First ever Female Coxswain at Appledore RNLI: Natalie Withey
All at Appledore RNLI are absolutely delighted that volunteer crew member Natalie Withey has become its first ever female coxswain.
Natalie joined Appledore RNLI in the late summer of 2016. At the time her only boating experience had been sunbathing as a child on the front of her father’s boat. She quickly progressed to become a fully passed out shore crew member before, rather hesitantly, moving over to boat crew. She soon became a full crew member on both the all-weather and inshore lifeboats, progressing to casualty care, becoming a navigator in 2020 and our first female helm in 2023. Last night she did what had only seemed to her when she started at the station as a total impossibility, she passed out as a fully qualified Tamar Coxswain on our all-weather lifeboat.
To say she has worked so hard is an understatement, and she gives her all to the station in every way possible. She is a completely home-grown Coxswain, RNLI trained for all her expertise and experience, undertaking intense theory and practical training both at Appledore and at the RNLI headquarters in Poole, with her competence assessed throughout by a mix of Appledore and external RNLI assessors.
Following her final written paper yesterday, Natalie took the all-weather lifeboat, Mollie Hunt, out in the biting cold with howling winds and rain, on Tuesday 17 February, to undertake her final on-board assessment by the RNLI external assessor Ollie George. She was supported by fellow crew members, Del Elesmore, Matt Rowe, Matt Ayers, Robbie Ward, and Allen Heath-Coleman.
This always consists of a wide-ranging set of scenarios which included the worse possible. First was to a report of a ‘man over board’ from a 7metre orange rib. The remaining person on the boat had a confirmed head injury which made him too confused to give the boat’s position. On arrival at the boat there was no sign of the missing person, but with the on-board casualty too poorly to get an anchor down, Appledore, and our flanking station’s, inshore lifeboats and the coastguard rescue helicopter were tasked to join the search with Natalie acting as the on-board rescue coordinator calculating and managing search patterns, casualty care and the helicopter, which was re-tasked to airlift the deteriorating casualty to hospital. In addition to the rib sinking, the scenario kept changing during the search but the second casualty was successfully found and taken by the inshore lifeboat to meet a waiting land ambulance.
Other scenarios included a catastrophic engine fire necessitating all emergency firefighting procedures through to abandoning boat; the tow of the inshore lifeboat, complete with crew falling over-board; and the total failure of the port side engine, requiring mooring up on one engine in a real F8 gale with a ripping three-hour ebbing tide. Not easy situations for any coxswain.
Natalie says: ‘Passing out as a Tamar Coxswain feels incredibly special. When I first joined the RNLI with no boating experience at all, I never imagined I’d reach this point. The encouragement, patience and belief given to me by everyone at Appledore Lifeboat Station has shaped me into the crew member I am today.
‘I had an incredible crew beside me on the night, and throughout my journey my husband and crew mate, Rich, has been a constant source of strength and support.
‘I’m truly honoured to step into the role of coxswain at Appledore, alongside such a dedicated and wonderful team’.
Bob Meller, Appledore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager says; ‘Nat, well done and well deserved after all the effort and commitment you have put in. You made history at Appledore Lifeboat Station last night. Massive congratulations. All the crew at Appledore concur. Massive Congratulations Natalie Withey, Appledore RNLI’s First Female Coxswain - From Sunbather to RNLI Coxswain in less than 10 Years'.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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