READER INSPIRATION: WORDS
I am a member of a writers’ group. Recently we were asked to write about a lighthouse. It brought me back to my childhood when I was always fascinated by the man in the lighthouse. Those times have passed, but I wonder if you would consider this short piece for your magazine.
Jan O’Reilly, Dublin

The Lighthouse
The lighthouse dominated my life. Every night before sleep I sat at my window and watched.
The keeper must have been the kindest man.
He was there to save people he didn’t even know. His light guided them to safe shores, and he did that every day and every night.
Who was he? I wondered. Someone told me his name was Jack, but I had never seen him.
What did he do? Did he eat like us? Who brought him food? Did he listen to music?
Was he desperately lonely? Or was that loneliness his gift to all seafaring people.
He was a sort of saint to me. Sharing his light with the whole ocean.
What was his reward? Did he love being a beacon
of hope?
I thought about him all the time. I asked my parents about him, but they were not interested.
He is just the man who works the lighthouse they said.
He was much more than that.
He was a saviour of sorts.
He loved people, he wanted them all to be safe.
I remember hearing Jesus walked on the water.
Maybe he was his deputy, he walked with the water.
I grew up, left home, but never saw my hero.

MORE LIFEGUARDS, PLEASE!

I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed the latest issue of Lifeboat magazine (winter 2019). It provides an insight into the astonishing roles that the volunteers and staff of the
RNLI perform.
My family have always been particularly grateful for the difficult job that the beach lifeguards do. We have spent many summers bodyboarding with our kids (now grown up) on Woolacombe Beach. The lifeguards there have a challenging job, keeping the surfers separate from the swimmers and bodyboarders, as well as watching for people in distress in the water. Even when they are ignored, they keep calling warnings and trying to ensure that everyone stays safe.
One year we witnessed what can happen when hard pointed surfboards use the space intended for swimmers.
A girl got hit in the face by a surfboard, her cheek was split open and she had to be airlifted off the beach. I hate to think what scars she ended up with.
I would like to read more about these beach lifeguards.
I think they are the RNLI lifesavers that most non-sailors are likely to come into contact with, and I think many beach users might benefit from a little education!
Keep up the good work.
Helen MacDonald

READER INSPIRATION: PICTURES

My daughter wanted to share the coastal picture she painted after reading about coastal sketching in the magazine (Lifeboat, winter 2019).
Raven Love
@RavenLo02346285

I liked your piece in Lifeboat about sketching. As you’ll see from my website – johnawebb.weebly.com – I am an inveterate sketcher and so have masses of seasides in my books. Here are a couple of examples.
John Webb

read with interest Jessica Hogarth’s article on coastal sketching, and consequently wish to share with you an oil painting I did some time ago of Kynance Cove on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. While it is not now a sketch, it started out as such. Sitting on the beach with my back to a rock, I was inspired to sketch the scene in front of me. When I returned home,
I felt that the sketch warranted some colour, so I applied oil paint. I hope you enjoy it. In 2009, my wife and I were on holiday and visited a shop in Looe. The gentleman who served us said that he was a crew member of the RNLI lifeboat. I offered a mounted print of this painting to him to use in any way he wished to raise funds for the RNLI, and he gratefully accepted.
I heard no more until, to my surprise, I received a letter from the Mayor of Looe thanking me for my kindness in donating a prize (the print) for the auction at his charity dinner. He explained that the auction contributed £1,415 towards the appeal for the new D class lifeboat Ollie Naismith [see rescue on page 14], and together with other pledges and donations on the evening raised an incredible £6,274! It just goes to show – a simple offer of such a donation and the fact that I had been inspired to paint such a scene played some part in this appeal. I am often moved by the bravery the RNLI crews display in their efforts to rescue those in need at sea, whatever the weather. Long may it continue. In conclusion, I am always inspired to sketch and paint such wonderful coastal scenes whenever I am on holiday in Cornwall. Reginald Bull

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Nautical puzzle solution (page 36): A jack hitch is not a knot