National appeal day The RNLI is launching a national appeal day to be held every year, beginning on 8 June 2005 - Save our Soles or SOS day.

Throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland, people at work, school or home will be encouraged to wear trainers for the day in exchange for a £1/€2 donation to the RNLl.The aim is to make a net income of £2M over three years to fund essential training for volunteer lifeboat crews.

(Only 10 per cent of crew trainees come from a maritime background.) A number of celebrities have already announced their support of SOS day: Olympic gold medallists Ben Ainslie and Shirley Robertson; actor Tamzin Outhwaite; the cast of The Bill; Gabby and Kenny Logan; and Graham Norton. On the corporate side, Volvo and Chrysalis Radio are involved.

The RNLI is keen to hear from anyone who is willing to act as an SOS 'champion' for their school, workplace or other organisation, or who can promote the event to friends and family. An SOS fundraising pack has been produced alongside a limited-edition red and white-striped shoelace. Send for yours by contacting your RNLI regional fundraising office - details from the Supporter Helpdesk on 0845 121 4999.

RNLISvSGrand Draw winners Congratulations to the winners of the RNLI regional Grand Draw for 2004, drawn in December. M Whalen, from Dumfriesshire scooped first prize, a Freelander three-door Hardback with sports body kit. Second prize of a seven-day cruise (from Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines) went to G Shaw, Cornwall and the third prize of a £350 Fortnum & Mason hamper selection went to I andY Duley, Surrey.

Thanks go to all the generous sponsors who kindly donated the prizes.

Congratulations also to winners of RNLI fleeces: I Thompson, Cheshire; D Overend, Ayrshire; L Phillips, Pembrokeshire; S Mannins, Yorkshire; J Price, Flintshire; G Butler (address unconfirmed); P Baxter, Lincolnshire; S Brownlee, Devon; L Griffiths, Merseyside; j and E Easthope.West Midlands.

Trip of a lifetime An amazing prize awaited Mrs J Harness from York in January when Virgin Balloon Flights and the RNLI sent her off to Cuneo in Italy.

Piloting a hot air balloon and staying at the luxurious Lovera Palace Hotel was all part of the experience. Well done!A girl of the moment Elsie Mawson of Bolton fulfilled a lifetime ambition at the age of 83 when she plunged 4,000m in a tandem parachute jump to raise money for the RNLI. Elsie commented: 'I've always been a fan of flying and I suppose this is the ultimate way to do it. I found it very, very awe-inspiring.' She was fastened to a man who looked like Robert Redford, so that helped too! She decided to start supporting the RNLI many years ago when she went to an RNLI award ceremony in London. Elsie recalls:'At the end, four lifeboatmen got up onto the stage. They were so unassuming and remarkable. I thought how wonderful they were giving up their time and risking their lives to rescue people.' Her jump nearGrange-over-Sands in October raised £482, which she presented to the Kearsley and Bolton branch.

As to what's next, Elsie says:'I sometimes think I'll go abseiling next, or I'll go and do a bungee jump but I'm a girl of the moment, I'll have to wait and see what happens next!'The Fred. Olsen fleet grows bigger Generous passengers of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines have raised £150,000 over the last four years to fund several RNLI Mobile Training Units and to equip three classrooms in The Lifeboat College. The passengers and crews of Fred. Olsen raise money by holding raffles, quizzes, collections and having all sorts of fun activities on board three ships, Braemar, Black Watch and Black Prince, while cruising anywhere from the Norwegian Fjords to the Caribbean islands, and even round the world.

Their latest mobile training unit went into service this January and will take first aid training all round the country. It will be driven by Instructor Stuart Roberts and his first destination was the new RNLI station at Burnham-on-Sea. (Also see page 17.)Co-operative Fun era lea re As mentioned in the last issue of the Lifeboat, the RNLI is delighted to have established a partnership with Co-operative Funeralcare, the UK's largest funeral director.

Research shows that most of us do not know what do when someone dies and are ill-equipped to arrange funerals. Funeralcare believes that a funeral offers a special opportunity to pay tribute to a unique life and everybody should be remembered in the way they wish.

