Hunstanton RNLI celebrates International Women's Day
The youngest sea-going member of a Norfolk lifeboat crew rang its station bell to celebrate International Women's Day.
Louise Kyle, 22, was one of six female volunteers taking part in exercises at Hunstanton RNLI on Sunday 8 March, involving its fast inshore lifeboat and search and rescue hovercraft.
They included a female hovercraft pilot, a female lifeboat helm, a female lifeboat crew member, a female tractor driver and female shore crew.
Demanding practice drills are all in a morning's work for the women of Hunstanton RNLI, where it's not just jobs for the boys.
For they don't talk about lifeboatmen or lifeboatwomen in the charity that saves lives at sea, which operates the busy station and more than 200 like it.
They talk about lifeboat volunteers, because all of its lifesaving roles are open to both men and women.
Hunstanton's team includes female shore crew member Emma, trainee boat crew members Louise and Ellie, plant driver Clare, hovercraft pilot Leesa, hovercraft commander and lifeboat helm Charlie, and trainee launch authority Tara.
Louise, who joined the crew soon after turning 17, rang the boathouse bell to celebrate the achievements of women past and present at the station.
Earlier families on the beach and outside the nearby café watched as the craft came ashore after two hours at sea.
'It's really cool when you come back in and you've got little girls watching,' said Louise.
'They always seem so excited when they see a girl on the boat or the hovercraft.
'They always seem so excited when they see a girl on the boat or the hovercraft.
'They see that they could do this too, it's not just something men do. If you want to do it and you believe in yourself, you can - just like me and all the other women in our crew.'
Hovercraft pilot Leesa Espley signed up to help save lives at the station more than 20 years ago.
She went on to become the RNLI's first female hovercraft pilot and still takes her turn at the controls of
Hunstanton Flyer.
'I was a bit nervous at first,' she said. 'I knew there'd been women in the crew before but I was the only girl when I joined.
'But everyone made me welcome, they were all very supportive and I knew straight away that it was something I really wanted to do.
'It's a lot like becoming part of a family when you join our crew. We all look out for each other, we all just muck in and get on with it.'
Along with the women's names on suits and boots hanging up in the boathouse at Hunstanton, there are females in other senior roles at the station like its visits lead, water safety lead, souvenir shop manager, treasurer and operations administrator.
Notes to Editors
Volunteers at Hunstanton RNLI operate both the inshore lifeboat Spirit of West
Norfolk and search and rescue hovercraft Hunstanton Flyer from their base on Sea Lane.
They cover The Wash, a coastal estuary of more than 200 square miles fed by four main rivers along with parts of the North Norfolk coast.
Crew members at the busy station are on call 24/7, 365 days a year; while their work is supported by its visits, shop and outreach teams, along with the Hunstanton and West Norfolk RNLI Lifeboat Guild which raises funds for the charity that saves lives at sea.
RNLI picture captions
Volunteers from Hunstanton RNLI in the hovercraft shed at the station and Louise Kyle ringing the bell to celebrate International Women's Day.
Credit: RNLI/Chris Bishop.
Images from exercise on Sunday, 8 March.
Credit: RNLI/Charlie Parfitt.
Images from exercise on Sunday, 8 March.
Credit: RNLI/Charlie Parfitt.
RNLI Media Contacts
For more information call Chris Bishop, Hunstanton RNLI volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer on 07584 147219, Clare Hopps, RNLI Regional Communications Manager, North and East on 07824 518641, or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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