Saturday night's gathering of 242 cruising enthusiasts for a black-tie celebration at the Irish Cruising Club's Annual Gala Dinner in Cork, involving an international guest list to bring in officers from kindred clubs on both sides of the Atlantic, provided an ideal opportunity for lifeboat superstar fund-raiser and ICC member Rose Michael of Malahide to add to the RNLI's 200th Anniversary fund-drive.
Most of those present will have already given to the lifeboats in this very special year. But the buzz on Saturday night was such that RNLI envelopes placed on each table were soon showing signs that - contrary to the contactless payment propaganda - cash is very much alive and well, even if on other occasions Rose has shown she's a dab hand with the pay-machine. Nevertheless, on this occasion, the folding banknotes did the business, and €4,140 was officially handed over by ICC Commodore Alan Markey.