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Burnham-on-Sea RNLI welcomes Jared Colclough

Lifeboats News Release

Burnham-on-Sea RNLI volunteers recently attended one of their regular onshore training evenings, to be met by Jared Colclough’s ‘Oscar Charlie’, uniquely RNLI branded camper van.

Jared handing over the collected funds to Operations Manager Matt Davies

RNLI/Mike Lang

Jared handing over the collected funds to Operations Manager Matt Davies
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Jared, who had attended the recently Bridgwater foodfest, had been collecting funds for the RNLI, and was there to hand over collected funds to the lifeboat station volunteers. Jared’s relationship with the lifesaving charity began after he was rescued by the Exmouth lifeboat from a life critical situation, which subsequently stirred a desire to support the charity in any way he could. His story is quoted in ‘Notes for Editors’. Lifeboat Operations Manager Matt Davies received the £102 in cash from Jared thanking him for his support

Jared says, on his just-giving page; .’Oscar Charlie is a personal creation of mine to raise funds across various events around the country,

My reason? Read below.....

In April 2015, on a sunny day, myself & 3 others ventured out of Exmouth in "Dieter" my 19ft speedboat.

One hour in, the engine started developing problems, and died, this on its own wasn't a major problem, more of an inconvenience, it's what followed that changed the day.

10 minutes after the engine failed , and being turned by wave action , my boat started taking on water, after changing our call for assistance to a Mayday, things went from bad to worse.

Our bilge pump wasn't pumping well enough, and bailing wasn't having much effect, within minutes the boat was gone, swamped and sunk beneath us, leaving us in the water, a mile off coast.


It was nearly 30 minutes later that we were all picked up by the Exmouth lifeboat , the RNLI 's Shannon Class R and J Wellburn . The sight of that orange and blue Angel cresting the waves will leave us all with a memory that will last a lifetime . We were plucked from the water and wrapped up on deck in no time by the crew . A truly professional team .

Due to an error of judgement, we didn't have life jackets, and the water was a very cold 8°C. Time was dwindling away quickly, the RNLI undoubtedly saved our lives that day, no amount of money raised will payback what the RNLI did. for us in giving us back the rest of our lives . However my target will go some way towards that and will perhaps help save other lives .

More information on web appearances:-

www.facebook.com/RNLIcamper

www.twitter.com/RNLIcamper

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/RNLIcamper


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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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.

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