Here are just a few of the many warm communications received in response to our issue featuring the new RNLI memorial to those who have lost their lives attempting to save lives at sea:

My interest in lifeboats began when I was 7 or 8 and, since I am now 70, that is a long time! I still vividly remember the old lifeboat at Aldeburgh and how it was dragged down the beach and launched. The coxswain was Reuben Wood. He was my twin sister’s ‘Adonis’ and she regarded him as her hero. To my mind everyone who crews a lifeboat is a hero.

I used to run the lifeboat collection in my village and am delighted to now be a governor of your marvellous organisation. Donations in memory of my father, a lifelong sailor, amounted to over £700 and I have requested any donations made at my own funeral be given to the RNLI.

To have 235 lifeboat stations operational at one time is a terrific achievement. The work the RNLI does with no Government support is amazing.

I wish you all the luck in the world
Jeremy Norton, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset

I am not a sailor and the nearest I get to water is an occasional cruise now or a paddle as a child. I hope my small monthly contribution helps to support all those brave men and women who keep our beaches, shoreline and coastal areas safe for those who need help. It always amazes me that there are people prepared to give of their time in dangerous circumstances to rescue those in peril.

God bless them all
John Sutton, by email

It was an absolute pleasure and honour to have been involved in the RNLI memorial project. Working with the institution and being present at the memorial opening ceremony has proved to be very thought-provoking and inspiring.

My family and I also visited the RNLI Headquarters Open Day and we all thoroughly enjoyed the event. We have decided to make the RNLI our charity of choice and will do all we can to support it in the future. The work carried out nationwide and the enthusiasm of all those concerned is second to none and worthy of all commendations.

Kind regards
Jerry Redman, Sycamore Process Engineering Ltd, Yeovil, Somerset

I saw the model of the new memorial and, to be truthful, didn’t care for it. However, I recently visited the finished memorial and thought it was awesome.

It brings back so many memories, and makes one humble at the price paid by these fallen heroes. I and many more are the lucky ones whose career in lifeboats ended without mishap, but: ‘There but for the grace of God …’

To see displayed the names of friends and colleagues is very poignant. These people gave their all, and deserve such a fitting memorial to remind not just the public but also the lifeboatmen and women of today, who ought to, and I’m sure will, uphold the traditions set by these fallen.

My father (a second coxswain at Sunderland) was my yardstick, and he advised me: ‘Always be a little afraid, for a man who goes to sea and never admits to being afraid, is one of three things. He is a liar, he is a fool, or he is both!’

Best wishes to you, yours, and your colleagues, from a bitterly cold and snow-covered Engure!

Billy Dent, Latvija

As a happy honeymoon couple, we sat on our balcony, watching the early evening storm out in the bay. Impressive and beautiful, sinister and disturbing, a wall of water was pouring from the sky while countless bolts of lightning struck the turbulent seas. We watched transfixed.

Then, from behind the harbour wall, a lone boat with blue flashing light emerged. The boat headed direct towards the storm, now only a mile or so offshore. We watched hoping it would divert round it, but within minutes it hit the wall of water and disappeared from view. Within seconds a lightning bolt hit the sea near to where we had last seen her lights; our hearts stopped. The consequences for those onboard and for those they were going to aid ...

Within minutes the storm made landfall: the wind was immense, blowing latched windows open and hurling huge waves over the harbour wall. Giant raindrops fell from the sky and flooded everywhere in seconds, lightning continued all around us. The storm continued for hours and our thoughts kept returning to the crew and their fate. We awoke in the morning to a clear sky and, to our relief, found the lifeboat safely moored in the harbour.

All this happened on 21 September in Corsica, France, and seems to demonstrate the selfless dedication of lifeboat crews the world over. I have always held those crewing and launching lifeboats in the highest regard, especially those of the RNLI, but having seen the terrifying conditions into which that crew put themselves with no chance of any back up or support I was deeply moved.

Regards Phil Pearce, by email

I have just been browsing through the latest RNLI gifts catalogue and was astonished to read that it costs around £5,800 to launch a lifeboat! Can someone explain how such a large sum has been arrived at?

(The Lifeboat is a great mag, which I always enjoy reading – cover to cover. Keep-up the good work.)

Rodney G Scull,
by email

The Editor replies:

The direct costs of launching lifeboats are relatively small as you expected. But, no matter how many times a lifeboat launches, the volunteer crews still need to be trained, lifeboat stations to be maintained, and lifeboats to be ready on station 24/7 all of which costs a huge amount.

So, depreciation aside, by calculating the cost of all this and considering it against the average number of launches each year, the RNLI estimates that the cost of launching an all-weather lifeboat is around £5,880 and the cost of launching an inshore lifeboat is around £2,200.

There are other hidden ‘costs’ to consider too, such as the time given by employers of RNLI volunteers, or self-employed volunteers themselves, each time they respond to their pager. Or the family get-together that has to be missed because the crew member is running to the station.