The Co-operative Funeralcare Funeral Pre-Payment Plan is a simple way of providing for the cost of your funeral in advance. You can also ensure that your specific wishes are observed, which helps reduce the emotional and financial burden for relatives and friends.

For every plan purchased, Co-operative Funeralcare will make a £65 donation to the RNLI. For more information call freephone 0800 289 120 or see the advertisement on page 40. - — * Cornish pasty treat! A If The West Cornwall Pasty K / Co-nas adopted the • ™ RN LI as its chosen B " %. charity and pledged Sjjjj £7.500 to benefit the Beach Lifeguards programme. The Helston-based company has always had strong ties with the RNLI.

Directors of the company include members of the Cocking and Barber families who served on the St Ives, St Mary's and Cadgwith (now closed) lifeboats. Director Gavin Cocking commented: 'As our ancestors served on the lifeboats we always identified the RNLI as a charity that the company would want to support long term.' The company also held a Taste of Cornwall' fundraising event in 2004 outside its store in Covent Garden. This event raised the profile of the RNLI and raised over £3,500. Gavin added:'We want to support a charity that will directly benefit Cornish people and those visiting the county.'It's 'eggs'actly appealing! The RNLI is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar by offering for auction 50 specially designed, limited-edition eggs byTheo Faberge as part of a £1M appeal towards a new . lifeboat. This was appropriately highlighted by Admiral Lord Nelson at the London Boat Show. The opportunity to work with Theo Faberge came from the City Livery Yacht Club and the RNLI is very grateful to the club.

Chairman of the RNLI's City of London III appeal, Sir Jeremy Hanley, officially launched the fundraising activity in October 2004.

Fifty eggs will be sold or auctioned at a series of events over the next few months. Each Trafalgar Egg will start at a price of £10,000 and a minimum of £5,000 will go to the RNLI for each sale. Every person who buys a Trafalgar Egg is guaranteed two invitations to attend an exclusive dinner on HMS Victory on 13 October 2005. At a successful auction in January 2005, two Trafalgar Eggs were sold at a profit of £12,000 for the RNLI. Two crates of Bollinger Champagne and two crates of Taylor's Port were also auctioned, raising £2,500.Fundraising hits the beach The RNLI's Beach Lifeguards service is going from strength to strength, with more people being rescued and assisted each year. But, as with the lifeboat service, RNLI beach lifeguard units cannot continue to save lives without voluntary donations.

Each of the 59 beach lifeguard units costs around £70,000 a year to run and, while local authorities provide a quarter of those funds, more support is essential. 'Individual donations and support from private donors and companies are vital, so we are developing different areas of funding,' says Philippa Thompson, Beach Fundraising Manager.

Last year was a successful year for the RNLI's newest supporter scheme, Beach Life, in which people can make a regular gift to support the Beach Lifeguards service. Recruitment via a website has boosted numbers, and even text messaging has been piloted.

Gifts in Wills have also helped. An inshore rescue boat named after David Knight, who sadly died in a road accident in 2003, was funded by his legacy. As reported in the Lifeboat autumn 2004 issue, David's son also raised RNLI funds with his sponsored double sail around the Isle of Wight.

A key part of the RNLI Beach Lifeguards service is offering safety advice, and trust funding from the Calouste Culbenkian Foundation in 2004 helped pay for the beach signage project (see the Lifeboat summer 2004).

It will have a direct impact on educating people of all ages to be safe on the beach. (See opposite for more corporate funding for the lifeguards and page 39 in Letters.)Lifeboat cycle challenge It was a great shock for everyone at Burnham-on-Crouch lifeboat station to hear that their Chairman, ex-Lifeboat Operations Manager, and great friend, Tony Glaze, had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Keen to do something positive to help, the crew came up with the idea of the Burnham Lifeboat Cycle Challenge.

The aim was to raise funds by cycling from Hunstanton lifeboat station back to Burnham via Southend in six days, stopping at all the lifeboat stations along the way. They set off from Hunstanton in the late afternoon of the first Sunday in October fully equipped with maps, clothing, bikes and a staggering number of pledges on their sponsor forms.

