Cowes Lifeboat Station Produces a Children’s Book
Concerned there was no official RNLI book for young children about the lifesaving activities of an inshore lifeboat persuaded the Visits Team at Cowes lifeboat station to become ‘do-it-yourselfers’.
The first three samples of the ground-breaking publication were hurriedly prepared in time for the station’s crowd-pulling SOS Day yesterday (Sunday).
One copy was given to Bertha Pollock, who had donated the cost of the station’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat in memory of her daughter, Sheena Louise; another was given to Sheena’s sister, Lorna Cox, who had officially named the lifeboat back in 2012 – while the third was received by the station’s Operations Manager, Mark Southwell.
Visits Officer, Penny Maclean, said: “We looked for a young children’s illustrated book about an inshore lifeboat, but only found books about the larger all-weather lifeboats. So we solved the problem by producing a book of our own, which we plan to read to children at the station and when we visit local schools.
“It not only describes a typical rescue, but also puts over the message about water and beach safety.”
Responsible for the text was visits member Judy Ottaway, with some help from other team members, and the eye-catching illustrations were done by crew-member and local artist, Rowena Wright.
The poor weather meant little use was made of The Parade for SOS activities, apart from East Cowes Branch members gamely running a ‘head-on-wellie’ competition and the presence of Isle of Wight Coastguards. However, the lifeboat station itself proved very popular with the public.
Children received plenty of water-safety messages, the voluntary Needles Coastwatch had a display, visits to the station were made by other lifeboat crews, the Cowes Guild helped with refreshments, and Eegons café provided much-appreciated sandwiches and cakes for the large army of volunteers.
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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