Golfers get into the swing to support Whitstable Lifeboat

Lady Captain, Fran Fearn, said, “Senior Captain Bruce Maguire and I wanted to do something for a specific local cause and, as our golfers come from around the whole Canterbury area, we decided upon the Whitstable Lifeboat with the full support of our members”.

“The monies were raised as a result of our lady captain's charity day, raffles, a Christmas charity fundraiser and other events that raised £4000, whilst the senior section held raffles, a social evening at the club, a 24-hour ‘golfathon’ and a captain's prize day, which raised the remainder, giving us a total of £7000”.

Mark Laming, Chairman of the Whitstable Lifeboat Management Group said. “This has been a fantastic effort by the golf club and the monies will go towards the continuing running costs of the station. The RNLI, the Whitstable Lifeboat and its volunteer crews are dependent on the continuing financial support given by members of the public, as the institution is separate from the coastguard and independent of government. With Whitstable Lifeboat launching on 38 calls last year, we are most grateful for the support from Canterbury Golf Club and, indeed, from our other supporters for the help given to the charity that saves lives at sea”.

Notes to editors

Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.

The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.

She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.

RNLI media contacts

• Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
  07741 012004/ [email protected]

• Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer London/southeast/east Tel: 0207 6207416 Mob: (07786) 668825 [email protected]

For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

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

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