Calendar Sells in No Time for RNLI Crewmember

Donnie Maclean began volunteering at the local RNLI station in early 2020 as a member of the shore crew and trainee tractor driver. Donnie is also a keen photographer and has been taking photos of the Kinghorn Beach area over the past year.

Demand for the calendar has been strong, with all 60 copies sold by Christmas. The twelve images featured include local beachscapes, the Firth of Forth and Kinghorn Lifeboat.

Donnie said, ‘I was inspired to do it because I was taking some nice photos and posting them in the local Facebook photography groups. The feedback I was getting was very positive, so I thought that it would be a good opportunity to pull the best ones together into a calendar.

‘I'm hugely passionate about fundraising for the RNLI, as I was actually rescued by the RNLI Lifeboat on Loch Ness during a kayaking endurance feat that I was attempting in 2016.

‘One of my fellow athletes was knocked into the water when the wind and swell got up at a pinch point about half way down the loch. I went to help him and ended up getting knocked into the water too. The waves were too high for us to be able to get back into the kayaks, and we were right in the middle, so we were really struggling. He was really suffering with the cold water, so we radioed for the lifeboat, and they were amazing.

The RNLI charity is supported entirely by donations. The Kinghorn RNLI station has had a very busy 2020, responding to nearly 100 incidents.

Notes to editors

• Kinghorn lifeboat station has been operating since 1965. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to www.rnli.org.uk/kinghorn
• Photo shows Donnie Maclean with his calendar at Kinghorn lifeboat station

RNLI media contacts -

For more information please telephone Neil Chalmers, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07767 380274 or [email protected]

Gemma McDonald, RNLI Regional Media Manager for Scotland, 01738 642956, 07826 900639, [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Media Officer for Scotland, 01738 642986, 07920 365929, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 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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