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Eastbourne RNLI at Eastbourne 999

Lifeboats News Release

The volunteer crew at Eastbourne had a busy weekend at Eastbourne's annual 999 show.

On each day they performed a demonstration of keys skills and life saving techniques. Both the Tamar class all weather lifeboat 'Diamond Jubilee' and the D class inshore lifeboat 'David H' were on the water and the crews on both boats put on a real display in front of thousands of people on the promenade. On the Saturday they simulated a casualty in the water using the dummy with both boats carrying out a search pattern before the crew aboard 'David H' located the casualty in the water and recovered them before making a fast approach to the beach and landing the D class on the shore to cheers from the crowd. They handed the casualty to the coastguard team on the beach and then waded into the surf to catch a line thrown from the crew aboard 'Diamond Jubilee' and attaching a tow. The D class was then towed off the beach before both boats showed their manoeuvrability and then did a final pass waving at the crowds.

On the Sunday they repeated the demonstration but with an added element of showing how they would stand off and use the Tamar class lifeboat's fire fighting equipment to tackle a fire on board a yacht. One of the crew not involved in the display was out on their own yacht and played the role of casualty vessel.

On both days the crew also hosted a static shore based display that included their previous D class lifeboat that was recently taken out of service after 11 years and over 1000 service launches. For the entire time the arena was open the public queued to see the display and young children got a chance to climb in, meet the crew and try on some of the equipment the crew wear during shouts.

The station's Water Safety team was also in attendance and gave out lots of vital water safety information and engaged with the public passing on key messages around float to live, respecting the water, checking tide times and staying safe at the beach.

Station operations manager Carl Pocock said 'It was great to see so many people at this event and to be able to engage with the public in this way.'

Media Contacts:

Daniel Baldock, Eastbourne RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer [email protected]

Paul Dunt, RNLI Regional Media Officer London London and South East (07785) 296252 [email protected]

RNLI online: For more information on the RNLI please visit http://www.rnli.org/. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI News Centre.

Inshore lifeboat on the beach with crowd behind

RNLI

Inshore lifeboat on the beach
Crew in front of their display

RNLI

Eastbourne RNLI at the show
Three crew in the water

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Crew waiting for line
Three crew at front of lifeboat waving

RNLI

Waving at the crowd
Crew members using a hose

RNLI

Simulation of fire fighting
D class crew waving at crowd

RNLI

D class crew waving

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.