Howard Richings, the PNLI's Shoreworks Manager continues his voyage around the coast - here he looks at the stations from Exmouth to Fowey With the RNLI's 175th anniversary celebrations under way and the editor's insistence that we took a glance back over the history of boathouse design in the previous issue of The Lifeboat we have had a longer than planned stopover in Lyme Regis.

While waiting for the sea mist to clear and for the wreckage of a small helicopter to be winched out of the harbour (a service which made headline news and from which the two occupants fortunately emerged unscathed) a quick review of some recent notable shoreworks events seems in order: Cromer's new slipway station became fully operational on 4 March (just a coincidence that it was the RNLI's 175th birthday!) Planning permissions have been granted for new shore facilities and boathouses at Brighton, Kyle of Lochalsh, Beaumaris and Whitstable; and work is well under way at Barrow in Furness, Dun Laoghaire and Montrose. Helvick Head in the Republic of Ireland saw the completion of its new inshore lifeboat boathouse and plans are well advanced for many more projects some of which will be visited on future parts of this millennium circumnavigation. (Author's note: I'm a purist - the new millennium does not begin until 1 January 2001 and the extra year will be most useful!) Leaving the Cobb astern we sail west heading into Devon and passing by the non-lifeboat towns of Seaton and Sidmouth before arriving at Exmouth. Hopefully, before long we shall be looking back and reporting that the long awaited new facilities are under construction. For the moment the station must await the outcome of current redevelopment plans for the harbour area before the station can be provided with modern shore and berthing facilities for its all-weather lifeboat.

The station's D class lifeboat has the distinction of being housed in one of the oldest remaining operational boathouses.

Built in 1903 it is must for any visitor, not only does it house the lifeboat but also an excellent souvenir shop and display area with models and interesting exhibits and memorabilia.

While as yet there are no new shoreworks to report a renovation job of a different kind was undertaken during the winter. It is a long story worth a separate telling - but suffice to say that one of the station's prized and much-loved exhibits - a Victorian animated rescue scene depicting survivors being winched to safety from a foundering vessel complete with lightening bolts - had ceased to work. A retired engineer agreed to look into the ancient workings of cogs, bicycle chains and lethal electrics and to try and effect a repair - at no cost! The exhibit is now back in place and once again enticing children to part with their parents' money.

Continuing south-westwards we follow the railway line on its exposed route from Dawlish into Teignmouth.

Extensive renovation works on the old boathouse were undertaken in 1990/91. This is one of a number of stations which have been reopened during the last decade to meet the growing demand for improved cover, there are currently 223 operational lifeboat stations compared with 196 in 1989. Teignmouth was closed in 1940 and re-opened in 1990, and a pleasing aspect of this expansion has been the opportunity to restore a number of interesting and attractive buildings such as that at Teignmouth.

After navigating the ever-changing sandbanks in the estuary of the river Teign we are soon in sight of the famous Torquay sea front, already busy with early season tourists enjoying the excellent early May Bank holiday sunshine.

Torbay's Arun class lifeboat lies afloat in Brixham's outer harbour and work should soon start on providing a new piled mooring at this busy fishing and pleasure port. New crew facilities were built in 1990, this being one of the first stations to be modernised under the current programme.

Our course now runs south passing the beautiful Dart estuary and Dartmouth itself with its long naval history. After a choppy 90° turn around Start Point the calm and tranquil waters of Salcombe are welcome.

In January 1992 work started on a 6 month project to renovated Unity Buildings on the harbour front to provide modern shore facilities for the crew of the station's Tyne class lifeboat - one of the few of this class kept afloat. The shallow draft of the Tyne and her fully protected propellers being useful attributes when crossing the infamous 'bar' at the mouth of the estuary.

Originally it had been intended that this three storey listed building would provide accommodation for the lifeboat museum and crew facilities on the ground and first floors with HM Coastguard leasing the top floor.

As with the best laid plans this did not work out as anticipated, as HMCG had a change of heart! The top floor was left as a residential apartment, and is the RNLI's only holiday home. With an unimpeded harbour view from the lounge this flat is let commercially on behalf of the RNLI - an excellent place for a break any time of the year and very handy for visiting the interesting and well presented lifeboat museum on the ground floor. Coastal Country Cottages, on (01548) 843773 can provide further details.

