For 190 years the RNLI has faced the challenge of being ready for anything – whether it’s one person who needs our help, 30, or even 85 – as you will read in this magazine’s remarkable rescue stories.

To be ready for anything requires amazing generosity from our donors, oodles of time and ingenuity from our fundraisers and professionalism of the highest order from our staff. And, of course, it requires dedicated volunteers and lifesavers to launch and man lifeboats, guard beaches, promote coastal safety and provide a flood rescue service further inland.

In July, I became Chairman of the RNLI, and that voluntary role is an honour beyond measure. It’s also quite a responsibility to ensure we continue to be ready for anything.

But I am reassured every time I meet any RNLI person – whether a supporter like you, fundraiser, supplier, staff or volunteer – that each has the best interests of the charity at heart. Together we are the RNLI. We can be so proud of each and every contribution we make to its success and sustainability, over what is approaching two centuries.

So thank you for your support – and I hope you enjoy this issue of the Lifeboat.

Charles Hunter-Pease

RNLI Chairman