New Year Honours Welcome
Whether you’re an existing or new supporter, welcome to our RNLI family and your spring issue of Your RNLI. If feels special to be involved at the start of the 3rd century of RNLI lifesaving and it’s wonderful to have you onboard.
Welcome too, to your new, slightly bigger Your RNLI. As always, you’ll read compelling rescue stories and updates, in the same handy format but with room for a little bit more. I hope you like the changes.
In this issue, you’ll find out how our crews and lifeguards are ready for anything thanks to people like you. Continuing 2 centuries of lifeboat innovation and modernisation, we hear how climate change is challenging our thinking on powering your search and rescue service in the future. And find out how Storm Force, the RNLI’s club for kids does more than just entertain little ones. It can provide valuable lessons in lifesaving too.
This is ‘your’ RNLI so we’d love it if you could tell us what you’d like to read about. Please email your suggestions to your_rnli@rnli.org.uk. Happy reading, and when you’ve finished why not pass it onto a friend!
Our super seven. Clockwise from top left:
Sheila Warner, Invergordon RNLI Volunteer
David Lipp, Red Bay Coxswain and RNLI
Trustee Paddy McLaughlin, RNLI Fundraiser
Gilli Cowley, Aberdour RNLI Chair Norman Niven, Kirkwall Crew Member Kenneth Gee and Looe RNLI Volunteer David Haines
For 65 years, RNLI volunteer Sheila Warner has gone above and beyond to serve the causes she believes in and has been awarded an MBE for her dedication.
Sheila first joined the RNLI in 1969 and has assisted with countless station open days, carol services, spring fairs and Christmas stalls, which have raised more than £500,000 over the last 10 years alone.
As a founding member of the Wells RNLI Lifeboat Guild she has worked tirelessly to ensure the heritage of Wells Lifeboat Station is protected for future generations, cataloguing historic artefacts, many of which are on display today.
Sheila’s one of seven RNLI volunteers to be honoured in His Majesty The King’s New Year Honours. Congratulations to them all!
Rob Westcott
Your RNLI Team
Email: your_rnli@rnli.org.uk
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2025 RNLI
Cover photo: Newquay lifeboat crew training onboard their D class lifeboat Enid Mary Credit: Stephen Duncombe
Thank you!
Lifeboat crews have an extra spring in their step thanks to you. The response to our Christmas Appeal has been overwhelming, with total donations to date exceeding £2M / €2.4M *. We know that many of you had to dig deep to give to the Appeal, so a heartfelt thank you to each and every one. Your donations – large and small – will keep lifeboat crews ready to save lives at sea, whatever the season.
This is the moment ...
*At time of print
Lead Lifeguard Supervisor Matt Whitley powered out to sea on his rescue board.
Thanks to Matt and his colleagues – and people like you – seven swimmers and bodyboarders caught in a rip current on Woolacombe Beach made it home safely.
If you’re changing, or have recently changed, your address please email supporterexperience@rnli.org.uk. Alternatively, please call 0300 300 9990 (from the UK), 01 511 9836 (from Ireland) or +44 1202 663234 (from any other country), or write to us at RNLI Support Centre, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HZ. WE
We’re so grateful for the support you have shown for the RNLI – it all helps save lives. But if you would rather not hear from us, or would like to change how we contact you, please get in touch. Just call 0300 300 9918 (from the UK), 01 511 9837 (from Ireland), or +44 1202 663234 (from any other country) on weekdays, 8am–6pm, go to RNLI.org/preferences or write to our Supporter Experience Team, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, BH15 1HZ.
RNLI TO THE RESCUE
Here are snapshots of just some of the rescues you’ve made possible as we launch into our 3rd century of lifesaving together
Sinking but safe
REDCAR | 31 OCTOBER 2024
Air sea rescue
MONTROSE | 20 NOVEMBER 2024
While fishing from rocks on a bitterly cold November afternoon, a man fell into the sea. He managed to climb out, but an ankle injury left him marooned, cold and alone. Luckily, he’d been seen by another man who raised the alarm, and the Montrose lifeboats were soon on their way. Volunteers onboard the D class helped stretcher the injured man to an air ambulance waiting nearby.
Volunteer crews from Redcar responded to a potentially life-threatening situation when a fishing boat’s engine cut out and the vessel ran aground. As the crew of the D class waded out in their drysuits and lifejackets to rescue the lone fisherman, the damaged vessel was already listing badly. The fisherman made it home safely but, sadly, on the next flood tide, his fishing boat sank. 1 2 3
Offshore ordeal
PORTAFERRY | 21 DECEMBER 2024
Lifeboat crews from Portaferry, Newcastle and Donaghadee Lifeboat Stations sprang into action to rescue a group of paddleboarders blown out to sea. One of the group subsequently made it ashore, but two remained unaccounted for. Not long into their search, the eagle-eyed crew of Portaferry’s Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat spotted them – holding onto each other and still on their boards, in a force 7 near gale.
