After a little break due to other commitments we were back on the road again for the first weekend in July. Before that though, unknown to us, Lewis, our Son had written to BBC South East telling them about our challenge. I received a phone call out of the blue from a journalist who wanted some statements for an article he would publish on 4th July. This was duly published on the BBC website and on their social pages. You can read the article by clicking below or from our website:
On to the weekend of 6th and 7th July. We wanted to visit Southend on Sea and Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. We had purposely missed these when we visited the other Essex stations as we knew Southend would be a long visit and Burnham had an open day on the 6th. We also decided to pick up a quick visit to Chiswick in west London on the 7th.
Southend-on-Sea Lifeboat Station
We had arranged to meet with Southend’s Lifeboat Press Officer, Nigel. We arrived at 10am parked up and made our way to the onshore station which was closed up. Southend has two stations, one onshore next to an amusement park and one at the end of Southend’s pier which happens to be the longest pleasure pier in the World. We decided to head to the pier station and waited for the little train to start up at 10:15am.
It was blowing a gale, the sea was rough and the trip along the pier on the train was hair raising with a feeling that we were going to be calling for the assistance of the RNLI if we blew into the sea. As the first to arrive we were straight into the shop and were met by the friendliest of volunteers who appeared to know we were coming and straight away offered us a cuppa and a KitKat, which was most welcome. We were introduced to one of the Helm’s and he was happy to show us around the unique station. On the pier, they have an Atlantic 85 (B-885) and a smaller D Class (D-771) both launched from the side of the pier by Davit, a crane winch. They also have 2 unique vehicles for transferring the crew from shore to the end of the pier and back. They are also able to transfer casualties using this vehicle.
During our tour we had a message from Nigel who was patiently waiting for us back onshore. Apologies given, we made our way back on the little train after watching the crew launch the Atlantic 85 on a training exercise to experience the rough seas. Better to do it for the first time in daylight and not on a shout in the middle of the night we were told.
Back at the onshore boathouse, we met with Nigel and he offered another cup of tea and we sat in the crew room having a fabulous chat. A Lifeboat Press Officer or LPO, is a volunteer role and the media face of the station. They report on shouts, activities at the stations, update social media platforms and keep the public and press informed of general goings on at the stations. It serves as a promotional role as well as a reporting role. It was interesting chatting to Nigel and certainly made me consider if this was something I could be involved in.
After a long chat, Nigel showed us the prize of the station, the Hovercraft. What a machine! There are 7 hovercraft in the RNLI fleet, 4 of which are assigned to stations – Morecombe, Hunstanton, Hoylake and Southend, the other 3 were relief vessels. We were privileged to be allowed to sit in it as Nigel explained all about it in great detail. Just as we are getting used to the various terms used for the crew we are then told that a Hovercraft has a Pilot, well I guess it does sort of fly. Also at the inshore boathouse they have a D-Class (D-818) both this and the Hovercraft are launched via a slipway adjacent to the pier. What a fantastic 4 hours spent at this amazing RNLI station.
Burnham-on-Crouch Lifeboat Station
Making our way up the coast, later than we anticipated, we arrived at Burnham-on-Crouch. A delightful little town with a Lifeboat Station in the marina. The station was founded in 1966 but the current boathouse was built in this location in 1998.
Unfortunately, the open day was blighted by torrential rain in the morning but the sun made an appearance when we arrived. We were immediately made to feel welcome by members of the crew. After a much needed and very tasty burger and cup of tea we were given a tour of the station and then down to the boats moored in the Marina. Burnham have two boats. An Atlantic 85 (B-849) and a D-Class (D-807). Both boats are housed in floating boathouses. Burnham is relatively unique in this respect as there are just two other stations with floating boathouses. Both were funded by local fundraising groups.
We were fortunate to be able to view the boathouses and thank you to crew member Jason for showing us around and for also allowing us to get on the Atlantic 85 for a photo. We spent a good while chatting with new crew members and watching them have fun in the water. We also watched a demonstration rescue using both boats. It was fantastic to see the team work and camaraderie amongst the crew. It was such a fun afternoon, thank you to everyone for making us so welcome.
Chiswick Lifeboat Station
On Sunday we headed into west London to visit Chiswick Lifeboat Station. Located on the Thames, the lifeboat station is part of the Yacht and Rowing club. Unfortunately we were unable to meet anyone but we grabbed our photo and spotted one of their two boats moored on the river pontoon. Chiswick is one of 4 stations on the river Thames and they are all kept very busy. The boats used are unique to the river and the RNLI. They are called E-Class and specially designed for the Thames.
We will be taking a break next weekend (13th and 14th) due to other commitments but then we are back on the trail with a couple of weekends away in Suffolk & Norfolk followed by Dorset and South Devon.
Keep up to date with our challenge on our website and socials. We are taking this challenge on to raise vital funds for the amazing life saving work of the RNLI. If you can donate a small amount, then please do so via our JustGiving page. All money goes directly to the RNLI.
All our links can be found below:
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