Our summer break at Littlehampton was a little longer than anticipated perhaps due to a reluctance to depart before there was some progress to report on the new boathouse project. It is now some two years since discussions started on the project and a year since the RNLI had firm proposals for redeveloping on the existing site.

Life is, however, never simple particularly when third parties are involved. The existing site, adjacent to the Britannia public house, lies within the boundaries of the proposed East Bank redevelopment area and a developer was only selected in the early summer of this year. Space does not permit full airing of the frustrations, trialsand tribulations which accompany the reaching of agreement in such circumstances. Suffice it to say that if we wait for a decision upon a current planning application there is the distinct possibility of yet another re-design - not at the RNLI's expense! Selsey by contrast is a nice stable place - provided one keeps a weather eye out for the odd tornado - and the groyne system continues to retain the beach which, prior to its construction, was retreating at a rate which had left earlier boathouses a little adrift.

Last February's storm made the national news and the extra upkeep and maintenance required this year at Selsey is good example of the high cost of running slipway stations - replacing some of the structural beams and keelway sections will amount to some £60,000.

The work is difficult and dependent on tides and weather and has to be organised to cause the minimum of interference to the operation of the lifeboat. Each year some 60 to 70 stations are inspected as part of the triennial upkeep and maintenance programme which costs just under £1 m per annum. A cost which will inevitably increase in real terms as the bigger and more modern buildings begin to require attention in years to come.

A brisk sail just south of west from Selsey Bill brings us to Bembridge on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight which, like Selsey has a long access bridge to reach a slipway boathouse. Between 1993 and 1996 the station must have despaired of ever getting rid of the attentions of various contractors.

First there were repairs to deteriorating reinforced concrete in the boathouse supporting structure, then the long access bridge required extensive concrete repairs, and in 1994 attention switched to the foundations to boathouse and slipway - with many tonnes of concrete having to be transported across the beach at low tide.

Not only was this work restricted by tidal factors but inconvenience and disturbance to holiday makers had to be minimised. Just in case peace and tranquillity accidentally returned Southern Water decided to undertake major works in front of the inshore lifeboat boathouse and souvenir shop. There was, however, a silver lining to this episode as a deal was done whereby the water authority took over part of the RNLI's existing building and in return provided improved crew facilities and souvenir sales facilities.

The final round in the renovation of this 77-year-old station took place in 1996 with extensive repairs to the slipway deck and keeiway.

Returning to the mainland we make rapid passage past Hayling Island's new award-winning boathouse. The strong tidal streams which make sailing in this area a lively business are also the source of problems for the station. The aerial photograph shows the pattern of groynes which help to stabilise the beaches, but recently beach material has overtopped the groynes to seaward of the lifeboat slipway causing drifts of sand and shingle to impede launching operations.

The cause of the problem may well be the slow northward migration of a large cusp of shingle which could take several years to pass by.

Interesting as this may be in coastal engineering terms it posed problems which had to be solved rapidly. A small tracked excavator has provided the immediate solution and its operation has added to the multifarious skills of the crew. In the longer term the problem will be eliminated by converting from the current winch-assisted manual operation to a tractor and Do-Do (Drive-on Driveoff) rig Our departure back to the open sea can be monitored from the well-appointed first floor crew room with its excellent view over the channel and its SE approaches. The value of providing such facilities has been well proven by the emergency services during call outs.

Traversing Hayling Bay and navigating the banks at the entrance to Langston Harbour brings us to yet another of the new generation of ILB boathouses, Portsmouth. Construction took place between February and June of 1991 and the black ship-lap timber walls and a tiled roof give the building a distinctive look. Had the planners had their way it would also have been surrounded by a timber stockade! Proceeding westwards into the Solent we cross the mouth of Southampton Water to arrive at Calshot, where another well-known coastal feature - Calshot Spit - provides shelter and a home for one of the small number of Brede class lifeboats.

The new shore facility (19961 provides modern accommodation for the crew, many of whom work at the Calshot Activity Centre within which the station lies. Those who watched the construction of this building were left in no doubt that it is well weighed down by the large amounts of reinforced concrete that went into the foundations. Until 1995 the crew operated from a building located on the old concrete jetty which also provided boarding facilities by way of a davit launched boarding boat.

About the same time that the RNLI decided to provide new, modern facilities ashore for the crew Hampshire County Council, owners of the Activity Centre and the jetty, decided that the time had come to replace the dilapidated wartime structure.

With the assistance of a contribution from the RNLI a new jetty was commissioned in 1996 and the station and the centre now share much improved landing facilities.

Any sailor in this part of the world can hardly miss the opportunity of calling into Cowes. While the RNLI does not have a lifeboat station here as such, we can easily use the excuse of a visit to the Inshore Lifeboat Centre (ILC). In 1995 a decision was taken to rebuild the main assembly and workshop facilities at the ILC. The project had to be completed so as to minimise disruption to the busy annual inspection and maintenance programme for the D class ILBs. A fast track programme was set up and the project completed on time and within budget barely 12 months from the initial decision. Asa result the Institution has a state of the art facility where Atlantic 75 construction and the D class fleet maintenance is undertaken in a clean, safe working environment.

Tacking back across the Solent we put into the bustling harbour at Lymington. Here in 1991 one of the earlier of the current modernisation projects was undertaken with an extension to the station's boathouse to provide improved crew facilities. The work was funded by a donation from an elderly benefactor who put much pressure on all concerned to complete the work so he could see it in his lifetime.

Following the Wightlink ferry that plies regularly across to Yarmouth we find ourselves back on the Isle of Wight, with the station's Arun class moored nearby. By the time this article goes to press work should be under way, or very imminent, on the construction of an alongside pontoon berth that will greatly improve boarding and servicing the lifeboat.