Sticky situation
LYMINGTON | 13 OCTOBER 2024
When a woman became trapped in mud in Bouldner Bay on the Isle of Wight, a swift response inshore lifeboat was needed to help mobilise specialist rescue teams and their equipment.
Lymington’s Atlantic 85 was that lifeboat. After powering their way across the Solent to Yarmouth, the volunteer crew were met by Coastguard Rescue teams from Ventnor and the Needles, together with a specialist mud rescue team.
With the mud rescue team and rescue equipment safely onboard, the lifeboat crew quickly located the woman, who was stuck between the low and high water marks. After an initial assessment, a speedy run back to Yarmouth was deemed necessary to pick up additional equipment and expertise before the rescue could begin.
RNLI volunteers and other rescue teams worked together to free the woman. She was extracted over the mud using a stretcher to spread the load, then taken by ambulance to Yarmouth for further medical assessment.
The lifeboat crew ferried the mud rescue team and their equipment back to Yarmouth and returned to station for one final, but vital, task of the day: to refuel and wash all the mud off the lifeboat ready for the next call out. 4
‘The
casualties did the correct thing by calling for help as soon as the
situation
developed.
With the teamwork between the RNLI, Coastguard, Ambulance, and Fire and Rescue Service, this was a great outcome’
Atlantic 85 Helm James Douch
TRAPPED ON A S H R I N K I N G SANDBANK
On the beach, 120 people are getting cut off by a rapidly incoming tide. Will the lifeboat volunteers bring them to safety before it’s too late?
Having been part of Rhyl’s lifeboat crew for many years, Kevin Taggart often senses when he might get called to a rescue. ‘I keep a close eye on tide times and the weather forecast, so sometimes I get a gut feeling about a shout,’ he says. ‘It makes me think about what I have planned for the day, in case I need to drop everything and go.’
Saturday 9 September 2023 was one of those days. Hundreds of people had flocked to Rhyl Beach to enjoy the late summer sunshine.
‘My wife and I were on our way back to Rhyl after doing some shopping, and we had only just been talking about whether I’d get a call. The next thing I knew, she was shouting: “Your pager is going off!”’
Kevin raced to Rhyl Lifeboat Station, where he quickly learned the extent of the situation in the crew briefing.
Fast disappearing
Kevin, Harry Clews and Helm Martin Jones launched their D class lifeboat from the beach with the help of shore crew. With each second that passed, the sandbank was getting smaller, eaten away by the encroaching sea.
As they approached the scene, it was clear just how big a challenge this was going to be. There were people scattered right across the sandbank, from dog walkers to families with young children.
While some people were frightened, many were completely unaware of what was happening. ‘I remember two children asking me what was going on,’ says Kevin. ‘They had no idea of the danger they were in. Other people were running up and down the sandbank and yelling for our help, terrified that they wouldn’t make it back to shore in time.’
‘The training just kicks in’
With so many people to bring to safety, the crew’s training was vital in helping them prioritise who to rescue first – especially for Crew Member Harry Clews, on his first mass rescue. Harry says: ‘When I first saw the number of people on the beach, I thought: “How are we going to do this?” But the training just kicks in, and you know instantly what you need to do to get people to safety.’
‘As soon as your pager goes off, you remember all the hard work and dedication that we put into our training,’ says Kevin. ‘Our training helps prepare us for big rescues like this, as we learn how to spot people in the most danger so we can be in the right place at the right time.’
‘We can only fit so many people in the lifeboat at once, so we had to keep reassuring people that we weren’t going to leave them behind,’ explains Harry. ‘Our people skills were really important on this rescue. We have to stay calm while keeping the people we rescue calm, so we can get back to shore as quickly and safely as possible.’
‘Things could have gone drastically wrong’
After an hour of going back and forth between the sandbank and the beach, the crew brought all 120 people back to safety.
It’s thanks to support from kind people like you that RNLI volunteers can launch to rescue those in trouble on the water.
Things could have been very different had the lifeboat crew not been there.
‘The beach can seem like a big playground, but the tide can come in surprisingly quickly,’ says Kevin. ‘People would have found themselves with no ground left to stand on. Some might have even tried to make their own way back and could have been swept out to sea by the strong tidal currents, which is a really worrying thought.’
‘The beach can seem like a big playground, but the tide can come in surprisingly quickly’
‘When we got to the first part of the sandbank, the water was up to my waist’
‘They were in a lot of danger,’ says Kevin. ‘The tide was turning and people were getting cut off’
Kevin Taggart Crew Member, Rhyl RNLI
Harry Clews Crew Member, Rhyl RNLI
It takes a team
‘We’re like a family at Rhyl. We all train together, so we know everyone’s individual strengths and how to work well as a team,’ says Kevin.
