Busy first year for Thames lifeboats Thames lifeboats were called out over 800 times during their first year of service. This is almost three times as many as estimated prior to setting up the service on 1 January 2002. Callouts range from full-scale rescues of people in the water to submerged cars, dogs and their owners in difficulty and people cut off by the tide.

The RNLI runs four lifeboat stations on the Thames: Tower Pier, Chiswick, Cravesend and Teddington. The first three are manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in order to provide an immediate response. The fourth, at Teddington, is operated using volunteer crew in the same way as the 230 lifeboat stations around the coast of the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The Thames service was set up following the collision in August 1989 between the pleasure cruiser Marchioness and the dredger Bowbelle which claimed the lives of 51 people on the pleasure cruiser. The RNLI was asked by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to provide a rescue service within 15 minutes to any point on the tidal Thames between Canvey Island and Teddington. The MCA coordinates the 999 search and rescue service from a Port of London Authority operations room at the Thames barrier.

'We are staggered by the number of call-outs we have had this year' said Janet Kelly, the RNLI's station manager at Tower Pier lifeboat station. 'Over 100,000 people use the Thames every day but we had only expected around 275 emergencies in our first year of service.'RNLI reviews its brand You've probably noticed something different about this issue of the Lifeboat - it has been redesigned using the RNLI's new brand rules and guidelines.

The RNLI has been working with branding consultants BamberForsyth:Fitch, looking at how awareness and recognition can be improved through best use of the brand. The project brief was 'to ensure that the public always know when they are dealing with the RNLI.' The brand is made up of the logo, colours, style and the perception of everything that is related to the RNLI. This means all materials where the brand is shown, from lifeboats to lapel pins, and includes every way the RNLI is presented - not just visually, but verbally too.

It was important that existing materials were not rendered obsolete by the rebranding, so that costs were kept to a minimum. Over the next year, the biggest changes will be in online applications and printed materials such as headed paper and yearly renewable stocks. In the longer term the all-weather lifeboat fleet will be brought up to date by using the existing refit programme. All existing stocks of branded materials will be used up before the correct branding is applied to re-orders and new orders. All this ensures that the new brand will cost as little as possible, with its benefits expected to far outweigh its costs,According to plan The RNLI Strategic Plan outlines the lifeboat service's main activities and objectives for 2003-07 and includes the Institution's mission statement and a financial summary.

The plan splits the main activities into eight categories, reflecting the different aspects of the RNLI's work. Each section begins with an overview that is broken down into a number of specific targets to be achieved over the next five years.

If you would like to receive a copy of the plan, please send an A5 stamped addressed envelope to: The RNLI Strategic Plan, Corporate Services Department, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ.

2003-2007 0M& Lifeboats The RNLI Strategic Plan Edition 4Work starts on Lifeboat College The Chairman and Chief Executive of the RNLI cut the first turf to mark the start of building on the site of the new Lifeboat College at Poole headquarters on 13 January.

The building will be used to train lifeboat crews in lifesaving and survival techniques and provide a proper venue for other essential training for RNLI volunteers and staff.The 60 bedroom residential college will be a state-ofthe- art, five storey building housing training and seminar rooms, a 120 seat auditorium, a restaurant, kitchen, bar, bedrooms and a health and fitness suite.

The £ 10.9m contract has been awarded to Hampshire-based contractor Dean and Dyball and the project is due for completion in spring 2004. 'This new college will enable us to improve the specialist facilities needed to provide our crews with all aspects of the training they should have to prepare them for the demands of saving lives at sea. It will also be a real bonus to be residential.' said Sue Hennessy, college principal.

The Institution has also finally been granted a licence by the Home Office for clearance of the burial ground under the site of the new Lifeboat Support Centre {see the Lifeboat, Winter 2002/03, p5).Work started on 22 January, and is to be completed by April in order to allow construction of the Lifeboat Support Centre.

The burial ground was part of a baptist chapel in West Butts Street which closed in 1800. The clearance work will be carried out by Wessex Archaeology Limited (WA) who are approved by the Home Office to carry out such work. Trial excavations and historical records suggest that there are at least 15 graves on the site. These will be excavated and examined by WA before being formally reburied locally, probably in Poole cemetery.

WA have located records of many of the burials in the local museum, and may be carrying out some DNA analysis on the remains for correlation with the historical records.An RNLI Beach Rescue lifeguard has been hailed a 'hero of the surf for his brave actions in saving lives. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh presented the award at the Heroes of the Surf ceremony at St James's Palace in November. The awards recognise individuals from across the UK for their outstanding achievements and efforts relating to surf lifesaving. Prince Philip, the patron of the Surf Life Saving Association of Great Britain, has a long history of involvement with surf life saving, dating back to his years at Cordonstoun School where he was part of a reel line and belt team.

