RNL/ Sfyoreworks Manager Howard fticfy/ngs continues fy/s /oo/c at feboat stations around tfye coastur departure from Bude Haven early one morning in May brings back memories of all those old stories about the nefarious activities of shadowy characters on Cornish beaches. What are that group of figures up to hauling on a very long rope? What cache of goodies is being prised from the clutches of Summerleaze Beach? It looks like a tractor but why not wait until full daylight when they can seen what they are doing - the light is not quite strong enough to read the logo - probably just as well!Leaving Cornwall for Devon we make good lime around Hartland Point and hove into Clovelly just in lime for ihe official opening of the station's recemly modernised and enlarged boaihouse. The re-adopiion of ihe station by the RNLI in 1998 presented the shoreworks department with one of iis moslchallenging and satisfying projects -the substantial rebuilding and enlargement of the old, 1870.

boathouse to take an Atlantic 75 lifeboat on a site closely hemmed in by other old buildings, a narrow cobbled lane and the sea.

Heading slightly north of east we make the short crossing to the twin estuaries of ihe rivers Taw and Torridge just as work is getting underway on the complete rebuilding of the Appledore lifeboat house.

Mosi stations have moved house once or twice in their histories but .Appledore has operated from a plethora of sites in its 175 year history with up to three boalhouscs at any one lime. The current location at Badsleps is close to the home of the original lifeboat which was housed in a barn adjacent to Kings Watch House.

We are now in the Bristol Channel proper and. ith the mass of Exmoor in the background, we head east passing the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth where.

in 1952. a flash flood wreaked terrible destruction.

Lynmoulh lifeboat station uus closed in 1946 and our next port of call is Mini-head, home to an Atlantic 75. Major extension works were completed in 1993 and have provided housing for a carriage-launched allweather lifeboat to give future flexibility. The work on the historic boathouse- built in 1901 - had to meet high standards and is an excellent example of how a part of the RNLI's architectural history has been preserved and gi en a new lease of life as part of a modern building.

Our departure from Appledore takes us north with Lundy off the port quarter, past Baggy Point and Woolacombe beach, before we make a near 90° turn around Morle and Bull Points and head eastwards to the resort town of Ilfracombe with its bustling harbour and distinctive Victorian seaside archileclure. Until 1996 the town's lifeboat trundled throughout the streets lo reach the public slipway.

Maroons sent the «ulls wheeling and warned motorisis to waich oui for ihe lifeboai rig. Although this may have been good entertainmenl for visiiors ii did not make for an efficient lifeboat service. In 1994 a site became available adjacent lo ihe harbour and a new boaihouse was opened in 1996 followed by a new slipway the following year. In common with Si Ives. the completion of this project had a significant effect upon operational efficiency, culling the launch time by several precious minutes and reducing the risk of injury to passers-by.

Pushing further northeastwards towards the historic trading ports of Cardiff and Bristol we reach the popular resort of VVeston-Supi-r-Mare - another town that has several historic lifeboat houses to its name. The current lifeboat house is located on Birnbeck Pier not far from one of its historic predecessors, its future to be determined by the outcome of a scheme by the pier's new owners to renovate the a i l i ng structure. Fora number of years access to the pier has been closed to the general public. During this period the RNLI has maintained a restricted safe access for the lifeboat crew and if the restoration now goes ahead then a major modernisation of the hoathouse will follow promptly.Should the plans nni anno m truition a new site will have to he found thai docs nol relv upon the pier for Tacking across ihe mouih of the n cr Severn marks a ke stage in our journey - uol only do we leave the South l)i ision hehind hut we cross our lirst national boundary.

and arrive in Wales. The very turhid. silly waters of the Severn Estuary are a manifestation of ihe enormous energy which surges to and fro twice each day and which for decades engineers have dreamed of tapping via a tidal barrage. Our lirst landfall. Pcnarlh. has seen a dramatic transformation of its lifeboat facilities. Until 1996 the station's inshore lifeboat (ILB) uas housed in .snug but very restricted quarters in a comerled storeroom on the Victorian seafront. Plans to upgrade Ironi a D class loan Atlantic 21 depended upon finding ,i sire for a new boathouse - no easy task on a seafront which appeared to have no vacant, suitable site.

It required great imagination to visualise how a rough plot of sleeph sloping embankment at the western end of the Esplanade might he transformed to provide a home for the new lifeboat. HIM. many tonnes of rock had to be excavated to form a flat site, then a massive reinforced retaining wall up to I5m high had to be constructed on two sides of the sire and tied into a reinforced concrete ground slab upon which the boathouse would be founded. In June 19% iliLnew boalhoiise. designed to fit in with the town's Victorian seal'ront architecture, was opened to general acclaim. Mention of leaks (nol leeks) is however, not recommended. An obstinate problem - hopefully now reduced to acceptable levels - has kept ihe telephone line to Poole HQ hot.

war with the silt laden waters of the Bristol Channel.

A recent dredging programme restored the depth at the lilehoat berth and will, hopefully, guarantee the operational efficiency of the station for several years.

It is just one of a number of stations where the RNLI has to undertake regular dredging works to maintain the lifeboat service. On shore crew facilities have been substantially improved over the last few years with a new crewroom being completed in Our course now becomes generally westwards as we head along the South Wales coast. Al Barry Dock harbour users, including the RNLI. wage continuous The final station on this leg of our millennium journey is one thai is special in many ways and has played a significant role in the development of the Inshore Lifeboat fleet. The United World College of ilk- Atlantic - Atlantic College - at St Donat's Castle is set in beautiful surroundings and welcomes students from all over the world who learn to live and study together whilst striving to gain the international baccalaureate.

The college staff and students provide the crew for the station's Atlantic 75 A75) lifeboat. The A75 is the latest incarnation of a design originally developed at the college and which came into service as the Atlantic 21 (A2I) in the early 1970s.Nearly30yearson.it is the work-horse of the RNLI ILB Meet accounting fora major portion of all ihe rescues undertaken. It was the upgrading from the A2I to A75, with the slightly increased dimensions, that led to major works to the lifeboat house in 1996 Conscious of the need to complete one more leg of the journey before the last w inter of the Millennium curtails our trip for the year, we shall take a short break lo get several more major jobs under construction including (hose at Broujjhty Ferry, Harwich, Soutlu-nd and Mabli'lhorpe..