Late 19th, early 20th Century tally board from part of the set up of the Breeches buoy rescue equipment used by the coastguard in the UK and the US. The wooden board/block was sent along the line (rope) and carries rescue instructions in four languages - English, German, French and Norwegian.

It reads ' FASTEN TAIL BLOCK TO LOWER MAST WELL UP, IF MASTS GONE, THEN TO BEST PLACE HANDY; CAST OFF ROCKET LINE; SEE ROPE IN BLOCK RUNS FREE; SHOW SIGNAL TO SHORE'.

Measures 45cm x 10cm x 2cm thick.

Read about the Breeches Buoy rescue equipment here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeches_buoy