The unprecedented events of 29 June 2000 sum up the brief history of Crosshaven lifeboat station. At around 6.30pm that day Owen Medland, deputy divisional inspector of lifeboats for Ireland, made the final phone call which turned Atlantic lifeboat B-575 John Batstone into Crosshaven's lifeboat. Less than five minutes later, the boat was on service.The new Crosshaven lifeboat's first shout was in response to a 999 call from a member of the public.

A dinghy with three people on board was brought ashore - she had got into difficulties while on passage to Crosshaven for a fundraising event in aid of a certain charity! Cork harbour has had a long association with lifeboats. In 1825, a lifeboat was built in Passage West and sailed to Liverpool to prove its seaworthiness in an attempt to get the RNLI to accept the design. From 1866 to 1920, three lifeboats were stationed at Queenstown (now Cobh).

The time had come for the harbour to renew the link.

It began in earnest back in May 1998. A local committee approached the RNLI to consider siting a lifeboat station in the village. The Cork harbour area had already been identified as a weakness in lifeboat cover through the ongoing operational coastal reviews. The availability of temporary facilities and a good pool of potential crew members all helped Colin Williams, divisional inspector, to set up a station in a very short time. Many meetings and much hard work by all resulted in the lifeboat arriving at Crosshaven on 3 April 2000 to begin a 12-month evaluation.

The first year of the new Millennium - our first year as a lifeboat station - was hectic. February saw a trip to Youghal, our nearest Atlantic station, for a brief familiarisation visit. In March, two crews of five went to the Inshore Lifeboat Centre in Cowes for training. Instructor Howard Ramm brought the mobile training unit to Crosshaven when he visited with a training boat for a week in May and, in June, instructor Alan White took the crew through a first aid course. Our western neighbour, Courtmacsherry Harbour, celebrated 175 years of lifeboating in December and we had the pleasure of sending the message 'congratulations to the oldest station in Ireland from the newest'.

The highlight of the year had to be our first Christmas party held, of course, on 3 February 2001.

However, our festivities were shattered at 3.50am when the pagers went off!Our most unusual service to date was the recovery of a dead Orca whale. About two weeks before the station was formally established, the harbour master contacted our station secretary.

The pilot cutter was towing the carcass of a whale that had suddenly died, after living in the harbour for the previous twomonths with its partner and baby.

We took over the tow and took the whale to a local boatyard, where we positioned the slings of the yard hoist under the whale.

The body was hauled out and a post-mortem performed by the local university. Apparently, the whale was up to eighty years old and died of blood poisoning.

However, this was not the last we saw of the whale! Against our advice, it was towed back out to sea, minus a large portion of its insides. Three days later the whale was washed up on a local beach at the edge of the harbour.rather the worse for wear. Again, the harbour master requested our assistance and, after receiving assurances regarding the disposal of the carcass, the lifeboat launched to recover the whale from the beach. It was towed to amore accessible beach and disposed of by the local authority.

The whale had died on the Saturday night and, as it was now Tuesday, the crew were very glad they were driving into the wind on the tow!Up to the end of July 2001, we registered 43 services - including one of only two services by inshore boats on Christmas day.

We are currently operating from portakabins and containers but our boathouse will be under construction by the time this issue of thelifeboat goes to press.

We will be using a davit to launch the lifeboat off the pier.

We have slowly become accustomed to abandoning dinners, realising that the beeping noise from the bedside locker is notthe alarm clock and huddling around the radio in the boathouse waiting for the latest news -all things seasoned lifeboat crews take for granted.

We have even frightened the villagers, their dogs and the crew with maroons. Even though we are only a year into our new roles, think we have all been bitten by the 'lifeboat bug' and look forward to many years as members of the lifeboat family.Cork harbour has had a long association with lifeboats. In 1825, a lifeboat was built in Passage West and sailed to Liverpool to prove its seaworthiness.

From 1866 to 1920, three lifeboats were stationed at Queenstown. The time had come for the harbour to renew its link iththeRNLI..