Today's lifeboatmen Michael Bowden, full-time coxswain of the Appledore lifeboat, first joined the station in 1971 as a crew member of the all-weather lifeboat.

Michael became an inshore lifeboat crew member in 1973, served as helmsman on the station's Atlantic 21 lifeboat and held various mechanic posts until he was appointed Coxswain in 1994.

In 1991 he was awarded the RNLI's Long Service Badge and later received a Bronze medal in 1994 for exhibiting excellent seamanship when the Appledore lifeboat, George Gibson and crew went to the aid of a fishing vessel on 31 March 1994. The casualty, Torridge Warrior had lost power from one engine, near Appledore's infamous Bar in terrible sea conditions.

Coxswain Bowden took the lifeboat on the quickest passage through the surf, the worst experienced in 30 years, to reach the casualty that was taking on water and had injured crew aboard. Despite horrendous conditions on an inhospitable coast with shelter only available at certain states of the tide, Appledore lifeboat together with the lifeboat from Ilfracombe managed to get the stricken vessel to safety some eight hours later..