In this issue he reaches the most westerly station in England and shapes a course back up the coast to the north..Since dropping anchor in Fowey and rushing back for the ILF conference and the 175th celebrations in Poole so much has happened that it is difficult to believe that we are still in the same millennium let alone the same year.

Before weighing anchor for the next leg of the trip a quick glance back is in order to check up on what we have left in our wake. Work is now well in hand at Brighton, and Whitstable's boathouse has been demolished with the new one rising from the rubble. Plans are in hand for new facilities at Mablethorpe and Southend and at Hartlepool one of a series of new pontoon berths for the Severn and Trent fleet has been completed - another is under construction at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

But onward: time, tide and the new millennium are pressing and we have yet to round Lands End. Leaving Gribbin Head behind we pass Megavissey to enter Carrick Roads and the extensive deep water refuge of the Fal estuary.

In 1993/94 Falmouth saw the relocation of its lifeboat station to a site adjacent to the new Port Pendennis development.

The Arun, since replaced by a Severn, was brought alongside to a new pontoon berth and a boalhouse built to house the station's Atlantic 21 and provide the crews with modern facilities. The project was unusual for the RNLI in that it was carried out jointly with the Coastguard, and the new building houses both organisations in separate sections.

Heading due south briefly we pass the Helford River and approach Lizard Point. This most southerly point of mainland Britain is rich in lifeboat history with the old boathouse at Cadgwith still standing. The current slipway boathouse at The Lizard was built in the 1960s and was one of only two major new boathouses built in the middle years of this century. Its location is spectacular, inset into the rugged coastline and reached by a steep flight of steps. It is with trepidation that our thoughts turn towards the major works that will be necessary in the future to house the successor to the Tyne at this beautiful but remote location.

In 1991 a new inshore lifeboat station was opened at Marazion on St Michael's Mount when an existing building was converted to house a D class.

Nearby the Penlee lifeboat lies afloat in Newlyn harbour, not far from the slipway boathouse at Mousehole fromwhich the then Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne launched on that fateful day in December 1981. A memorial garden, laid out by the council and funded by a donation from the Port Talbot branch, commemorates the tragedy at the old boathouse.

The last port of call before finally setting a course north is St Mary's on the Isles of Scilly. The islands, some 25 miles off Lands End, present a tranquil scene after the bustle of mainland Cornwall. Although, like its predecessor, the station's new Severn class lifeboat lies afloat the slipway boathouse remains operational, housing the crew facilities and the boarding boat. The stone-built boathouse was originally constructed in 1903 and was refurbished in 1994 when improved crew facilities were provided.

It is always a personal pleasure to return to Sennen Cove. On this occasion it literally marks a turning point in our journey. At last we are heading north, having rounded the furthest point on mainland England from our starting point in Berwick-upon-Tweed. The lifeboat station at Sennen Cove dominates the western end of the bay and is unique in having two slipways, one to launch the lifeboat and one to recover.

The recovery slip is shorter and tidally limited, but has its toe in the lee of a breakwater which gives the small harbour some shelter from the Atlantic swell after its thousands of miles of uninterrupted fetch.

Since 1991 the station has been the subject of a whole series of projects. These have included substantial rebuilding of the slipways, whose reinforced concrete had reached the end of its life after an admirable 70 years of service; the construction of the RNLI's first purpose built viewing gallery within the cavernous masonryboathouse with its internal turntable; and the excavation of several thousands of tonnes of rock from the approach channel to allow the lifeboat to launch at low tide and permit a Tyne to replace the previous Mersey.

This work, carried out far from the nearest harbour of refuge, had to be land-based and involved the construction and later removal of an access roadway well out into the sea. Excavation couldmrr- only take place for a few — •••G" hours at each low tide and had to continue through the winter nights to make use of all the available time and avoid the busy summer season.

By the time further improvements - to give the crew improved facilities and to accommodate the next generation of fast slipway lifeboat - have been completed some £1m will have been expended to give this key station a working life well into the next century.

The smooth sands of Sennen are soon left behind and replaced by the weathered granite which makes both the coastal road and the sea journey to St Ives such a delight.

From 1991 until 1994 the station's new Mersey class lifeboat, Princess Royal, was a centre of attraction, parked the open outside the Sloop Inn next to the public slipway! The full story of the building of the new boathouse, and of the public inquiry which preceded the final granting of the Harbour Revision Order needed for its construction, require more space than is available here. However since 1994, the final product has been there for all to see -a sensitive design to suit the prominent position with very solid construction to meet the exposed position.

Granite reclaimed from an old railway viaduct faces up a reinforced concrete plinth which is founded on bedrock well below beach level. The boathouse itself was constructed from freshly quarried local granite and is roofed in slate from nearby Delabole.

The opening of the new boathouse restored the lifeboat's direct access into the harbour which had been lost in the 1920s, and brought to an end the journey around the oftencongested seafront road from boathouse to launching slipway.

The comparison between St. Ives and our next port of call - St Agnes - can hardly be greater. Here the station's D class is housed in a boathouse tucked into the hillside, from where it launches with the aid of a tractor down a short stretch of road and a ramp on to the beach. Apart from an occasional problem with the tractor house doors the station has made little demands upon our time, and my own theory is that this is such a delightful spot they are keeping quiet in case too many people find it.

