There’s no better example of the gap between the RNLI and the independents than St Abbs, a lifeboat station which has seen service as both. Photograph: courtesy of Sandown and Shanklin Independent Lifeboat Station View image in fullscreen To the rescue: a tractor tows a plane from the waves after it crashed on Sandown beach in 2007. “We used to have to get changed outside the building when the boat was inside.”īy contrast, the RNLI has just begun work on a £2.6m boathouse for its station in Llandudno which will be equipped with its latest £2m jet-propelled Shannon-class all-weather lifeboat. “We had to dismantle the boat to get it in,” says Godwin. It had no running water or toilet facilities – and it wasn’t big enough to fit the boat inside. The old boathouse, demolished in 2014, was a “temporary structure” they had been forced to use since the early 70s. It recently upgraded to a new boathouse costing £250,000 which it took the 23-person crew several years to raise. Hamble has had more than its share of fundraising challenges. “We’ve rescued people before and then a week later they’ll say: ‘Oh, we sent a cheque to the RNLI’ and we’re like: ‘Ah… OK.’” “You speak to people and they say: ‘I already give to the RNLI.’ You have to explain that you’re an independent and won’t be receiving any of that money.” Godwin, whose Solent-based station deals with more than 100 incidents a year, finds that many people simply aren’t aware of the existence of lifeboat services outside the RNLI. “One of the key challenges is public awareness,” says James Godwin, station manager at Hamble Lifeboat in Southampton. Last year the RNLI withdrew the St Abbs lifeboat, leaving nearby Eyemouth station to cover the entire stretch Birch recalls once losing £40,000 in a case of confused identity with the larger organisation. Living in the shadow of the RNLI causes its own fundraising problems. “Before you know it they are trying to raise something for us. “I can be talking to anyone and I’ll work into the conversation what we’re trying to do,” he says. View image in fullscreen Cast and crew: members of the Sandown independent lifeboat station.
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