How does a volunteer lifeboat crew member find the time to juggle their work and personal life with their lifeboat duties - and why? Jon Jones spent some time on the Isle of Wight with Bembridge coxswain Martin Woodward to try to get some answers...There are not enough hours in the day' he grinned, as the third phone call in as many minutes was promptly answered. Martin, a self-ernployed and highly experienced salvage diver and consultant, was organising what sounded like a very exciting job in South America.

'I like to get away a couple of times a year, but I usually leave this sort of work for the winter months when the lifeboat is not so busy and I can arrange our second coxswain to stand in' he said.

Background To find out what made a lifeboatman tick I was going to have to dig a little into Martin's background. He and his parents moved to Bembndge when he was ten years old and, although his immediate family never had a direct connection with the RNLI. the sea has always played an important part in his life. The interest in lifeboats started from an early age. 'From about the age of eleven I was always hanging around the lifeboat station,' he recalled. 'It must have got quite frustrating for the crew at times - occasionally they would have to chase the kids out with brooms!' He always kept an ear out for the maroons going off and the lifeboat launching on service. 'I loved listening to the coxswain and old-time crew members recounting all their exciting rescue tales' - a friendship which grew very close over the years, bringing Martin right into the heart of the Bembridge lifeboat family and inspiring him to join the crew when he reached the age requirement.

Martin took me down to the lifeboat station to meet Mechanic Brian Frost and to see if any more supplies were needed. As we approached the station walkway he recalled the day when the famous liner Canberra had lost her engines and was being battered by heavy weather and being blown onto a lee shore with 1,500 people aboard, There were 3rn waves crashing over this walkway then. We had to time it just right and run between the waves to get to the boathouse.' It was hard to imagine that scene now on such a clear, warm day. I was told that the lifeboat wasn't needed in the end as the liner managed to get power back and steam out of trouble. 'It may seem strange,' he continued, 'but I really wanted to go out on that one...'Commitment So, some of the reasons 'why' were the camaraderie and team spirit, the excitement - and, I imagine, that amazing feeling of knowing that you helped to save someone's life. However, the 'how' was going to be a little more difficult to understand. Being a lifeboat volunteer is a bigger commitment than you may at first think - giving up your time and risking your own safety to rescue other people is only part of it.

I learned that at Bembridge the crew members have a 'lifeboat night' every Tuesday to train, catch up and chat, as well as launching on exercise every fortnight. Like so many other lifeboat people, Martin's involvement with the RNLI doesn't just stop there. He also doubles up as the station's press officer, making sure the local media and public are kept in the picture.

He is also a keen fundraiser and regularly gets involved with sponsored events and launch re-enactments with his beautifully restored 1887 pulling and sailing lifeboat Queen Victoria. Martin acquired the ex-Bembridge lifeboat when she was derelict and, after fundraising, had her restored to her former glory by the local Classic Boat Museum. If this wasn't enough, Martin has been instrumental in the production of a dive safety video in cooperation with the RNLI's Sea Safety department.

I was lucky enough to be able to watch some of the filming at the lifeboat crew's local, The Crab and Lobster, which went on well into the night - the scene was illustrating what not to do at the pub the night before going out on a deep dive! Morning, noon and night The next morning Martin was out before 7am for a jog, followed by breakfast and much paperwork.

He then went along to his offices at the harbour and to his maritime museum to do a few errands.

It must be said at this point that Bembridge Maritime Museum is a fascinating collection of all the artefacts Martin has collected from his dives off the island over the years, which also includes a whole gallery devoted to Bembridge lifeboats past and present.

That afternoon Martin - together with his assistant Fred, who is also on the Bembridge crew - had to do some salvage work out in the Solent and took me out on his boat Discovery. A small yacht had been lost during Cowes week and she had to be located and brought in as she was a potential threat to local shipping. As we headed seaward we received a call from Coastguard helicopter, India Juliet, which requested a 'Being a lifeboat volunteer is a bigger commitment than you may at first think - giving up your time and risking your own safety to rescue other people is only part of it.' winching and recovery exercise involving Discovery. Again, I was lucky to have a ringside seat. Afterwards, I watched Martin get kitted up and dive for the wreck in the murky waters of the Solent. The wreck was located and there was an attempt to raise her but, as she was so heavy due to silting, she was secured and marked with a buoy for recovery the next day.

Arriving back, Martin had to rush off to don slightly different attire as he was teaching karate at the local karate club, another volunteer job he does every week. After that, he had to get back and prepare for the lifeboat crew meeting that evening. In fact, the short time I spent with Martin was non-stop - I had trouble keeping up. Luckily, during my visit the lifeboat didn't get a shout but I was aware that his pager could go off at any time and he would have to drop everything and race down to the boathouse.

Choice Bearing in mind what busy lives they lead. I wondered how these volunteers could afford to give so much of their time to the lifeboat. Before he dashed off, I asked Martin how much he lost in earnings because of his lifeboat work 'Quite a bit,' he sighed, 'but at the end of the day it's my choice and I wouldn't do it unless I wanted to.' I asked how it might affect some of the others on the crew, 'Three of our lads work at the same garage in town, so when there's a shout they all have to down tools.' They must have a very understanding boss, I thought. So, with the business, museum, lifeboat restoration projects, fundraising events, his duties as coxswain and press officer, and all the other projects, what time did he have left for his social life? 'What social life?' he said with a twinkle in his eye.

.On my return home I gazed out into the night from the upper deck of the Isle of Wight ferry and was pleased that I had managed to grasp some idea of why these people do what they do. As for 'how' - I wasn't sure how they had the time and energy to do it all - but it did leave me convinced that the volunteer lifeboatmen and women of the RNLI are a very special breed indeed.