The Senior Award was presented to Robin Howell from Perranporth surf life saving club, and RNU senior lifeguard at Perranporth in 2002. Robin was praised for carrying out rescues on more than one occasion beyond the call of duty. He has never expected gratitude for his efforts and has on more than one occasion put his life at risk to save others, even after normal patrols have ended.

The Charles Thompson Award, the highest award presented at the ceremony, went to Owen Phillips, who is working in Japan, for his courageous rescue last year of a surfer attacked by a shark. Welsh international rugby player Jonathan Davies also received an award. He bravely entered the sea while on holiday to rescue two young girls who had got out of their depth and started to panic. He rushed to their aid and managed to return both girls safely back to shore.

Longhope's royal patron HRH The Princess Royal has become the new patron of the Longhope Lifeboat Museum Trust. She accepted the role from 1 March, taking over from the original patron, HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who accepted the honour just months before her death last year.

The Princess Royal officially opened the new Longhope lifeboat museum last May.Good will hunting Heritage is very important to the RNLI. It's not just about having a collection of lifeboats and equipment from yesteryear; it is also about social history - people, emotion and values. The lifeboat service has so many incredible stories to tell and something as simple as an old photograph or press cutting can inspire many feelings and a sense of what things were like for our ancestors.

Over the years the RNLI has amassed an incredible collection of art, artefacts and archives that would excite and interest the most philistine of observers. For instance, the heroic but tragic tale of Grace Darling can be brought to life with a wealth of old letters, clothes, personal effects and the actual coble used in the famous rescue.

Although Grace was a national heroine from the Victorian era, she became an early 'media victim', making her story as relevant today as it has ever been. Another example is a letter from many years ago, signed by members of the Royal Academy, pleading for the RNLI to change the 'dreadful french ultramarine blue' that was part of the lifeboat livery at the time - we've got the pictures to prove it! Time has taken its toll on many of these items and, because we can only spend our income on running today's lifeboat service, we have not been able to adequately protect and display them for the enjoyment and education of future generations.

So, subject to trustee approval, the RNLI is setting up a heritage trust as a subsidiary charity to preserve its history through these wonderful human-interest stories and the care and collection of artefacts. It plans to appoint a heritage trust manager to develop our heritage strategy and manage, care for and promote its museums and the remarkable collection - all of which will form a fascinating insight into RNLI history.Following concern at the recent downturn in legacies, nearly 90 charities, including the RNLI, got together to form the Legacy Promotion Campaign (LPC).The LPC was successfully launched on 8 October 2002 and is encouraging more people to leave something in their will to their favourite causes.

Over 7,000 senior solicitors have already been targeted with mailshots and adverts are appearing in the professional media to encourage solicitors to promote this form of support to their clients.

Adverts have also appeared in the daily nationals and will soon feature in a range of consumer titles. In addition, 50,000 people aged between 45 and 75 will receive direct mail - 1,000 of whom will be followed up with a phone research survey.

The campaign, which will run for the next two years, is led by a steering group chaired by David Brann, RNLI fundraising and communications director, who was also instrumental in getting the ball rolling and spent a six-month secondment with the LPC as campaign director. Tracking studies will be carried out during and after the campaign to measure the shift in public and professional attitudes.

For further information visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk.Making history work for the future A great example of how a picture can paint a thousand words - Sheringham lifeboatmen share a cup of tea with the rescued crew of the Canadian steamer Eagtextiffe Hall Photo: Neva Chronicle, 30 October 794 7New Year Honours HM The Queen honoured the following people in the New Year Honours list: For service to the RNLI Member, Order of the British Empire [MBE) Francis George Former coxswain, Fishguard David Lamberton Former honorary secretary, Whitstable Derek Sargent Former honorary secretary, Weymouth Other awards of interest Companion, Order of the Bath (CB) Maurice Storey Council member and chief executive of the Maritime and Coastal Agency Officer, Order of the British Empire IOBEI Raymond Baxter Life vice president and co-founder/honorary admiral of the Dunkirk Little Ships for services to heritage Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) Thomas Brown Ramsgate deputy launching authorityRNLI remembers ferry disaster victims The sinking of the ferry Princess Victoria, on 31 January 1953, is Britain's worst peacetime maritime disaster. More than 130 lives were lost when the ship sank on route from Scotland to Northern Ireland. Lifeboats from Donaghadee and Stranraer took part in the rescue effort and managed to save 43 lives.

