Happy new year! With fresh new (RNLI Shop) diaries in hand, we’re making plans for the year ahead. And 2019 is shaping up to be a busy one.

So what happens when an RNLI coxswain or a mechanic needs to plan some well-earned time off, or is
otherwise unavailable due to life’s ups and downs? This winter, we salute the experienced crew members who are willing to up sticks and take over duties at lifeboat stations in need all around the UK and Ireland.
Fleet Staff Coxswain Andrew McHaffie (who became coxswain at Tobermory at the age of just 25) and Rhyl Mechanic Jimmy Quinn tell us a little about the differences around the coast – but also what all our
communities have in common – from page 22. Our winter cover photo shows the legendary Holyhead lifeboat St Cybi, fresh off the production line in Cowes, Isle of Wight, in 1950. St Cybi is best known for launching into a force-11 violent storm in 1966 to help the crew of the Greek freighter Nafsiporos. Holyhead and Moelfre lifeboat crews brought 15 men to safety that night. Despite suffering significant damage during this rescue, St Cybi served for another 20 years. The photo is part of a collection of more than 800 historic images we’ve restored using Heritage Lottery funding. You can see more images and read about their significance to the RNLI – and to the history of ingenious photographic techniques – from page 18. Thank you, as ever, for your ongoing support.

Mairéad Dwane
@mazzadi