Famous five In May 1995 I was rescued by Swanage lifeboat, with a helicopter and an inshore Atlantic standing by, from a yacht aground on the Kimmeridge ledge off the coast of Dorset. The tide was falling and the yacht in danger of breaking up on the rocks. I wrote to the RNLI to thank them, commented on the fantastic service provided, and also mentioned that I believed my family were in some way connected with the first lifeboats, though in what way I did not know.

The letter was published in The Lifeboat and prompted some correspondence with a Mr G Smith at the RNLI Zetland Museum in Redcar which houses the Zetland, built in 1802 and no. 11 of Henry Greathead's lifeboats. On his suggestion I obtained a copy of 'Mr Greathead's Lifeboats' by Adrian Osier, an excellent and very readable account of the genesis of the lifeboat. The design and build of the first actual lifeboat was proposed and commissioned by five individuals who were ship owners and master mariners. They formed the committee of the Lawe House, a subscription newsroom and 'coffee house' in South Shields, at the mouth of the Tyne, an area that had experienced considerable loss of life from foundering ships attempting to enter or leave the river in heavy weather.

I was surprised to find that one of those five individuals was a Mr Nicholas Fairies and another a Mr William Masterman, as my name is Fairless Masterman. My great grandfather was a Mr William Fairless Masterman; his grandmother, born Anne Fairies ('Fairies is pronounced 'Fairless' and came to be spelt so), married William Masterman, and her aunt married Nicholas Fairies. As if that wasn't enough, William Masterman's sister Dorothy married Michael Rockwood, another of the famous five.

Clearly, but for my great-great-great grandfather and family I would not be here.

Fairless Masterman Anniversary pride I live afloat in Italy and listen frequently to BBC World Service. I felt so proud to be British when I heard the excellent programme commemorating the RNLI 175th anniversary - I especially listened to the programme again later in the day.

Although I am not one to show emotion, the mention of those brave Penlee men brought a tear to my eye. God Speed to you all.

Esme Lucas Havens Anzio Italy Ex-Arun update I am Birkir Agnarsson, coxswain of the Grindavik lifeboat Oddur V.

Gislason. She is ex-Arun class B.P. Ponies (54- 05) which, until last fall, was stationed at Aberdeen and I was on the crew that sailed her from Scotland to our station in Iceland.

Our first mission with the Arun was on 11 February 1999 when she saved a 120ft fishing vessel and crew of 10 - the vessel had engine failure and was drifting into 180ft cliffs in a SE Force 7. We arrived at the scene 45 minutes after the mayday call was sent out and towed the vessel to Grindavik harbour.

Birkir Agnarsson Grindavik Lifeboat Station Iceland Greetings from the US I have just finished reading the Summer issue of The Lifeboat- congratulations on the celebration of your 175th year of saving lives at sea.

On page 24 of the issue I noticed some photographs of Waveney class lifeboats which are based on the 44ft US Coast Guard cutter design. The US Coast Guard is transitioning from the 44ft motor lifeboat (MLB) to a new enclosed 47ft MLB. Currently I am operating five boats from my station in Atlantic City, one of which is the 44ft MLB. I thought readers may be interested to see this photograph of one of our rigid hull inflatables which I believe are similar to the RNLI Atlantic rigid inflatable lifeboats.

Again, congratulations on your 175th year, I wish your organisation many more successful years of providing lifesaving services.

Lt Richard W Condit US Coast Guard Henry Greathead, creator of The Original, was commisioned to design and build lifeboats by the Lawe House Committee.

Sick note Can you please answer a question which has been puzzling me. Are lifeboat crews ever seasick? Having been there, I know I could never become a lifeboatman even if I lived on the seashore! Perhaps readers might be interested in the answer - if they've ever thought about it.

Garedd Davies Manchester In answer to your question, we spoke to Anne Mil/man, the RNLI's Youth Promotion Manager who is also a crew member with Poole lifeboat, and she tells us that crew members do indeed suffer with seasickness from time to time.

Apparently the navigators are most likely to suffer. When sea conditions get rough the lifeboat's wheelhouse doors are kept sealed - so just imagine having go to out on a long bumpy service, trying to concentrate on navigational charts whilst being thrown about in a claustrophobic wheelhouse, surrounded by the smell of diesel! There is story going around about a station where the lifeboat had to go out in particularly rough conditions and the crew, as well as the survivors, were being seasick. Evidently it was a pretty messy ordeal with survivors looking high and low for receptacles to be sick in - apparently the next time the crew went out on a shout one crew member found a particularly nasty surprise in one of his boots! Hopefully we have not answered your question in too rich detail! - Asst. Ed.

Victorian buoy rescue I was delighted to read in the Summer issue of The Lifeboat that the Victorian model of a breeches buoy rescue at Exmouth has been restored to working order. I remember it well from childhood visits to the station during family holidays in the 1950s and 60s - the little cloth figures jerking their way along the rope to safety fascinated me. I had no idea that it was Victorian, but my mother remembers it from her holidays there as a child in the late 1920s and 30s.

We shall certainly look out for it next time we're in the area. I think those early visits to Exmouth were the source of my interest in lifeboats and support for the RNLI, as my family has no connection with the sea. I hope the model will last for many years to interest future generations of children Janet Morris Cambridge Letters from readers are always welcome.

Address them to: The Editor, The Lifeboat, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 or email us at: thelifeboat@rnli. org. uk All submissions should be marked 'for publication'..