Braving huge waves and freezing seas, RNLI volunteers took to the waters off the North coast.
Helmsman Cameron Bond and lifeboatmen Ben Howard and Mark McGuire clung on for dear life as the Jackie Hunsley - named for a North woman who’s legacy bought the boat - crashed through the seasonal surf.
But thankfully the crew were not racing to the rescue, instead training for the choppy winter conditions off the coast of Redcar.
“We train every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening,” said Redcar RNLI operations manager Dave Cocks.
“Our crews have to make sure they are used to handling the boat, so they are ready for the ‘real event’, when conditions can be quite dangerous.
“In 2014 we had 55 call outs - which is a fairly typical number - with incidents ranging from surfers and windsurfers in trouble, to broken down fishing boats, illnesses and injuries.
“And these conditions were not the worst we encountered, which is why it is important for our volunteers - who make themselves available 24 hours a day - to practice their skills.”
Dave said the RNLI will in 2015 again be working hard to try and reduce the number of tragedies at sea.
“We have seen improvements in sea safety, and we have been running a big campaign urging people to ‘respect the water’,” he said.
“And we will continue to target the key groups who have the highest risk of getting into trouble - particularly young men who are full of drink.”
As well as campaigning, the RNLI crews will also be fundraising throughout the year.
“At the end of the day the RNLI is a charity and we rely on donations,” said Dave.
“Though we’ve very good support - and it’s often many miles from the sea.
“One of our lifeboats was paid for by the people of Leicester, while the other came from money left by a woman, Jackie Hunsley, who was killed in a coach crash in 1999.
“Her legacy said she wanted money to go to the RNLI to be spent on the North Yorkshire coast - and so while the crew might change, every rescue she’s there, doing her bit.”
No comments:
Post a Comment