neWs 21st century stations The RNLI’s Shoreworks team is continuing to update lifeboat stations around the UK and RoI, thanks to your support.

In Hoylake, Merseyside, a £2M appeal has been launched to raise funds for a new lifeboat station to cover the approaches to Liverpool. The existing boathouse was built in 1899 and it will not be possible to modify it for the next generation of lifeboat that will replace the station’s Mersey class Lady of Hilbre.

Hoylake Coxswain Dave Whiteley (pictured above, right) says: ‘At the moment, the crew are based in a cramped, ageing building designed to house 19th-century rowing lifeboats. We don’t have proper training and crew facilities and sometimes our lifeboat kit doesn’t dry out properly between shouts.’ Find out more or donate at rnli.org.uk/ hoylakeappeal.

Devon District Council has given planning permission for a new station at Exmouth, construction of which is scheduled to begin in the Spring. At the moment, Exmouth’s Trent class all-weather lifeboat is tidally restricted and cannot launch on service at low water. Her crew members change in temporary cabins and use public toilets.

The inshore D class lifeboat is housed further along the seafront, and shore helpers must bring her across a busy road to the beach before launching.

The new building will be near Maer Rocks and will house both the D class and a carriage-launched all-weather lifeboat that can head out at any state of tide. There will be better crew facilities and more environmentally friendly and cost-saving features such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting.

The introduction of the Tamar class and Atlantic 85 lifeboats means more shoreworks projects are underway or planned at Shoreham, Bembridge and Sennen Cove, Queensferry and Portaferry. Running into money Fit fundraisers around the UK and RoI have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the RNLI by pounding the streets in various running events.

In December, the RNLI’s Reindeer Runs in Dorset and Port Talbot got participants in the mood for Christmas with fancy dress, mince pies and hot punch. At the time the Lifeboat went to press, 2,000 people were due to run.

October saw RNLI entrants in the Dublin City Marathon and the BUPA Great North and South Runs. More than 130 raised money for the RNLI in the Great North Run alone, including Helen Nicholson from Halifax, who ran to celebrate her brother Paul’s 10 years as a crew member in Sunderland.

Helen says: ‘No matter where he is or what he’s doing, Paul drops everything when his pager goes off. His commitment to the RNLI is amazing and I don’t know how he and the other volunteer crew members do it.’ Upcoming events for the RNLI’s dedicated athletes include March’s Bath Half Marathon and April’s Flora London Marathon.

Runs like these are just one category of RNLI fundraising events designed to get the blood pumping. Sponsored skydives, abseils and bungee jumps are held regularly for adrenaline junkies who want to help the charity while having the experience of a lifetime.

Check your RNLI Compass for an adventure near you, or visit rnli.org.uk/events. DANIEL CRAIG ABOARD Actor Daniel Craig has publicly lent his support to the RNLI following a visit to Ramsgate lifeboat station (pictured centre with the crew).

Born in Hoylake, he grew up knowing the lifeboat crew there by name and has maintained his admiration for crews ever since. He explained in an interview in GQ magazine in December: ‘The tireless, unassuming, and above all brave work that the RNLI volunteers undertake every day makes me proud and honoured to be associated with them. Please help them do their job; support your local lifeboat.’ Hot on the heels of this ringing endorsement, Daniel chose the RNLI to ? nancially bene? t from his win at the British Independent Film Awards. COUNtiNg DOwN tO COUNtiNg DOwN tO RNLI SOS day, 25 January is fast approaching, with many events already planned for the RNLI’s national fundraising day 2008.

If you haven’t planned anything yet, there’s still time to join in the fun. Check out the website at rnli.org.uk/sos for lots of great ideas that can be organised quickly and easily. These events will help banish the January blues at your work place, school or club, so get involved, have fun and help the RNLI save lives.

Order a free fundraising pack online or by calling 0845 121 4999, or 1800 789 589 from the RoI. give with con? dence you may have noticed the fundraising on rNli materials recently (see page 2).

the rNli has signed up as a member of the frSB, an independent charity regulator. membership means the rNli must follow certain processes when handling complaints and adhere to the institute of fundraising’s codes of practice. the rNli has always aimed Standards Board (frSB) logo appearing for the highest level of service to supporters, and the frSB logo offers reassurance that the charity takes its duties in this regard seriously.