Negotiations to find a suitable solution in this busy harbour have been in hand since 1997.

The work will involve piling to ensure the stability of the existing quay wall and the construction of a wave screen to protect the new berth from waves from the north. These facilities will compliment the station's modern shore facilities and ILB house which were provided in 1994 by the renovation and conversion of the historic Custom House building.

This project was one of a number undertaken in recent years where the Institution has been able to give new life to existing waterfront buildings to the mutual benefit of the lifeboat service and our national heritage.

Leaving the Needles astern we bid a final farewell to the Isle of Wight, but with the knowledge that geological continuity will be re-established when we reach the Dorset coast - where the Needles' mainland cousins, the Old Harry rocks, stand guard over Studland Bay.

Before that, however, we cross Christchurch Bay and before entering the main harbour of Christchurch we visit the Atlantic 21 station at Mudeford. One of the first of the modern architect-designed boathouses Mudeford is currently the subject of a study to determine how best to house and operate the new Atlantic 75 which is shortly to be allocated to the station.

Launch and recovery of the current Atlantic is principally a manual operation with the boathouse opening directly onto a slipway. It is one of handful of stations where the additional weight of the '75' coupled with the greater awareness of health and safety risks has led to a need to change established manual methods to the more common tractor-assisted operation used at stations where the lifeboat rig has to travel greater distances to launch.

Final decisions have yet to be made on the nature of the work to be undertaken at Mudeford but it is probable that a major project will be necessary prior to the planned arrival of the new boat.

Rounding Hengisbury Head and entering Poole Bay we encounter one of the wonders of the South Coast - how the endless flotilla of leisure craft, ferries and commercial vessels which continuously transit in and out of the entrance to Poole Harbour do so with so little incident.

Very strong ebb and flood tides streams add to the fun, and the final ingredient of the Sandbanks chain ferry running at right angles to the rest of the traffic make for a very entertaining spectacle for those tired of soaking up the sun on the beaches.

Within the harbour - either the largest or second largest natural harbour in the world depending upon whether the speaker is a native of Poole or Sydney - Poole's lifeboats, a Brede and an Atlantic, lie just seaward of the lift bridge which gives access to the inner harbour and regularly jams up the town's traffic system.

The shore facility building was constructed in 1990 and overlooks the lifeboat berth. In 1994 a floating boathouse was commissioned for the Atlantic. Supported on steel pontoons the boathouse is moored to steel tube piles and incorporates an alongside berth for the Brede on its shoreward side. A further project in 1996 saw the installation of a piled walkway with a hinged gangway to give direct access to the lifeboats and avoiding the need for the boarding boat - an improvement much welcomed by the crews who are called out up to eight times a day on occasions.

Dodging the chain ferry we can set course for Swanage, passing the long sweep of Studland Bay and Old Harry Rocks. Swanage is one of only three stations with a slipway-launched Mersey, and in 1992 required extensive works to both the boathouse and the slipway.

A further project was undertaken in 1994 when a D class was added to the station and a new boathouse was built as a lean-to extension to the existing building. The term 'lean-to', however, hardly does justice to the high-quality natural stone and slate building which the location and local planning policy required.

Sailing westwards once more we are treated to the spectacular cliffs and coastal features for which this part of the Dorset coast is famous.

At Weymouth the last of the season's holiday makers are making the most of the town's broad, sandy beach and enjoying the charms of this traditional seaside resort. The lifeboat station there has undergone major changes in the last three years.

In 1996 the closure of the nearby Portland naval base meant that the RNLI had to add an Atlantic 21 to the existing all-weather Arun in order replace the inshore cover previously provided by the navy. In 1996 a new inshore lifeboat house was built on a narrow pier adjacent to Weymouth Sailing Club, and the existing masonry lifeboat house on the town's historicquay was then renovated to provide modern facilities for the crews and an improved souvenir shop.

The station's Arun lies at a piled mooring in front of the old boathouse, which in times past housed a slipway- launched boat. One of the major elements of the modernisation was the removal of the massive concrete plinth which used to support the winch. This released considerable space for improved facilities- Continuing westwards from Portland we enter West Bay, with the low sweep of Chesil Bank at its eastern end sheltering the Fleet and the swans of Abbotsbury. This low lying interlude of coastline is soon replaced by sandstone cliffs rising to the aptly named and impressive Golden Cap overlooking Lyme Bay and the ancient Cobb at the western end of Lyme Regis seafront - made famous in the film of John Fowles' novel The French Lieutenant's Woman.

The Cobb protects Lyme's small harbour and the massive masonry structure built in the last century is the descendant of earlier versions dating back over 700 years. The harbour today is home to a fleet of fishing boats and leisure craft. Given the long maritime tradition in the town it is not surprising that there is also long lifeboat tradition. The first lifeboat was housed in an existing building facing onto Cobb Square in the early 1800s. A purposebuilt boathouse was constructed in the 1860s and still stands - doing sterling service as public conveniences.

In the 1890s a new boathouse was built adjacent to the harbour, but met a fiery end in 1933 just after the RNLI closed the station. In 1997 a new boathouse was opened to house the town's new Atlantic 75. This high quality masonry building replaced the simple boathouse which had served the crew since the station was reopened in 1966.

Building a new boathouse in such a sensitive area was inevitably accompanied by intense local debate, which spanned several years and saw the production of several designs at three different locations. Visitors to the boathouse should look up to see the brick panel set high in the boatroom wall commemorating the loss of the Heroine in Lyme Bay in the 1860s. The panel is made from bricks salvaged from the wreck.

Howard Richmg's travels around the coast will continue in future issues of The Lifeboat.