A week later, Tony Glaze, his family and a host of other crew and supporters welcomed the riders home. Everyone agreed that it had been a great project. Not only had they raised a terrific amount of money but it had helped the crew get to know each other and their neighbouring stations better.

They hope that the final total raised by the Challenge will be in excess of £10,000, to be split between the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the RNLI. Next stop, John O'Groats!Happy holidays Summer 2004 saw the first offer to the RNLI from Domina Vacanze for holidays in Italy. The very first RNLI member to travel with Domina was Amanda Weldon, who stayed at the 4-star Domina Palumbalza Sporting in Sardinia in September. She said:'We were amazed at how easy it all was. We got seats on a charter flight to Olbia, hired a car and then drove to the hotel. Sardinia is a really beautiful island. The hotel was fantastic, the staff friendly and the food good. Definitely a place to go back to!' The full range of holidays on offer can be found on the website www.dominadirect.com. To access this site the RNLI log-in code is '[email protected]' and password 'lifeboat'. Just send your holiday request or enquiry via the electronic booking form on the website or an email to [email protected]. Five per cent of the cost of the holiday is donated to the RNLI.

Captured on canvas The Brahm Gallery in Leeds hosted its 150th exhibition, 'Scarborough Window' by Clive Rand in December 2004. All proceeds were donated to Scarborough lifeboat station.The London Marathon Almost 100 people are running in this year's Flora London Marathon to raise crucial funds for the RNLI. Training is well underway for the event on Sunday 17 April and, with your support, this year's team could exceed the £99,000 raised last year.

The RNLI would welcome the support of anyone who already has a place in the event and would like to use it to raise funds for the lifeboat service. All RNLI runners receive a special RNLI running vest and an invitation to a post-race party (close to the finish line!) where there will be hot showers, sports massage and delicious food! To find out more or to make a donation in support of the RNLI London Marathon runners please call Jayne Woods on 01202 663502.

Prize draw winners In the autumn 2004 issue of the Lifeboat readers were given the opportunity to win a copy of Rescue at Sea, published by Chrysalis Books Group pic. The ten lucky winners are: Mr R Mclnnes, Kent; Mrs D Gardiner, Liverpool; Mr Grove, Solihull; Mr E Harnell, Hertfordshire; MrJ Phin, Inverness; Miss S Douglas, Gwent; Mr and Mrs Kingcome, Ayrshire; MrT Prestly, Lanarkshire; MrG Davidson, Berwickshire; and Ms E Cook, Bristol.Christmas Appeal A Christmas Appeal mailing to supporters has so far raised over £700,000 with donations still coming in. The Christmas wish list offered supporters the opportunity to choose an item and donate the cost of it, or to send an amount of their choice. More than 17,000 donors also sent Christmas messages to the volunteer lifeboat crews, with warm expressions of appreciation: 'For those in peril on the sea, our love and prayers are with you, not just at Christmas time but all the time.' 7 visited Longhope and the RNLI memorial this summer - a moving experience. Your bravery and dedication make me proud to support you.' 'Thanks to the RNLI, many people now live to see another Christmas.' 'Mere words cannot do justice to the sacrifice and dedication of all the lifeboat crews and support volunteers.

'Hoping that you will all have peaceful seas and quiet waters. Good luck in 2005. God bless you all and keep you safe.' Run up to Christmas The day of the first ever RNLI run up to Christmas 10K and 5K fun runs was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and the fresh smell of pine, mince pies and mulled wine in the air! The event on Sunday 28 November attracted 750 runners and walkers of different ages from all over the UK.

The race, kindly sponsored by Kerry Foods, was won by Neil Cookson (35 minutes 19 seconds) and Christina Squire, representing the RNLI, was the first woman across the finish (40 minutes 37 seconds). Spot prizes for fancy dress were donated by Marks & Spencer and given out to an angel, reindeer and an elf! The income for this event currently stands at £11,000 with more sponsorship money due in..