Should you have any complaints, the rNli itself remains your ? rst port of call, with the frSB a last resort in the unlikely event that you feel a solution has not been reached. for more information, visit frsb.org.uk. SPLASH OUT! Thank you to everyone who bought an RNLI virtual gift for someone special at Christmas. The range will still be available in Spring, as a thoughtful alternative to Valentine’s chocolates and Easter eggs.

When you buy a virtual gift, you don’t actually receive the item you choose, but you are making a donation to the RNLI in your loved one’s name. They will receive a certifi cate explaining how your generosity helps provide crews with the best and safest equipment possible. See how you can help, and avoid those last-minute queues, at rnli.org.uk/splashout. CELEBRATION In the Summer issue of the Lifeboat we told you about the memorial and garden planned for RNLI Headquarters in Poole, Dorset, as a tribute to all the charity’s volunteers since 1824. Artists were invited to pitch their ideas for the project, and proposals are now in. We hope to make details of the shortlisted entries available at rnli.org.uk/memorial soon. Funds for the project have to be raised independently, as the RNLI cannot use money donated for saving lives at sea. Read about RNLI Chief Executive Andrew Freemantle’s fundraising cycle to Rome on page 6. READER OFFER In it, on it, beside it – for those who love the sea, the world’s ? rst glossy magazine on the subject will be launched in April by Signature Publishing.

The Sea magazine will cover all things marine, from news, history, oceanography and wildlife to leisure, culture and commerce. RNLI supporters can get exclusive discounted subscriptions to the new magazine, and every subscription will help raise funds for the RNLI too. For more information telephone 01428 601020, or email [email protected], or see www.theseamagazine.com. Cornish originals on eBay Cornish artist Glyn Macey is auctioning 120 of his works on eBay for the RNLI. Glyn has put a painting up for sale every weekday since the start of October, with a bidding period of one week each.

Glyn’s acrylic studies of Cornish scenes have marked him as one to watch in the art world. Many of the paintings have sold for well over £100, and in November one sold for more than £1,000. Glyn has generously donated half of the proceeds to the RNLI.

He says: ‘The weather changes minute to minute here, and it’s all too easy to ? nd yourself in an exposed location with the waves whipping up. The volunteers of the RNLI show extraordinary courage in saving lives every year.’ Glyn is just one of more than 200 community sellers who have donated some of their eBay proceeds to the RNLI. Find out more at ebay.co.uk/rnli. Royal events in Whitby and Poole Royal support for the RNLI continued in the Autumn, with two notable visits.

The Duchess of Kent opened the new lifeboat station at Whitby on 7 September. She also named the station’s latest D class inshore lifeboat OEM Stone III.

The lifeboat was funded with a legacy from Barnsley woman Olive Stone. As a little girl, Ms Stone was rescued by a lifeboat crew, and she supported the RNLI since that day.

The Duchess is pictured above unveiling a bronze bust of Whitby’s most famous lifeboatman Henry Freeman, created by renowned sculptor Richard Sefton. Freeman was a crew member for more than 40 years, and was the only survivor of the Whitby lifeboat disaster in 1861, thanks in part to the cork lifejacket he was wearing.

The new lifeboat station replaces a building from 1918, and provides up-to-date facilities for one of the busiest crews in the north of England, including warm crew changing rooms, a training room and offi ces.

The Duchess of Kent has long been associated with Whitby lifeboat station, and has named the station’s last three lifeboats.

She arrived at the ceremony onboard the station’s Trent class all-weather lifeboat George and Mary Webb.

A month later, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne visited The Lifeboat College in Poole on 9 October, as part of her tour of Dorset.

The Princess sat at the helm of the College’s lifeboat simulator, before watching four RNLI crew trainers demonstrate a lifeboat capsize in the sea survival pool. She then went to see the training vessel Robert S Ellsmoor, moored outside the College, and met lifeboat crew from around the UK and RoI who were attending training courses. Find out more about the College on page 14. Share the BeNefitS if you have unwanted shares in a UK-listed company, donating them to the rNli could be a tax-ef? cient way of realising their value.

the sale of donated shares on behalf of the rNli raised £140,000 in 2007, more than enough to buy a new atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.

