Busy year for the lifesavers
THE last year has been exceptional for Appledore RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew with emergency shouts up by more than 45 per cent on 2006. There were 18 shouts for the all weather lifeboat George Gibson, 37 for the inshore high speed inflatable Douglas Paley and even the station's boarding boat, used to transfer crew to the lifeboat on her mooring, was used to answer eight calls. The boarding boat came into her own for services up river when the tide was too low for the bigger vessels.
Lifeboat crews build a special relationship with their boats and so it made a good start to 2007 when the George Gibson returned from her refit on the South Coast after an absence of four months.
To have a fully refurbished boat back on station was also a great start for new full-time lifeboat mechanic, Keith Wilson, who joined Appledore last January from his base in Sunderland. Keith has been a lifeboat crew man for six-and-a-half years and since joining the RNLI has worked towards his ambition to become a lifeboat mechanic. He is also a member of the RNLI's Rapid Response Unit -made up of crew members from all over the UK and Ireland and tasked to go anywhere in the world they are needed within less than 24 hours. The unit was put to good use helping to rescue people in the up-country floods.
In the summer David Maxwell, ex-Station Honorary Secretary and current Deputy Launching Authority, received the RNLI's statuette in recognition of his service to Appledore. He has also set up a new souvenir operation at the station which is open every day throughout the year and most weekends throughout the summer.
Doug Spiller has been appointed the local Lifeboat Sea Safety Officer.
The busiest day for the lifeboat during 2007 was June 23 when Appledore saw three shouts. Two dogs were rescued from the cliffs below Appledore woods. Two people who fell from boats near Crow Point were rescued and a broken down yacht was rescued off Crow Point.
With Appledore's area stretching from Morwenstow in the West to Morte Point in the East, and half-way across the Bristol Channel to Wales, a particularly busy first week of August included two out-of-estuary shouts for the all weather boat. On August 3 a dive charter boat broke down off Lundy and had to be towed to Clovelly. Two days later at 3 am the all weather boat was launched to assist a 50 foot wooden fishing vessel that had run aground on Lundy. The same day the inshore boat was called to an 18ft motor boat with mechanical failure in the estuary.
Next day both boats were launched to assist police and coastguards in the search for an 83-year-old woman missing from her a waterfront home. Both boats searched the River Torridge from Appledore to Bideford in the dark with the tide high. Thankfully she was found by a member of the lifeboat crew wandering near the lifeboat house.
Drinking and boats never mix. During gales one evening in March, Appledore crew members helped rescue a drunk from a boat off Bideford Quay. In Force 8 conditions the casualty had fallen into the river and was found cold and wet on a boat moored in the middle of the river.
Friday, April 13 became unlucky day for a 35 foot sailing yacht on course from Swansea to Lundy, when it developed steering failure and was drifting seven miles North West of Lundy in foggy conditions. With visibility down to about a mile, the VHF direction finder on board the lifeboat was used, together with the radar, to help locate the boat, which had three adults and a child on board. The direction finder was also used on June 3 when a boat was reported lost somewhere in Bideford Bay, the skipper having no charts with him.
The weekend of June 16/17 was not a good one for the jet skiing fraternity, with two calls to skiers who had run out of petrol. One had to be rescued again the next day!
There were also several calls to people cut off by the tide.
In July, four teenagers were stranded on rocks at the south end of Westward Ho! When the ILB arrived crew
Every second counts
member Andrew Hallet swam to the rock with a safety line as two of the teenagers were non-swimmers. Both ILB propellers were damaged on the rocks in the surf, but all four people were brought to safety. Five minutes later and the casualties could have been swept out to the sea or seriously injured by the surf and rocks - a clear reminder that in a rescue, every second counts.
Appledore RNLI now has a dedicated website developed and maintained by the station. It provides up-to-date information on all emergency call-outs, fundraising events, its past and present lifeboats as well as links to other Lifeboat stations, RNLI headquarters and local websites. The website can be found at www.appledorelifeboat.org.uk
Throughout the country it costs £1,000 on average to train a volunteer crewmember. Appledore RNLI crew undergo continual training and exercises, weekly and also give up holidays to attend training courses at the RNLI headquarters in Poole.
A number of the voluntary crew have returned to work in the village and the station has been fortunate in recruiting new volunteers who are undergoing training. easing difficulties that have been experienced over recent years.
But recruitment of new volunteers remains a concern due to the lack of affordable housing in the village and the limited opportunities for employment.
If you are interested in volunteering, fund-raising, would like a presentation on the lifeboat to a group or organisation, want sea safety or other information please contact the station on (01237) 473969.
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