The RNLI's 1998 Annual Meetings For the fourth year running, the RNLI's Annual General Meeting and Presentation of Awards, held on 21 May, took place at the Barbican Centre in the City of London.

Displays were set up allowing the Institution to illustrate many aspects of its work, and a souvenir stall was kept busy in the time between meetings.

The morning AGM allowed the Chairman, David Acland DL, to present his review of the year's activities, to thank his fellow Governors for the support they give, and to remark on the outstanding story of 1997 - the award of the first RNLI Gold Medal for 16 years.

Although some rescues will take less time to execute than others, it is difficult ever to talk about a routine job for a lifeboat Skill Coxswain Hewitt Clark of Lerwick, Shetland, held his newly acquired Severn class lifeboat alongside a 3,000-ton cargo vessel long enough to take five men off, only minutes before the ship was dashed to pieces on rocks in some of the worst conditions ever experienced by the islanders. The Chairman remarked that 'the skill and courage of the coxswain and his crew and the capabilities of their lifeboat represent the pinnacle of our organisation.' He commented that following the early teething troubles of the Severn, which has been officially recognised by the Design Council as a Millennium Product, this class of lifeboat 'came of age in the most emphatic way possible during the Lenvick Gold Medal rescue'. The boat's power and manoeuvrability allowed the coxswain to go alongside the casualty in desperately little sea room and, despite being hurled repeatedly against the steel side of the ship by breakers up to 45ft high, the Severn's fibre reinforced composite hull suffered minimal damage. Only minor repairs were needed, with the lifeboat able to stay on service.

Financial Speaking later in more detail about the Institution's financial position, the Chairman briefly touched on the importance of the continuing success of the fundraisers, who provided the sound financial footing for a first rate lifeboat service. With around three years running expenses in hand, the RNLI could confidently carry through its plans, charting new waters in every field of operation and. remarkably, entirely voluntarily funded. Mr Acland remarked that few providers of essential services, either by government or the private sector, could make the same confident promises.

Busiest Lifeboat crews had their second busiest year in history with 6,777 launches in 1997. Ten years ago the record was less than 4,000 which gives an indication of the increased commitment expected of a lifeboat volunteer nowadays. Mr Acland said he found it enormously encouraging when visiting stations on the coast that crew members do not begrudge the long hours they give and comments are received time and again from those they save about their skill, their patience and their compassion.

Variety Last year lifeboat crews saved 1.420 people with a further 5,000 or more given help when in potential danger. It is difficult ever to talk about a routine job for a lifeboat and no two circumstances are ever the same at sea. remarked Mr Acland. The four medal-winning rescues in 1997 well illustrate how the type of casualty can vary so much.

Apart from these particular rescues demonstrating the versatility of our own service, the Chairman acknowledged how they are all examples of essential co-operation with other agencies and how lives would have been lost without them. He said the tragic fact that the rescuers in both the Shetland and the Irish service were lost to the sea, underlines the extreme dangers all those involved in search and rescue sometimes face.

Safety Lifeboat crews are trained to recognise the risks whenever a lifeboat puts out to sea and our boats and equipment are designed to withstand the most extreme conditions, said Mr Acland. He was able to report that a considerable amount of work was also being carried out to improve the risk awareness of others who use the sea and to ensure they are properly equipped. The Chairman went on to say that more practical ways of preventing accidents at sea were being looked at. A study was currently under way to see if a voluntary system of boat safety equipment inspection, as operated by the United States and the Canadian Coast Guard auxiliaries, is appropriate for pleasure craft in this country.

• Second busiest year in history for services • Lifeboat designs prove their value • Outstanding year for fundraising Commercial sea-users are also being targeted and last year the first seminar to a group of fishermen was held to discuss ways to reduce the considerable risks they sometimes face. It was encouraging, said Mr Acland, to find how receptive they were to our ideas and to observe that not just among fishermen but with all types of sea-user, when the RNLI had something to say about safety at sea, people listen.