Shares worth more than £100 can be donated straight to the rNli. for lower-value shares, administration costs mean direct donation is not the most ef? cient way of giving. you can send these shares to Sharegift, a charity that collects shares until it has enough to sell and distributes the proceeds among a number of charities. in 2007, Sharegift gave the rNli £15,000.

to ? nd out more, contact the rNli’s rhys Parker on 01202 663285, or visit www.rnli.org.uk/sharegiving and www.sharegift.org. as with all ? nancial matters, you should also seek independent advice. LIFESAVING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Newquay, Cornwall, will host the Rescue 2010 Lifesaving World Championships after a successful bid by Surf Life Saving Great Britain (SLSGB).

More than 5,000 competitors from 55 countries will take part in the event, which will promote water safety and lifesaving skills – and help the RNLI.

Volunteer lifeguards are essential to the RNLI’s plan to double lifeguard operations in the next 5 years. The charity’s partnership with SLSGB will develop just such a strong volunteering base, and Rescue 2010 will give this ethos extra momentum.

More than 120 individual and team titles will be contested, in the surf and in the pool, in June and July 2010. sonGs, seAFArers AnD cereMonies The RNLI continues to update the lifeboat fl eet around the coasts of the UK and RoI, and new D class and Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboats were named recently including: Wicklow lifeboat station celebrated its 150th anniversary with the naming of its D class Sheringham Shantymen on 13 October. The lifeboat was funded by the eponymous group of Norfolk singers, who raise money for the RNLI with concerts and CDs (available from the RNLI gift catalogue and website).

Twenty four members of the group travelled to the ceremony, and sang Home from the sea as the lifeboat was launched after being named. Musical Director Brian Farrow, who is also Lifeboat travelled to the ceremony, and sang Home from the sea as the lifeboat was launched after being named. Musical Director Brian Farrow, who is also Lifeboat Operations Manager at Sheringham lifeboat station, says: ‘The Shantymen have spent 3 years raising money to purchase this new lifeboat and were thrilled to learn it was to be stationed in Wicklow, not least because we now have a genuine reason to return to Ireland! We know that the Wicklow crew will use this new lifeboat to continue their own proud tradition of selfl ess service.’ The D class lifeboat is a fast, light infl atable that is used in surf, shallow water and confi ned locations.

Readers in Ireland can fi nd out more in their RNLI Compass. Wherever you live, see your copy of Compass for details of naming ceremonies in your region.

Readers in Ireland can fi nd out more in their RNLI Compass. Wherever you live, see your copy of Compass for details of naming ceremonies in your region. PILOT PERMITS Leesa Espley from Hunstanton is the fi rst woman in the RNLI to get a hovercraft licence. A supply teacher by profession, Leesa is also a retained fi refi ghter and is on call for emergencies on land and at sea 24 hours a day. Hunstanton’s hovercraft is used for rescues in the marshes, sandbanks and shallow waters that characterise the area. The lifeboat station’s Brian Penty also qualifi ed as a hovercraft pilot when RNLI examiners visited to assess the pair’s skill. SEASIDE RESCUE Watch out for the new ? fth series of BBC’s Seaside rescue, which was ? lmed last year with RNLI lifeboat crews in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight; Lymington, Hampshire; and Falmouth, Cornwall. Film crews also followed RNLI lifeguards in Perranporth, Cornwall.

Broadcast dates are not con? rmed yet, but if you sign up for RNLI on TV email alerts we can tell you about this and other programmes as soon as they are certain. Register at rnli.org.uk. ENTHUSIASTS’ HANDBOOK The Lifeboat Enthusiasts’ Handbook 2008 costs £5 and is available from Tony Denton at [email protected]. It lists every RNLI lifeboat from the 19th century’s pulling craft to today’s Tamar class. Find out what happens to lifeboats after RNLI service, or check a station’s ? eet and ancillary equipment. If you’re especially interested in the lifeboat ? eet, the Lifeboat Enthusiasts’ Society and its thrice-yearly newsletter may be for you.

Find out more at rnli-lbes.org.uk. .