Exmouth RNLI volunteers celebrate Open Day success
Exmouth RNLI volunteers celebrate Open Day success
Lifeboats News Release
On 21 August, the station’s volunteers opened the doors to their boathouse to welcome supporters visiting their Open Day. The total raised was just under £1,000 with donations still coming in.
Members of the Exmouth Lifeboat
Fundraising Team organised various stalls and Crew wives and girlfriends (WAGS)
ran a cheerful Jazzy Jar stall – a 50/50 chance to win a jar full of surprises.
Coastal Safety volunteers were on hand to advise on lifejackets and other
safety equipment and the Face2Face team were also present to discuss charity
membership to help save lives at sea.
Visitors queued to look around Shannon
class lifeboat R and J Welburn. Crew
and lifeboat operations volunteers committed their Sunday to give tours of the
state-of-the-art, water-jet powered lifeboat. Other Crew volunteers took part
in a demonstration at 11.30am with RNLI Lifeguards in front of the lifeboat
station. Exmouth Gig Rowing Club and Exmouth Coastguard team supported the
event and Krispies provided a barbeque.
Former casualties: Jared Colclough, Dan
Morton and Richard Smith parked their RNLI publicity vehicle by the shop to
draw attention. Along with another friend, the trio’s lives had been the first
saved by Crew volunteers aboard R and J
Welburn on 12 April 2015. Since that date, they have been actively
promoting the charity’s Respect The Water campaign to prevent similar incidents
happening.
At 3.00pm, visitors were treated to
another inshore lifeboat launch, this time on service. A yacht within sight of
the lifeboat station was aground in the sand about 0.6 miles offshore.
Volunteers heard the Pan Pan call for assistance over the radio and
self-launched to help tow the casualty into the river Exe. Crew volunteers
returned to station at 4.06pm, as visitors were leaving the event.
Exmouth Lifeboat Fundraising Team
Chair, Don Hodgkinson praised the dedication of the volunteers:
‘We would like to thank everyone who
visited our Open Day as without their support, our Crew volunteers would not be
able to save lives at sea. Thank you to all the fundraising, shop and station
volunteers who gave up their time on Sunday to raise an incredible amount of
money. I would like to especially thank the Crew who spoke passionately to
visitors about their roles and lifeboats on top of their regular training commitments
and shouts during the busy summer season.’
Notes to Editors
Photos: (Credit Exmouth
RNLI)
PR230816-1 Crew wives and girlfriends at their Jazzy
Jar stall
PR230816-2 Young visitors in inshore lifeboat George Bearman
PR230816-3 Young visitor meets RNLI mascot Stormy Stan
PR230816-4 Inshore lifeboat shout to assist yacht in
difficulty
For more information
please telephone Emma Tarling, Exmouth RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on
07837 810082 or email: [email protected].
The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.
