Throughout
the festive season, RNLI volunteers will be on call around the clock ready to
exchange mulled wine and mince pies for icy seas and biting winds when the
call for help comes. RNLI lifeboats in Wales have launched 59 times during the
Christmas period* over the past five years, to offer assistance to people in
difficulty on bitterly cold seas around our shores.
The volunteer crew at The
Mumbles RNLI lifeboat station put aside last-minute festive preparations on
Christmas Eve, 2002, to rush to the aid of the master of a vessel who had
become ill on board.
Graham
Wright, a crew member who works full-time as a steward at a busy yacht club
was serving customers enjoying a pre-Christmas tipple when his pager sounded.
Graham
says:
‘I
remember the club being very busy that particular afternoon with it being so
close to Christmas. I managed to get someone to stand in for me and rushed off
to the lifeboat station.
‘When
you’re a crew member you deal with whatever is thrown at you – there’s
certainly no time for thinking about what time of year it is.’
The
lifeboat launched with the station’s Honorary Medical Advisor on board, who
jumped on to the vessel to examine the casualty who was suffering from chest
pains. He was taken on to the lifeboat and transformed to the boathouse where
an ambulance was waiting.
RNLI Operations Director,
Michael Vlasto, comments:
‘Our
volunteer lifeboat crews give up their time freely 365 days of the year and
are always ready to risk their lives for others. With the festive season
approaching, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution would like to thank not
only our crews, but also their families. Families who, at times, have to
reheat the turkey or delay their children’s present opening until they know
their loved ones are back from a rescue at sea safe and sound.
‘I would like to
encourage people to think about their safety, and that of others, over this
festive season. If you’re planning to go to sea over the holiday period,
make sure your boat is in good condition, carry spare fuel, check your engine,
carry safety equipment, wear lifejackets – ensure you have enough of the
correct size of lifejackets for any seasonal visitors you may have on board
and finally, use your marine radio and charts. Always makes sure that someone
ashore knows where you are going and when you are getting back. All this will
help you stay safe at sea.
‘Finally, from all at
the RNLI, may we wish you a very merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New
Year’.
ENDS
Details of other lifeboat
launches in Wales over the Christmas period are available on request.
Notes to editors
- Interviews
and photographs, can also be arranged by calling Danielle Rush on the
numbers below.
- Between
1999-2004, RNLI lifeboats in Wales launched a total of
59 times, *
Christmas Period: 23 December- 3
January.
- The
RNLI provides a 24 hour search and rescue service 365 days of the year
(100 nautical miles out from the coast of the United Kingdom and the
Republic of Ireland).
- The
RNLI’s annual running costs are around £110m – approximately £300,000
per day – and, as a registered charity, the organisation continues to
rely on voluntary contributions and legacies for income.
- The
majority of RNLI crews are volunteers whose everyday jobs can range from
doctor, teacher, housewife, hairdresser – and of course to fishermen.
For
more information call Danielle Rush, Media Relations Manager for Wales on
01745 585162 or mobile 07786 668829.
www.rnli.org.uk
