There is no such thing as resting on your laurels in the lifeboat service! Following a hugely successful raft race on New Years’ Day, Hamble Lifeboat have been called out on 6 occasions (correct as of 26 February) including searching for a vulnerable person, assisting a live-aboard vessel adrift, and assisting a vessel with no power in the Shipping Channel. With storms Ciara and Dennis passing through the area too, the conditions have at times been challenging!
Our boats have also taken much of our attention over the past couple of months. Hamble actually has two lifeboats which allows us to maintain a 24/7 service 365 days of the year. The 'Harry Childs' - our oldest boat - has been out of service for some time now, undergoing a comprehensive refit to keep it in line with the rescue boat code of practice. All of this work has been done by our team of volunteers in their spare time, however, with the boat about to go back into the water ready for the busy spring & summer season, a last minute check discovered a major problem with the starboard engine. Saltwater ingress had seized one of the valves shut and damaged several others, leading to a delay in launching and a desperate fight to raise £10,000 to rebuild the engine before our other boat, the John and Violet Hurrell, comes ashore for its long overdue service.
Acknowledging the importance of the mental health of our volunteers, two of our crew completed courses to enable them to assist fellow crew members if required following difficult jobs. Paul Ackland is now a qualified mental health first aider, and Marie Whitehouse is a qualified Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) team leader.
The lifeboat station itself has also seen some much appreciated improvements, with a new area for hanging kit, washing machine and sink installed downstairs thanks to the Wednesday afternoon maintenance crew.
If you have a skill which you think could be useful to us, please enquire about joining our maintenance team by contacting operations@hamblelifeboat.co.uk.
We’d like to thank those who have supported our New Year fundraising campaign, specifically the King and Queen pub and the RAF Yacht Club for the recent quiz nights that they have hosted, as well as HMS EXCELLENT Wardroom for nominating us as their chosen charity.
Finally, our newest crew member arrived on 3rd February. Congratulations to crew member Marie and her partner Mike on the birth of Eleanor Rose. So dedicated is Marie to the lifeboat, that Eleanor made her first visit to the station at just 2 days old! Marie has also started a blog; ‘independent lifeboat lady’, talking about life as a crew member on an independent lifeboat, which you can follow at ‘lifeboat.family.blog’.
As ever, you can make a donation to Hamble Lifeboat by visiting our just giving page: www.justgiving.com/hamblelifeboat, and you can keep up to date with our latest news by visiting www.hamblelifeboat.co.uk, via Facebook ‘Hamble Lifeboat’ by liking our page, or twitter @Hamblelifeboat.