Memorial services to mark the 50th anniversary took place in Larne, Stranraer and also in Donaghadee where most of the survivors were landed. At 9am on 31 January 2003, a short service, attended by around 200 people, was held at the memorial in Larne, with the unveiling of a plaque newly inscribed with the names of the 134 who lost their lives. This was followed by a wreath laying ceremony by representatives of bereaved families and organisations involved. Larne lifeboat crew laid a wreath on behalf of the RNLI, although there was no lifeboat service based in Larne at the time of the disaster.

P&O provided a sailing to Cairnryan at 10.30am and many of those at the memorial service then crossed to Scotland.

A service was held onboard at 12 noon, at the point where the Princess Victoria had veered off course and wreaths were laid at sea. At 1.15pm a further service was held at the Victoria Monument in Agnew Park, Stranraer, with the unveiling of a plaque newly inscribed with the names of the lost, followed by an ecumenical church service in the Parish Church.

About 300 people gathered for a service of dedication of a memorial plaque in Donaghadee organised byArds Borough Council. At the 2.30pm harbourside service, conducted by local clergy, the Mayor of Ards, Councillor Jeffrey Magill, unveiled a bronze plaque in the harbour wall. The plaque states This memorial has been erected to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the MVPrincess Victoria and to remember all those who lost their lives to the sea and those who strove valiantly to save them on the tragic day that was 31 January 1953.' It bears both the coat of arms of the Council and the flag of the RNLI. A new flagpole has also been erected on the harbour directly above the plaque.

It was a very moving occasion when relatives of both survivors and the lost combined to remember their relatives and many were eager to share their personal story. Also, some who gathered had helped with survivors and some remembered simply witnessing the rescue. All were grateful for an opportunity to remember.

Among those present was Hugh Nelson, a surviving crew member, whose family served on Donaghadee lifeboats over many years.

The Donaghadee lifeboat then put to sea around 3pm with crew and community representatives to lay a wreath at the point where the Princess Victoria went down. In addition a number of church services were held in Donaghadee on the Sundays before and after the date of the commemoration.Tall ships to small ships The RNLI water safety team will be paying a visit to the International Festival of the Sea in Edinburgh's Leith Harbour on 23-26 May.

Visitors can find them opposite the Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean terminal, where they will be handing out advice on all aspects of water safety.

A fleet of hundreds of vessels large and small will be coming from all over the world.

The Royal Navy will be there with warships and daredevil displays on water, land and in the air. Norway will be the international guest nation and will be sending two of their tall ships, The Sortandet and the Christian Radich. Other tall ships registered include the Sail Training Association's Prince William, Grand Turk, ST5 Tenacious, Astrid, Leith's own Jean de la Lune and Oosterschelde from Holland.

There will also be a large fleet of classic and traditional craft with some interesting historic vessels. Listings are up-dated on a regular basis on the web site www.festivalofthesea.co.uk. There will be a spotlight on Scotland's maritime heritage, from shipbuilding to fishing. Traditional craftsmen will demonstrate their skills and provide an opportunity for the visitors to have a go. The event will also reflect the culture and history of Edinburgh and Scotland, as welt as highlighting strong international ties. A daily entertainment programme will feature musicians, street performers, storytellers, colourful parades and marching bands, including the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines and a spectacular finale to bring each day to a close.Tickets are on sale online through the SECC in Glasgow via www.festivalofthesea.co.uk or telephone 0870 013 4060 or through The Hub Ticket Office in Edinburgh 0131 473 2000 and Ticket Scotland at Virgin Megastores in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

The International Festival of the Sea 2003 is sponsored by Forth Ports Pic and organised by Festival Management Ltd with support from Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, VisitScotland and the City of Edinburgh Council.Lifeboat property If you were asked to name a major property owner, chances are you wouldn't think of the RNLI. But the charity owns over 1,000 properties around the country.

The tally includes 333 lifeboat properties, 344 hilltop transmitter and repeater sites (used by the COACS pager system), 137 shop properties, 71 memorials, 55 Beach Rescue units/stores, 39 staff properties, 21 investment properties, 12 headquarters buildings, 10 regional offices, seven divisional bases, six museums and, finally, one old divisional base and an old regional office currently in the course of disposal. This does not include what are known as 'residuary properties', the proceeds of which have been left in legacies. There are over 1,000 of these at any one time.

All this property requires a huge effort to ensure it is run and maintained correctly. The RNLI has a complex database of all RNLI properties that allows it to review property administration procedures to ensure things are done in the most efficient way.

The database provides the foundation on which to build sound asset and liability management and to meet statutory obligations for maintenance. So next time you see a lifeboat station or RNLI shop, you will know that this represents just a tiny proportion of RNLI properties..