Training In recent years, the Institution has come a long way to ensure that the volunteer crews have all the necessary skills. The Chairman added that training has now been further enhanced with the allocation of the prototype Severn to the role of navigation training vessel, with a planned second vessel similarly allocated. 1998 will also see the opening of a new in-house engineering training facility, which will include a workshop where lifeboat mechanics can gain hands-on experience in fault-finding and repair using running main engines, generators and auxiliary machinery.

Referring to the new Global Maritime Distress and Safety System currently coming into use. Mr Acland said this had created the need for an additional mobile training unit and was another example of how new technology invariably requires greater knowledge by our crews.

Another aspect of training was to include people from rescue services outside the RNLI. These places are highly valued by participants and are a very effective way of spreading good practice at sea. More could be done in this area and ways are currently being looked at to offer training to outsiders on a more systematic basis.

Lifeboats In order to reach our target set for the year 2000, which is to guarantee to reach virtually any point out to 50 miles off the coast within two and a half hours, four Trent and six Severn class lifeboats entered service last year, reported Mr Acland. There are now 32 of these 25-knot, all-weather lifeboats on station. If anyone ever doubled the need for these latest designs, this past year has proved their value beyond question. The Trents have carried out successful services, in one case up to 100 miles from station in bad weather and the Severn came of age during the Lerwick Gold Medal rescue.

The Chairman also announced good progress with the project to design a slipway-launched lifeboat with increased power and speed. The Tyne replacement is due to enter service in 2002 but further details on this new boat would be revealed as the year unfolds.

Further into the future, our Lifeboats Bewncl 2000 Project has, through a radical assessment of the lifeboat requirements of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, identified some new avenues for the next century. There is a need, said Mr Acland, for increased night capability for inshore lifeboats and a role to be played by a fast response boat with a speed of about 35 knots for shortrange, all-weather work. A feasibility study for such a boat is underway al the moment.

Stations Turning to the changes on the shoreline as well as the sea, Mr Acland said the perpetual review of cover identified the need for two new lifeboat stations. At Castletownbere on Ireland's south west coast, an Arun class lifeboat took up station duty and in Clovelly. north Devon, an inshore station is being established where the RNLI has not been involved since the 70ft Clyde class was withdrawn in 1988.

The Chairman revealed a big programme of shoreworks rebuilding and improvement over the next few years. The biggest single project, which is well on its way to completion, is the replacement of the slipway and boathouse at the end of Cromer Pier which is designed to take the new fast slipway boat when it is ready.

Funds Mr Acland told the meeting that the capital expenditure plan over the next three years amounts to £60m of which £40m will be spent on boat building and £20m on shoreworks. Such a commitment was only sustainable if there were guaranteed funds to cover it. He was delighted to say our financial statement for 1997 confirmed that state of affairs.

Total costs rose by £3mto£67min 1997, partially reflecting a doubling of expenditure on lifeboat station construction. Unexpectedly strong but welcome legacy income in the year meant that these costs were more than adequately met and gave the RNLI a surplus which, together with investment gains, increased free reserves to £239m, equal to about three years' forward expenditure. In contrast, said the Chairman, 'this healthy position is afar cry from 20 years ago when reserves were practically at zero and plans for the future were in jeopardy.' Continued on The Annual Meetings 1998 STOP PRESS! An RNLI video of the Annual Presentation of Awards, featuring reconstructions of the four Medal services, is available at £10.00 inc. p&p.

To order your copy, send your name and address with a cheque, payable to RNU Enterprises Limited, to The Video Factory, Grove House, Milburn Road, Bournemouth BH4 9HJ. Please allow 28 days for delivery.

A list of all voluntary workers who received their awards at the Barbican will be found on page 40 Coxswain Hewitt Clark of Lerwick becomes the RNLI's most decorated serving lifeboat coxswain, with three Bronze, one Silver and one Gold Medal.

Helmsman Ian Stringer of Eastbourne receives only the eleventh Silver Medal to be awarded this century. He was awarded the Bronze Medal for bravery W years ago, when he and his crew rescued three men from a capsized boat during the filming of a new James Bond movie.