Television viewers will remember the BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series which followed the lives of the Salcombe crew over a period of several months. This was filmed whilst the renovation works were in progress and it remains a mystery how the series managed to avoid showing a single scaffold pole or, as far as I can recall, making any mention of the project.

Future plans for Salcombe include the addition of an Atlantic 75, in anticipation of which an adjacent site was recently obtained on which a boathouse will be constructed in due course. Consideration is also being given to providing an alongside pontoon berth for the all-weather lifeboat, although obtaining consent for the necessary dredging may be difficult.

Geographically Salcombe is probably the nearest mainland town to the Channel Islands and setting a southerly course and keeping a keen lookout for super tankers and the myriad of commercial and pleasure craft entering and leaving the English Channel we head for Guernsey and St Peter PortExmouth to Fowey continued Here after several years of waiting and negotiation the station finally got its much needed modern facilities in 1996, when the RNLI acquired premises vacated by the port authority. These were modified and refitted to provide shore facilities for the allweather lifeboat which lies afloat in the harbour.

St Catherine on Jersey was an earlier beneficiary of the modernisation programme with major renovation works on an existing boathouse providing facilities for the station's Atlantic in 1990.

The St Helier crew had put up with less than ideal conditions for many years but, as befits one of the busiest key stations, all was put right in 1993 with the opening of the station's new, locally-designed, purpose-built shore facility.

Before bidding au revoirlo the balmy breezes of the southern most reaches of the RNLI's operational area we call into Alderney to enjoy the tranquillity of Guernsey's smaller neighbour where life proceeds at a much more leisurely pace. Unlike its three sister stations Alderney has not had any major works undertaken in recent years although, in common with many of the RNLI's remoter locations, getting minor works done can at times be time consuming and frustrating, for although most people would see a trip to one of these sites as a holiday contractors' priorities are different! Being the owner of a listed building can be a mixed blessing, bringing as it does planning restrictions and statutory upkeep and maintenance responsibilities.

Not content with the several existing RNLI lifeboat houses that have been listed the Institution purchased the early 19th century Round House adjacent to Millbay Marina in Plymouth to provide a new permanent home for the crew of the afloat all-weather lifeboat, and renovation of the three storey masonry building took place in 1994.

The priorities of the original designers and builders were different from those of today. The building stands exposed to the south-westerly storms and keeping the water from penetrating the single skin of limestone masonry without breaching the listed building restrictions proved a headache which had the telephone wires burning on a number of occasions.

Sailing on west of the Tamar brings us into Cornwall where our first port of call is Looe. The estuary divides the town into two and it was in East Looe that the RNLI reopened an inshore lifeboat station in 1992. In common with many other picturesque seaside towns nestling in the narrow estuaries of the southwest peninsular space is at a premium in Looe.

Initially the D class lifeboat operated out of the old boathouse, but this was only available for a limited period and the search for a permanent home became increasingly desperate. The final solution should be a salutary warning to all RNLI station honorary secretaries -the Institution acquired his ideally situated house and converted it into a boathouse! Work was completed in 1997.

The search for a site was hardly less problematical in Fowey. This delightful town has hardly any flat waterfront areas with narrow streets rising steeply up from the sea.

Arriving by sea must be the preferred option in the summer when the seasonal migration of 'grockles' fills the car parks, pubs and restaurants.

The old slipway station was no longer adequate or convenient for the afloat all-weather boat and the D class inshore lifeboat. After several false starts negotiations with the local harbour commissioners resulted in the acquisition a site and construction of a new boathouse, shore facility, D class launching davit and mechanic's house - all completed in 1998.

In the past the provision of 'tied' accommodation for the lifeboat mechanic was common, but changing times have lead to a reduction in the number of 'cottage properties' provided by the Institution and the construction of a new one is unusual. It is only considered when, as in the case of Fowey, suitable housing is at a premium. Where they exist such properties are now rented to the incumbent but their existence ensures that lack of appropriate housing in does not hinder the appointment of this key crew member.

As at Looe, Fowey's D class is launched from a davit mounted on top of an old masonry quay. The davits look deceptively simple, but most sit on substantial independent foundations so as not to risk damage to old quay structures.

The all pervasive 175th anniversary and the coincident International Lifeboat Federation conference have conspired not only to delay the start of this leg of the circumnavigation but also to foreshorten it. We shall lay up in Fowey and return once the visiting flotilla has departed after the festivities on 23 June in Poole Harbour..