First ‘Brew with the Crew’ of 2025 ends in tasking for Burnham-on-Crouch RNLI
Saturday 29 March 2025 saw the return of Burnham-on-Crouch RNLI’s Brew with the Crew open days. Just as the event was wrapping up at 3pm, the station was alerted to people in difficulty on the River Crouch.
Passengers on board a boat contacted the lifeboat station to advise that they were experiencing engine failure near to the entrance of the River Roach, with three people on board.
They reported that they had been able to set anchor but had no steerage and were unable to return to their mooring at Essex marina. Dover Coastguard made contact with the vessel whilst Simon Dennis, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager, self paged the crew.
The Tony and Robert Britt the charity’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat was launched at 3.28pm with four crew on board reaching the casualty vessel within ten minutes. On assessing the vessel, it was decided that the safest option was to tow it to the nearest safe haven which happened to be its home location. The tow took one hour and the Tony and Robert Britt was ready again for operational duty at 5.32pm.
Simon Dennis, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at Burnham-on-Crouch, said: ‘This was an unusual call in that the casualty telephoned the lifeboat station directly, and luckily we were able to answer as the station had just finished the Brew with the Crew event. However, RNLI lifeboat stations are not routinely manned as all of our crew are volunteers, and in the event of an incident at sea, those needing assistance should always call the Coastguard direct via either VHF radio or using the 999 telephone system. We were pleased to assist this vessel to a successful outcome’.
The Brew with the Crew event, which has been revamped by a new fundraising committee, also proved a success.
The fundraising crew organised for operational crew to host tours of the floating boat houses giving scheduled talks about the boats and kit. Burnham-on-Crouch is fortunate to be one of only three stations in the UK to have floating boat houses, the others are in Poole and Brighton.
The station carries some of the retail products offered by the RNLI. It’s a great place to purchase some of the locally branded merchandise which in turn helps to support the charity. The station’s avid bakers provided some much-needed refreshments.
The volunteer fundraising group is also committed to spreading awareness of water safety. The shore and boat crew support the work of the fundraising crew whenever needed. However, it is always necessary to keep the station operationally functional.
Unlike some other stations Burnham-on-Crouch does not have a designated retail area and so utilise the crew meeting area and kitchen for these events. All events held at the station need careful and considered planning because in the event of an emergency crew would need to be ready for launch.
Rosie Parker, a great supporter of the station, commented on social media: ‘A great tour around the boat houses and fabulous cake and coffee, couldn’t resist a few purchases’.
Burnham-on-Crouch RNLI’s next Brew with the Crew event will be held on Saturday 26 April 2025.
Notes to editors
The RNLI has only three stations around the UK which use floating boat houses, one of which is located at Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea.
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