The team included other station volunteers and Coastguard rescue teams, who together provided eyes on the beach.
‘They were a massive help,’ says Kevin. ‘They communicated with us the whole time to help us cover the entire sandbank.’
Tidal safety tips from the crew
Tides vary from day to day and can easily catch you out if you haven’t checked them.
‘People aren’t always aware of how quickly the tides and conditions can change, so make sure you check the tide times and weather forecast before you head to the water,’ advises Harry.
‘While you’re out, be aware of your surroundings and the tide’s direction. Make sure you leave enough time to get yourself to safety – especially if you’re visiting a beach out of the lifeguard season,’ adds Kevin.
Heading to the coast?
Find out more about tides and avoid getting caught out at RNLI.org/safety/know-the-risks.
THE DIFFERENCE YOUR SUPPORT MAKES
None of these people would have been rescued without kind-hearted people like you. Here are just some of the ways that donations like yours make this type of rescue possible.
Pagers for the crew
Lifeboat training for RNLI volunteers like Harry
Lifeboat launch and recovery team
Photos: Gavin Jones, Callum Robinson, RNLI/(Nigel Millard, Port Talbot, Rhyl, Nathan Williams)
Rhyl volunteers depend on their manoeuvrable D class lifeboat for searches and rescues close to the shore
to the rescue
While on holiday with his family in Cornwall, 11-year-old Finley Hassall used the water safety advice in his Storm Force magazine to help save another young boy’s life
‘I looked around and saw waves going over this boy’s head and he was splashing and struggling,’ recalls Finley. ‘I’d read in my RNLI Storm Force magazine about how to float like a starfish so that’s what I asked him to do.
‘I said I’d done this at my swimming lessons before and it will be fine if he could float on his back. He went onto his back and I was talking to him and trying to get him to take deep breaths to calm him down.’
RNLI Lifeguard Guy Potter, who was on duty that day, says: ‘Finley did a fantastic job. Being able to keep a clear and calm head in situations like this is really important. It was great to see his confidence grow as he put together what he’d learned and really make a difference.’
‘I would recommend Storm Force to other children,’ says Finley. ‘It’s great fun, there’s loads of fun crafts to do and there’s water safety. So if you get in trouble you can take the advice and do what you need to do.’
Find out more at RNLI.org/future.
Finley (11), who received a subscription to the RNLI’s Storm Force magazine as a birthday present from his nan
Photos: RNLI/(Danielle Rush, Nathan Williams)
RNLI Lifeguard Guy Potter presents Finley with his special lifesaving certificate
Your guide to …
GREENER LIFESAVING
As the RNLI aims for zero carbon emissions by 2050* , we are working hard to reduce harmful emissions from the fleet. Measures need to be practical and cost-effective, and not detract from our crews’ ability to save lives. RNLI Energy Manager Sean Deasy explains our current thinking.
What we’re doing now
Speed is crucial to reaching people quickly and saving lives. But it’s not necessary all the time, for example during crew training or when moving lifeboats from one location to another. Lower speeds mean less fuel used. In addition, all our lifeboats are designed to be fuel efficient as well as fast, and this will continue.
Studies have shown that synthetic fuels can reduce emissions significantly, and we’re already using some of that technology in our lifeboats on the River Thames in London.
Photos: Darren Blight, Will King, RNLI/(Harrison Bates, Nigel Millard)
What’s next?
We will continue to explore the use of alternative lifeboat fuels. Plant-based fuel (aka biofuel) is readily available now and shouldn’t need expensive engine modifications. It would require making responsible choices about fuelstock, for example using waste cooking oil rather than food crops.
Future fuels like methanol and hydrogen could cut carbon significantly in the longer term, but there are technical hurdles that would have to be overcome before they could be used in lifeboats.
Lifeboats of old were powered by oars, so it’s not inconceivable that in future we’ll be using new, more sustainable methods of propulsion. For now, studies are underway to see if batteries could replace fuel to power some of our smaller launch and recovery equipment.
*Scope 1 and 2 only
What is it?
The Mayday Mile is back! A chance for you, your family or friends to complete 31 miles throughout the month of May to raise money for RNLI lifesaving.
How you do it, where you do it and who you do it with is entirely up to you. Every penny or cent you raise will make a lifesaving difference to your selfless crews and the grateful people they rescue. With you by their side, the volunteers will be ready when more desperate calls for help come this summer. That makes you a lifesaver too.
How you can get involved
To sign up, visit RNLI.org/YourMaydayMile. After you’ve registered we’ll create a fundraising page just for you, which you can share with friends and family.
To find out more go to
Lifeboat crew at Chiswick, training on their E-class lifeboat Brawn Challenge on the River Thames
Photo: RNLI/Nathan Williams
