The weather was especially unforgiving back in the Winter, whether it caused inland flooding or offshore accidents. As you’ll read in our rescue pages, it led to challenging times for our Flood Rescue Team and lifeboat crews.

They headed to all sorts of emergencies – from people trapped in their homes to fishermen in danger out at sea. We may have reached the warmer months now, but our lifesavers continue to prevent tragedies in challenging conditions. Many incidents are also avoided because people take precautions. Where would we be, for example, without accurate forecasting to warn us of extreme weather? Our heritage feature pays tribute to the father of forecast and former RNLI committee member, Admiral FitzRoy, whose barometers kept many a fisherman safe. And on page 30, we explore how this charity is helping to make commercial fishing safer today. There are also tips on getting into sailing, an interview with a bestselling author and lots of RNLI news to catch up on. So I hope you enjoy the magazine – whatever the weather!

Editor: Rory Stamp
@LifeboatRory