Whether they’re facing the toughest conditions at sea or giving tireless hours to fundraise, RNLI volunteers show enormous dedication to saving lives at sea. We meet five people who left home in search of a new life – and found the RNLI

‘ Things got easier when I joined the lifeboats’
Yvonne Fairholm, Crew Member, North Berwick Lifeboat Station

While I was training to be a nurse in my hometown of West Linton, I met my other half Liam. After a while, we decided we wanted to move in together – he had a job in North Berwick, so I took a leap of faith to be with him. I moved from a small inland town to a place on the coast – I hadn’t even been on a boat before! Not having friends, that unit of support around you, was difficult. Things got easier when I joined the lifeboats – I didn’t have to rely on Liam and just hang out with his friends. I had a medical background and wanted to use it to do something good for North Berwick – so I turned up at the lifeboat station one day
and asked to volunteer on the crew. I’ve never looked back! The best thing about being on the crew is the sense of belonging – being part of a closeknit group and building new friendships. Being involved with the RNLI gave me something else to offer professionally too. When I qualified as a nurse and I didn’t have a job, I think it really helped me get employed – I work in Edinburgh as a nurse now.

‘ The hardest thing for Oz was getting used to the great British weather!’
Joy and Oz Worsely, Fundraising Volunteer (Joy) and Crew Member (Oz), New Brighton Lifeboat Station

I met my husband Oz on a cruise ship 10 years ago – I was a magician’s assistant and he was a gym instructor. He’s from Perth in Australia, but in the end he crossed the pond to be with me. We lived in Manchester, but missed living by the sea because we’re such water people. So we moved to New Brighton, which has been home since I was 16. Back in Perth, Oz had been part of the Community Fire Service – he’s always liked to give something back. As we now walked past the lifeboat station almost every day, I suggested: ‘What about the lifeboats?’ The crew at New Brighton are great – Oz has been a member for a year now and he really enjoys it. I’m able to help out at the lifeboat station too. I work in events and helped make our Christmas do a big success. The magician from the cruise ship came along and my friend sang with her band – it was brilliant. Six months ago we had a baby and we’d love for our son
to be involved with the RNLI one day. Volunteering gives me a good chance to meet the other mums and the other lifeboat women too. We’re very lucky.

‘ I visited Lerwick for 2 weeks … I knew I was going to take the job’ Ian Harms, Coxswain/Mechanic, Lerwick Lifeboat Station

I’ve previously worked full-time at two other RNLI lifeboat stations – Anstruther and Humber. I applied for the position of coxswain/mechanic at Lerwick and I was offered the job on Christmas Eve 2015. I’d passed Lerwick once before when I was on passage with Girvan lifeboat crew. I’d met the old coxswain and a few of the crew members, but didn’t know them very well. That was probably my biggest challenge – after all, I just came out of nowhere! I visited Lerwick for 2 weeks to see how I’d get on with everyone, and in that time I knew I was going to take the job. So I moved up, just me and my wife and our two dogs. I got involved with the RNLI in 2001 when I joined Anstruther Lifeboat Station. I walked past the coxswain one day and asked him: ‘Do you know where I can get a cup of coffee around here?’ He replied: ‘There are free cups of coffee here – all you have to do is volunteer to be on the crew!’ And that was it, I was sold. Moving to Shetland has definitely made me more confident. For anyone moving to a new place, I’d say get involved in the community – for me it was always about the lifeboats and it helped me meet people.

‘ I came to Cork for the summer and never went back!’
Gail Marten Swanton, Secretary, Kinsale RNLI Fundraising Branch

I moved to the area from Belfast in 2000. A good friend of mine owned a sail-making company near Cork. I came down for the summer to help out and never went back! I moved over on my own, and the hardest thing for me as a young, single person was meeting new people. I was able to bring some of my home comforts from Belfast to my new home through sailing – I’ve sailed since before I could walk. Luckily with my job I could go out on the water and make new friends, and that’s how I met my husband. When we decided to settle in Kinsale I knew I wanted to rejoin the lifeboats (I was on the RNLI’s Junior Committee as a child, advising the adults!) Volunteering at Kinsale’s Fundraising Branch gave me a different group of people to meet, another network 

Could volunteering bring a new angle to your life?
Visit RNLI.org/volunteer to find out
Words: Jasmin Downs Photos: RNLI/(North Berwick, Kinsale), Worsley family, Jack Lowe/The Lifeboat Station Project