SAFER ALL ROUND
Your safety is our priority in a changing world
WAVE POWER Drama on Cromer seafront PLUS:
RECORD BREAKERS
Surprising stats and fascinating facts
Welcome to your summer issue of Your RNLI With temperatures rising on land and sea, this is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors.
Not surprisingly, your lifesavers are expecting things to get a lot busier than normal. Thanks to your kind donations, crews and lifeguards will be keeping people safe around our coasts all summer and beyond. And by looking out for our Float to Live and other seasonal water safety messages, you’ll be helping to keep yourself and others safe too.
In the heat of the moment, it can be difficult to know what to do if the unexpected happens and you’re caught off guard. If it hadn’t been for the skill of Cromer’s lifeboat crew, the story you’ll read about on page 6 could have had a very different ending. On page 9, you’ll find out how RNLI volunteers like Bob are helping to turn the tide by asking people to think about safety before they enter the water. And on page 10, you’ll discover some record-breaking, and surprising, RNLI facts.
WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU: How would you like to hear from us? 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. LIFEBOAT
Email: your_rnli@rnli.org.uk WHAT YOUR LIFESAVERS ACHIEVED IN 2024
437 LIVES SAVED ON AVERAGE, EVERY DAY 69 PEOPLE AIDED
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Cover photo: Guides and Rangers visited RNLI College in Poole, Dorset, to learn about water safety and the work of the RNLI.
Credit: RNLI/Tom Dale
Rob Westcott
Your RNLI Team
SPACE RACE
Kids of all ages bounced across the beach to raise money for RNLI lifesavers in Trearddur Bay’s annual Space Hopper Race on New Year’s Day. ‘It’s heartwarming to witness the community coming together like this to have fun while supporting such an important cause,’ says Volunteer Pauline Hardman. A sentiment echoed by local resident and race founder Heron Maj: ‘The laughter, the joy, and knowing that every bounce helps our lifeboat station stay operational, is incredible. This is what community spirit is all about.’
TRAINING WITHOUT BORDERS
The vast majority of crew training takes place close to home, but occasionally RNLI volunteers have a chance to train alongside counterparts in other lifesaving organisations. Volunteers like Falmouth RNLI Helm Tamara Bookes, who spent a week in Finland on an International Crew Exchange visit hosted by the Finnish Lifeboat Institution. The exchange gave Tamara a rare opportunity to network and share best practice with volunteers from other European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands and France. Together, they took part in practical lifesaving activities, on and off the water.
‘It was an exhilarating and inspiring experience. They were a wonderful bunch of people and the volunteer spirit was the common thing between us all. A lot of the learning and training was about running through scenarios, sometimes without any briefing, to see how we would coordinate and operate. Between us, we just all fell into a role. It was amazing how it all came together.’
Did you know you can receive some RNLI updates by email? You’ll be helping with sustainability and reducing admin costs, making your support go even further. Sign up for RNLI emails at RNLI.org/MyEmail and you’ll get RNLI news delivered straight to your inbox.
Photos: Jaakko Heikkila, RNLI/(Simon Culliford, Andy Hodgson)
Tamara swaps her yellow RNLI kit (left) for kit supplied by the Finnish Lifeboat Institution
RNLI TO THE RESCUE
With you by their side, our lifesavers can carry on keeping your loved ones safe, wherever they live
Tearful reunion
WELLS | 29 DECEMBER 2024
Cold and frightened
NEWHAVEN | 16 JANUARY 2025
The quick actions of two surfers, including calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard, helped save the day for three students trapped beneath cliffs by the tide. It was also Crew Member Steve Hopson’s first rescue. ‘We kept checking on the casualties, to make sure that they were comfortable. Once back at the station, we got them something to eat and helped warm them up.’
Crew members are trained to think on their feet, like the time the Wells RNLI crew went to help Olive, a beloved Airedale Terrier, who was lying cold and lifeless on the water’s edge. Crew Member and Nurse Practitioner Simon says: ‘I’ve resuscitated people before, but never a dog. I worked on the principle of doing the same thing that we would do for a child.’ After CPR, thankfully, Olive made a full recovery before being reunited with her family. 1 2 3
Two shouts in 1 day
OBAN | 24 JANUARY 2025
The all-weather lifeboat launched into Storm Éowyn following reports of a lifejacket seen floating in Oban Bay. Battling heavy swells, the crew found the semiinflated lifejacket and confirmed that no one was in the water. On their way back, they were tasked again. A fishing boat had broken its moorings, so they stood by until the fishing crew had secured it and made it safely back ashore.
TO HOPE
When his beloved dog dived over a sea wall, Curtis was desperate. But in trying to rescue Rex, Curtis soon found himself in danger too
Caught in crashing waves
The stone walls of Cromer’s prom lead you along a stunning seafront. At low tide, you can walk down the steps and enjoy the beach. But at high tide, the powerful waves of the North Sea crash against the sea wall.