Appreciating thai legacies are hugely valuable but inherently volatile as source of income, he was pleased to note that we have such a reliable source of income from our investments and, more importantly still, from subscriptions and donations, the £24m directly generated by our supporters. Mr Acland was also able to report thai the Sales company, for whom so many volunteers work so hard, doubled their profits in the year to £ 1.3m.

Exceptional The Chairman commented this had been an exceptional year for fundraising. Having fought back in the last two years from a decline in legacy income, an unprecedented £50m came from this source. He gave credit to all the crews and fundraisers who influence people making out their will.

Mr Acland was delighted to report thai direct fundraising is also increasingly effective. The regions generated £ 10.6m last year, while members and regular donors contributed a record £l 1.6m. nearly 30% up on 1996. He touched on the success of Offshore, (he new 'salt water' membership grade which attracted !4.371 recruits in its first year and said this excellent overall result has enabled a postponement on a planned subscription rate increase.

He went on to say that it is not only the income from the new Offshore membership which makes it valuable, it also attracts a younger age group to give regular support. This is vital to our long-term success.

Anniversary The Chairman then drew the meeting's attention to the I75th Anniversary in 1999. He said the message will be that 'while lifeboat technology will never stand still, the voluntary- spirit is constant.' Every effort will be made to deliver that message and to make the lifeboat service relevant to the generation which will be providing the voluntary support needed in the 21st century.

Retirement Before closing the meeting, Mr Acland thanked the Director, Brian Miles, for his devoted service to the RNLI over 34 years. He retires at the end of this year having spent 11 years at the helm, a period which has seen calls on lifeboats double, the number of stations increase from 202 to 222, four new classes of lifeboat introduced, annual income nearly trebling and, above all. 16,000 lives saved. With those achievements he will also be remembered as the man who understood that the RNLI is only great because of the people within it. He then wished the Director the happiest of retirements and said a successor, who will be chosen a little later in the year, has a splendid example to follow.

The Presentation of Awards Following the Annual General Meeting, a large audience gathered that afternoon for the Annual Presentation of Awards.

The Chairman, David Acland PI., again opened the proceedings and took an early opportunity to congratulate and pay tribute to the recipients who were to receive awards.

Before outlining the progress the Institution had made during the past year, he told the meeting of a incident which took place some 50 miles inland over the Easter holiday, when areas in the Midlands were severely flooded leaving many people stranded in their houses. Although this was not the kind of incident likely to receive formal recognition, he said, it epitomises the versatility of the lifeboat service and the commitment of the crews.

Crew members from Weston-super-Mare and Penarth were rapidly-mustered to Worcestershire where they met three fully equipped D class inflatables, despatched from RNLI headquarters earlier in the day. These volunteers then began a 20 hour operation in floods up to six feet deep, negotiating all kinds of submerged objects including cars, evacuating some 30 people and taking medical assistance to others.

Paying tribute to the Director Brian Miles. Mr Acland moved on to invite HRH The Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI, to address the meeting.

His Royal Highness began by saying this was a day when we could all take tremendous pride in the collective achievements of our unique and voluntary organisation. He said the skill, dedication and warmth from the volunteers and staff he met lie at the root of the RNLI's phenomenal success and they are what we are here to celebrate today.

The Duke echoed the Chairman's farewell good wishes to Brian Miles before praising the efforts of the fundraisers and the skill and courage of the crews. He said the story of the rescue of 15 men from the Green Lily, which won Hewitt Clark the RNLI's Gold Medal, would undoubtedly fill us with pride and wonder at the courage of a lifeboat and a helicopter crew. But, he remarked, it will also remind us that when the Gold Medal is won. the risk of death is never far away, as the tragic loss of Winchman Bill Deacon demonstrated.

Having moved the traditional motion appreciating the efforts of crews and fundraisers. His Royal Highness presented the awards to voluntary workers and crews.

Awards for Gallantry presented at the Barbican.