MP takes Hastings helm for RNLI exercise
Amber Rudd, MP for Hastings and Rye, visited Hastings RNLI Lifeboat Station on Saturday 10 September where its volunteer crew invited her to take part in a training exercise aboard their all weather lifeboat, the Sealink Endeavour.
After the lifeboat launched in a real-time scenario, Amber took the helm under instruction from the volunteer lifeboat crew and piloted the vessel as part of a simulated missing person incident.
Amber said: 'Taking part in this exercise and talking with volunteer crew members underlined how important their work is to our community, and the ability and dedication they display.'
Following the successful sighting and recovery of ‘Fred’, the dummy used in the exercise, the Sealink Endeavour, working in partnership with the Daphne May – the station’s ishore lfeboat – returned to shore.
Amber added: 'I would like to thank the RNLI charity and the Hastings Lifeboat Station for asking me to take part in this exercise and for trusting me to take the helm when we were at sea.
I look forward to continuing to support the station and its crew in the vital role they play keeping us safe at sea.'
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• Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 [email protected]
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Key facts about the RNLI
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.
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