of her late husband and herself to donate a substantial sum of money to the Institution to provide funds for the Severn class lifeboat.

The naming of the lifeboat was performed by Mrs Julia Redding who had travelled to Cornwall with her family from Essex. Mrs Redding was the daughter of Mr Hobbins and step-daughter of Mrs Hobbins. Following the ceremony, The Will went on a short trip with Mrs Redding, her family and other distinguished guests on board, followed by a reception for the VIPs.

Finnish award for RNLI Director The President of Finland has awarded RNLI Director, Brian Miles, with the Cross of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland for his 'excellent work to establish and develop good relations and cooperation between the RNLI and the Finnish Lifeboat Society.' The award, presented during the Finnish Lifeboat Society's centenary celebrations on 24 May, also marks the Society's respectful admiration towards Brian's meritorious work for the RNLI and International Lifeboat Federation.

Newly appointed Four new members were appointed to serve on the RNLI's Committee of Management during its meeting on 26 June 1997.

• Mr R. Angus Clark CBE - retired after service with Sainsbury's including service on the main board as the Director responsible for personnel, data processing, information systems, office services and distribution. He lives in Surrey and has been a member of the RNLI Finance Committee since 1992.

•The Rt Hon the Earl Howe - farms in Buckinghamshire and was Parliamentary Under Secretary of state for Defence from July 1995 until May 1997. Lord Howe is President of the RNLI Chilterns branch, and has been a member of the RNLI's Fundraising Committee since 1995. He lives in Buckinghamshire and is married with three daughters and a son.

• Mr John M. McAuley - Managing Director of leading grain importers in Ireland. Mr McAuley has been Donaghadee lifeboat station honorary secretary since May 1987 with previous service as deputy launching aurthority and administraion officer. His father also served the the branch as Chairman and later, President.

•Dr T. John Parker FEng - Executive Group Chairman of Babcock International Group since 1994 and Chairman and Chief Executive of Harland and Wolff Holdings from 1983 to 1994.

Dr Parker is President of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

Terry Waite names Harwich lifeboat On a blindingly brilliant day, with blue skies wiped clean by a fresh east wind, Albert Brown, the first Severn class lifeboat to go on station, was named by one of life's quiet heroes, Terry Waite CBE. With typical modesty, he passed the kudos of the event onto the late donor of the lifeboat, Mrs Victoria Maisie Brown, represented by her two sisters, who he asked to stand so that they could receive the acclaim of the crowded quayside. He went on to describe how Albert escaped from Czechoslovakia, almost 60 years ago, and was the only survivor from his family. He met and married Maisie Victoria from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, changed his name, so that they became known as the Browns and proceeded to make his fortune. When he died he expressed a wish to help the RNLI, and when his wife died, some years later she honoured that wish. She also provided for her beloved African grey parrot, who now lives in some comfort! Terry Waite went on to explain to all those standing outside the gates and along the sea wall that the RNLI was dependent on such public spirited generosity and that they, if they cared to help the lifeboat service in some small way in their turn, could perhaps be sitting inside the guest area, next time that a lifeboat was named. Having joked about the miracle of the button on his podium being able to smash a bottle of champagne on the lifeboat some 100 feet away, Terry Waite proceeded to name the lifeboat and roar with laughter as the said button carried out its work to perfection! The lifeboat surged away from the quayside with Terry waving joyfully to the crowd who, equally pleased and good humoured, waved him and their own quiet heroes into the far distance past huge sprays of water from two gigantic harbour tugs - a glorious and fitting finale.

Trial at Clovelly The RNLI is to evaluate the operation of an inshore lifeboat at Clovelly, North Devon, by placing an Atlantic 21 on station .towards the end of 1997.

If successful, the RNLI will re-establish a permanent lifeboat station which will replace the inshore rescue boat currently operated by the Clovelly Lifeboat Trust.

Celebrations at Portree As one of the newer members of the lifeboat family, the Portree Isle of Skye station, established in 1991, had cause for great celebration on 11 June with the naming ceremony of its first dedicated lifeboat.

The Trent class lifeboat, Stanley Watson Barker, was named by The Honourable Mrs Henry Douglas-Home.

The state-of-the-art vessel cost £1.175m and was funded by a generous bequest from Mr Stanley Watson Barker together with legacies of Mrs Eileen Arabian and Mr Jack R Blaxland.

