The launch of the RNLI Respect the Water campaign was filmed in Dartmouth on Friday 18 May and can be seen on BBC Spotlight on Wednesday 23 May. The main difference from previous advice is that if you suddenly find yourself unexpectedly in the water you should FLOAT; at least for long enough to get over the shock of the event.
Kevin Murphy volunteered to demonstrate the correct floating technique in the Boatfloat and was filmed by John Ayres from the BBC.
Simon Crayfourd, our local RNLI Lifesaving Manager, gave the details of the advice in the campaign and Simon Burton recounted how it felt to fall in and realise that he could not get out until he was rescued in June last year.
R N L I Dart Fundraising Committee Chairman’s Newsletter April 2018
Dear Friends,
The news that we are to get a B class lifeboat on trial for 2 years is very welcome and exciting. Although the new boat will not arrive until late summer it will mean a busy time for all at RNLI Dart. Not only will the crew have to embark on training for the new boat, but it will also mean that the fundraising committee will have to go into overdrive to support the running costs of 2 lifeboats, which in turn means our budgets will have to double for the next 2 years.
We have had a good start, however. Our quiz night held on Tuesday 6th March at the Dartmouth Arms was a great success and the evening was enjoyed by all who attended with a good contribution to fundraising being made as well. Our thanks go to Andy Birsse for hosting the event.
This was followed 2 days later by the Inter-service skittles evening held at Dartmouth Yacht Club. All the emergency services attended and we were able to enjoy hot food donated by Lynn Clements, for which a big thank you. The team event was won by the Coast Watch team from Froward Point and the income raised was double that of the previous year.
On 4th April, a number of us met at the lifeboat station to receive a very substantial donation from the Master of the Worshipful Company of Paviors livery company who had chosen us as one of his charities for his year of office. The donation was a very welcome contribution to our funding.
John Yunnie and John Fenton organised our annual lifejacket clinic at the lifeboat station on 14th April. The team from Ocean Safety worked flat out all day examining over 120 lifejackets, of which only 3 were condemned; a much better result than on previous years. The team were sustained by a selection of pasties donated by John Yunnie and his wife, and there were goodies available from the visitor centre to entice the waiting queue. No charges are made for the lifejacket inspections as we merely request donations, but to be frank, these were a little disappointing this year given how busy the day was. Our grateful thanks go to all those who helped.
Events
Our next event will be a Welly Walk, starting from the RNLI visitor centre at 10am, to Greenway, terminating at the Ferry Boat Inn on Saturday May 26. Arrangements have been made to ferry participants back down the river to Dartmouth at discounted rates.
This will be followed by our main fundraising event of the summer which will be a 24-hour sponsored row commencing at the lifeboat station at 10am on Saturday June 2nd. Cayle Royce MBE, the disabled Atlantic rower, has agreed to start off the event. Katy Locke has done a magnificent job in organising everything, which will include an all-day bar on the Saturday with a barbecue from noon to 4pm and a disco and barbecue in the evening. All the crew and staff have signed up and are now seeking sponsorship for their efforts to come. Anybody who is feeling energetic or who can’t sleep at night is welcome to join us and participate. Let’s hope the weather is kind over the 24-hour period.
There are a few more forward dates for your diary. Our Annual Fete will be held on Saturday, July 28th and our flag day on August 4th. If anyone can provide books, cakes or bottles for the stalls at the Fete please take them to the Visitor centre beforehand. We will also put on an event, possibly with Newfoundland rescue dogs, during regatta week. A Race Night is being organised for September with a bar and food available. We also know that the RNLI’s face-to-face team will be much in evidence on the embankment over the summer.
The visitor centre results are way ahead of budget thanks to the efforts of Tracey and her team. I will not steal her thunder as she is submitting a separate report on their activities, but our thanks go to them all.
We look forward to receiving the support of all our friends and contributors over the summer months.
Bob Gilbert CBE
Chairman
May 2018 – News update from the RNLI Visitor Centre
After the quiet winter months our RNLI visitor centre in Dartmouth is open again and looking forward to seeing lots of visitors throughout 2018.
We have a great team of volunteers ready to show our visitors around our displays and tell them about the work done by our crew and all the team, both in Dartmouth and around the country. We have displays that will be of interest to all ages, from our lifeboat in the centre that children and adults can climb aboard, dressing up in our crew gear whilst learning about how it works, to displays showing the history of the RNLI. We also have lots of information and videos about the modern day RNLI and how it has developed from just rescuing lives at sea to the variety of work it now does - beach safety, flood rescue and our international work.
We also have a great shopping area selling lots of RNLI merchandise; something for everyone. For children we have pocket money toys and larger presents, teddies and our very popular crabbing lines, bait and buckets. We have souvenirs and stationery, home ware, food produce and clothing.
This year we have a new Stormy Sam toy range and new Storm Force membership packs that can be given to children to become junior members of the RNLI.
We are also introducing a new home and stationery range by the very popular Jessica Hogarth. Her “Ocean” range is bright and modern featuring sea horses and star fish. Our clothing ranges include some great new designs of men’s and children’s T shirts as well as our classic RNLI polo shirts and sweatshirts.
Throughout the low season we have been opening from 11am to 3pm, seven days a week. However, as summer arrives, from the 1st June we will be extending our opening hours to 10am to 4pm, again, seven days a week.
Our team works purely on a volunteer basis and thoroughly enjoy the time they spend in the visitor centre. We work in teams of two, one morning shift and one in the afternoon. We do have room for new volunteers, either for a regular position or as a volunteer who covers on an “as and when” basis. No prior knowledge is required so if anyone has some free time and would like to spend some of it volunteering for a worthy cause and be part of a great team, then please contact me at tracey.lucas@hotmail.co.uk.
We look forward to welcoming our visitors, both new and those who make regular trips to Dartmouth.
Tracey Lucas
Volunteer Manager
