July 2017 Exceptionally busy for RNLI Queensferry
July 2017 was an incredibly busy month for the crew at RNLI Queensferry Lifeboat Station with 15 call outs between the 1st of the month and the 29th.
The busy month peaked the week beginning the 24th of July with five shouts in two days including one at 3:06am on the 25th to perform a search after two red distress flares were spotted by air traffic in the area, and another at 10:51pm that same night to search for a vulnerable person believed to be at risk of entering the water in the Cramond area, with the crew finally heading home from the Lifeboat Station around 2am.
Thankfully both of these call outs had good outcomes with no vessels in distress located and the vulnerable person being located safely ashore by Police Scotland.
But that doesn’t reduce the amount of work put in by our lifeboat crew who jumped out of their warm beds, leaving their homes and families to respond the instant the pagers sounded, and still getting up in the morning to continue with their normal daily lives and jobs regardless of how tired they are after an overnight call out, let alone two in 24 hours.
RNLI Queensferry is just one of the 238 RNLI Stations around our coastline whose dedicated volunteer crew provide this lifesaving search and rescue service. The new 12 part series of the BBC2 documentary about the RNLI, Saving Lives at Sea, starts on Wednesday 16th of August at 8pm, offering a unique glimpse into the workings of the charity and the huge range of rescues that RNLI volunteers are involved in every day.
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.