Budget effects The government's July budget contained a measure of major future impact on the RNLI - the abolition of the non-taxpayer's right to claim the tax credit on dividends. This represents 25% of the dividend payment and the annual loss to the RNLI will be around £1.5m - some £300m to the charity sector as a whole.

Charities will not bear this loss in full until 2004 as there is a two year period of grace until April 1999 followed by a five year transitional period.

Prize drive-away Hopefully supporters should have received their Winter lifeboat lottery tickets and will be aware of its fantastic first prize - a Peugeot 306, which has been kindly sponsored by Peugeot Motor Company.

If you require tickets, or would like more to purchase or to sell, please contact Rebekah Rose at Poole Headquarters or ring her on the lottery ticket hotline: (01202)663219.

Corporate support opportunities Since its successful relaunch earlier this year, the lifeboat lottery has already seen a dramatic upturn in sales.

Sunworld Sailing Holidays and Peugeot have already been convinced of the opportunities and benefits that sponsorship of the lifeboat lottery will bring to their marketing programmes. After a decade of working together, Charles Hunter- Pease managing director of Volvo, has commented, 'Volvo Car UK Limited have worked with a number of organisations over the years, but few of these relationships have been as enduring or as successful as that which we have enjoyed with the RNLI.' The benefits to sponsors include their details printed on 2.3 million tickets which are mailed to members, exhibition and PR opportunities at events such as the London Boat Show and acknowledgement in various RNLI publications.

Corporate supporters interested in finding out more about this exciting and successful way to support the RNLI should contact Julia Fish, RNLI lottery development officer on (01202) 663334.

Lifeboats go green? The world's first motor-sailing lifeboat? It would undoubtedly save fuel and probably be great fun for the crews, but could it manage the 32-knot service speed? Sadly, this isn't the latest product of the fertile minds of the Trials Team but just an unusual camera angle caught by Colin Watson while Portaferry's Atlantic 75 Blue Peter Vwas out on exercise.

Ceremony shout The naming ceremony of Trearddur Bay's new Atlantic 75 lifeboat was scheduled for 27 April 1997 giving ample time for preparatory work, with activities reaching fever pitch during the preceding week. Determined that the weekend prior to the ceremony was to be spent cleaning and polishing, the crew and committee mucked in, removing every grain of sand, polishing every inch of paint work, checking all the equipment and coiling all the ropes.

By Saturday, everything was in pristine condition and volunteers stepped back to admire their work and then it happened - the lifeboat had a shout! The crew, without a second thought for the spotless lifeboat, launched in record time. The casualty, a fishing boat with her wheelhouse well ablaze and an unknown quantity of fuel on board, was soon taken care of and the lifeboat was re-housed and the spit and polish started again...

The big day attracted a crowd of many hundreds and proceedings were opened by station chairman, Squadron Leader Chris Taylor MBE RAF. Following a description of the new lifeboat, Reg Dawe, the donor of the lifeboat, handed her over to the RNLI. Michael Vlasto, then the Institution's sea safety liaison officer handed the lifeboat into the care of Trearddur Bay station. After a service of dedication, Reg Dawe named the lifeboat Dorothy Se/ina in memory of his late wife. Dorothy Selina launched and gave a demonstration with a helicopter from 22 Squadron RAF Valley for VIPs and the crowd.

CO2! Commodore George Cooper QBE, former RNLI chief of operations (CO) has retired after a 27 year career with the lifeboat service. He is succeed by Michael Vlasto, who became the Institution's first sea safety liaison officer in 1994 and established the first sea safety liaison working group.

When George joined the RNLI, the headquarters were based in London, and he was the youngest staff officer. He became divisional inspector of lifeboats for the west in 1972 and was appointed chief of operations in 1988. When interviewed by a local newspaper he said 1 shall certainly miss the job. It's a great privilege being in contact with the lifeboat people as the RNLI is like one big family.' In June George officially handed over to Michael who is now responsible for the operation of the Institution's 219 lifeboat stations, including analysing the type and number of incidents to which lifeboats are called so that the future composition of the fleet can be decided.

Kinghorn in kilts! Kinghorn's new Atlantic 75 lifeboat, Frederick Robertson, was formally named by Mrs A G Grimwade of Chelsea and received into RNLI service by Mr Andrew Cubie ws, vice convener of the Scottish lifeboat council and member of the committee of management.

The introduction of the new lifeboat completes the total upgrading of Kinghorn station which opened its new boathouse last year.

Despite inclement weather all who attended thoroughly enjoyed the occasion, with the crew celebrating in style by turning out in kilts..