It was almost high tide when Curtis took his dog Rex on an early morning walk along the promenade. They were visiting the area and Curtis let Rex off the lead to stretch his legs. Then suddenly, before Curtis could react,
Rex jumped over the sea wall. He fell 4m into the turbulent water below.
Curtis panicked. A passer-by told him to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard, which he did. But then, desperate to save his dog, he climbed down the sea wall after Rex.
As he reached him, Curtis was swept off his feet by an incoming swell. He and Rex were being thrown around by the waves, and they were both dangerously close to the wall and large rocks.
‘Rex was exceptionally well behaved. He just sat and stared at me with complete shock on his face, as though he were thinking: “What on earth is happening?”’
‘It’s what we’re here for’
‘Curtis was apologetic, but we reassured him: “It’s what we’re here for!” And I’m so glad we were there. The outcome could’ve been very different.’
Your generous support helps lifeboat volunteers like Tom save lives. ‘Without kind supporters like you, there wouldn’t be an RNLI service,’ he says. ‘You help give us everything we need – from equipment like our throw bag, to vital training. ■
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
Curtis and Rex later returned to Cromer to thank the lifeboat volunteers who saved them. Curtis took on a 20-mile sponsored swim, raising £925 for the RNLI. He’s also been sharing his story to help others stay safe at the coast.
Helm Kevin Johnson says: ‘It was really special for us to see Curtis and Rex again. We’re very thankful to Curtis for his fundraiser, which will help us continue saving lives.’
Curtis (second from right) and Rex thank the volunteers who saved them (Tom Stops, Kevin Johnson and Craig Rogers)
Photos (pages 6–8): RNLI/(Charis Jefferson, Clare Stagg), Curtis Johnson, Andy Siddall
1
Chris Lewis
LONGEST-SERVING LIFEGUARD
RNLI Lifeguard Chris Lewis has been keeping people safe on Bournemouth Beach for more than 59 years and holds the Guinness World Record for longest-serving lifeguard in the world. He’s been involved in lifesaving since the age of 16 – both as a volunteer and professional lifeguard – and has carried out hundreds of rescues and thousands of patrols. At 75 years old, Chris describes lifeguarding as ‘the best job in the world’ and still smashes the RNLI’s stringent fitness tests every year, seeing them as an excuse to stay fit and healthy.
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Grace Darling
FIRST WOMAN TO RECEIVE AN RNLI MEDAL
In September 1838, Grace Darling battled violent seas in a tiny rowing boat to save nine people stranded on rocks. They were among the 60 crew and passengers onboard the steamship Forfarshire when it sank. Grace received several awards for the rescue, including a Silver Medal for Gallantry from the RNLI – making her the first woman to ever receive an RNLI medal and securing her place in RNLI history.
The RNLI has amassed a treasure trove of extraordinary stories and remarkable achievements during its long history of lifesaving. Here are five of our favourite record-breaking facts
3
Lifeboat ManchesterSaturday,
FIRST STREET COLLECTION
On 10 October 1891, Charles and Marion Macara gathered a team of supporters to organise a Lifeboat Saturday in the centre of Manchester. Thousands of people flocked to the city’s streets to catch a glimpse of something they had never seen before: a lifeboat and its brave volunteer crew. Lifeboat Saturdays changed the face of community fundraising forever.
5
Tower, River Thames
BUSIEST RNLI LIFEBOAT STATION
4
456
MOST LIVES SAVED IN A SINGLE RNLI MISSION
The rescue of Suevic in 1907 holds the record for the largest number of people saved in a single RNLI operation. On 17 March, the 12-tonne steamship ran aground on a rocky reef off Lizard Point in Cornwall. Sixty RNLI volunteers from Cadgwith, Coverack, The Lizard and Porthleven rowed back and forth in a violent gale for 16 hours to rescue the 456 passengers and crew. Not a single life was lost. Six of the rescuers, including two Suevic crew members, were awarded RNLI Silver Medals for their heroic actions.
When Tower Lifeboat Station was established in 2002, the crew never imagined they would become the busiest of the RNLI’s 238 stations – and the first to reach a milestone 10,000 launches (now more than 11,000). Rapid currents, chilly water temperatures and constant heavy traffic make the Thames highly dangerous. Anyone in its waters must be reached in minutes, so a swift response is essential. It’s why the crew are on duty 24/7 and operate the RNLI’s fastest craft: the 40-knot E class lifeboat. That’s two record-breaking facts in one!
Photos: RNLI Grace Darling Museum, RNLI/(Laura Lewis, Nathan Williams)
Photo: RNLI