Sandy beaches and surf are features of this coast and as we head NE we pass numerous spots frequented by surfers waiting patiently for that special wave before reaching Newquay, where the lifeboat station is set in the small but busy harbour.

The recent allocation of an Atlantic 75 to replace the station's C class and operate alongside the D class meant that the existing 1960s prefabricated garage type building was completely inadequate.

The local authority saw the design of the new lifeboat house potentially setting the standard for the longer-term development of the harbour and, as with several of its Newquay - a vast improvement on the concrete garage...Cornish sister stations, the conception and gestation of the design was not without complications and a few tears. If a successful outcome justifies a degree of strife then the Newquay project is a superlative example - great success, much strife.

As with St Ives a traditional design of natural stone set under a slate roof has worked well, but Newquay does have a feature unique amongst the Institution's 223 stations - it incorporates a chapel.difficult position at the foot of high cliffs the The previous boathouse had been located alongside a 100-yearold wooden chapel and after another story too long to be told here (just wait for my memoirs!) agreement was reached to acquire the site provided that a replacement for the chapel could be provided.

The old building was past economic repair and in no condition to be moved bodily as had been mooted at one point. Timber from the old chapel was, however, used in interior of the new building, which was complete autumn of 1994.

The coastline swings slightly more to the north as we cross Watergate Bay and pass Berryls Point and Bedruthen Steps. Then there is broad sweep of Constantine Bay with its generally peaceful beach - frequented by the ubiquitous surfers.

Rounding the light at Trevose Head we lie to the east of the spectacular line of rock pinnacles against which the slipway of Padstow lifeboat station is outlined. Built in 1968 this station belongs to the elite family of RNLI slipway stations set in spectacularly difficult positions.

While the claim by some that the building of this station rated second in Cornwall only to the building of the Tamar Bridge may be a little exaggerated there is no denying that it was a considerable feat of engineering .

The boathouse is some 70ft above an isolated beach at the foot of very high cliffs, and it was no small task to have to strip back much of the reinforced concrete encasement to the steel columns which supporting the building. The repairs were necessary because corroding steel had expanded within the concrete and split the beams and columns. After cutting out and replacing the corroded sections of steel the concrete encasement was replaced with sprayed concrete.

This was a work of art which will only appreciated by a few, but which should give the station a long additional lease of life and form a foundation for future works to accommodate the next design of Fast Slipway Boat Across the Camel estuary and some distance upstream lies the small village of Rock. Here, just east of the landing for the Padstow ferry, the RNLI permanently established a new D class station in 1995, operating from a Portakabin and a container. The initial plans for a permanent boathouse were rejected as the traditional pitched slate roof would have produced a building which was considered too high.

The final design with its low profile airfoil shaped roof retained the use of local stone and has proved very popular Arrival in Port Isaac is dramatic whether by land or sea.

Sheer cliffs line both sides of the entrance into the small tidal harbour and it is no surprise that the village has a long lifeboat tradition, which has become built into the fabric of the village in the form of several old boathouses and other more unusual signs. At first sight it seems incongruous thatthe Post Office, perched high above the harbour on the steep hill leading down into the narrow winding main street, should have been a lifeboat house despite it characteristic architecture.

Historic photographs in the windows confirm the fact, and there are grooves in the wall worn by the ropes used to haul the old pulling and sailing lifeboat up and down the hill in the 1800s. A new boathouse was subsequently built at the bottom of the hill and housed theSlipway Hotel is returned earlier use station's lifeboat until 1933, when the station was closed. The boathouse subsequently became a garage and flat attached to the Slipway Hotel.

When the inshore lifeboat revolution hit Port Isaac in 1967 the station was reopened and the lifeboat kept in a fish cellar opposite the hotel. After several years of searching for more adequate accommodation the ground floor of the Slipway Hotel garage became available, and in 1994, after major renovation, the building was returned to its original use to the advantage of lifeboat operation and crew comfort.

Sailing north the coast is rugged, and although popular with holidaymakers there are few places that combine suitable conditions and communitieslarge enough to support a lifeboat. It is thus with some relief that we successfully drop anchor in the shelter of the massive breakwater which joins Chapel Rock to the shore and provides shelter to Bude's small tidal anchorage and the entrance to the town's unique sea lock. Regrettably at the time of our arrival the lock was not operational due to damage to the gates, thus denying access to the canal and the small locked basin.

The canal was constructed in the 1800s to transport sand from the beaches for agricultural use inland but its commercial life was short lived before the railway took over the trade. In common with Port Isaac Bude's long lifeboat history was interrupted by a period without a boat but was rejuvenated with the arrival of a D class in 1968.

The town's old boathouse - now a house - stands on the south side of the canal just landward of the road bridge which replaced the old swing bridge and denies navigation to all but the smallest of craft.

In past times the lifeboat used to be launched with the aid of a team of horses which towed the boat through the streets - today the fast response ILB launches in minutes from the slipway adjacent to the sea-lock. There is a pressing need to provide improved facilities for the crew and lifeboat but despite the expenditure of much time and effort since the mid-1980s a solution has so far eluded us - hopefully the situation will be resolved in the not too distant future.

Our late August visit coincided with the preparations for the town's lifeboat days and flags were flying and displays were being erected for what has become one of the most successful events of its kind in the country.

As we reluctantly departed by road back to Poole all was set for a holiday weekend of fun, sun and music with the weather set fair and participants in the coincident Bude Jazz Festival taking over the hotels..