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14 Jul 08 - Appeal Update
The amount in the boathouse
appeal fund now stands at a fantastic £1,912,097.97 thanks to donations
raised through our appeal and prior to it over a number of years by the
local community and some generous legacies. This is getting very
close to the target of £1.94 million needed to build the new
boathouse. Very many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the
appeal so far, in any way great or small, and please keep up the good
work!
18 May 08: Guild fundraising
round-up
Recent events organised by the Exmouth and Budleigh
Salterton Guild have raised nearly six thousand pounds for the appeal:
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The talk ""Old Fishermen of Budleigh
Salterton" by Nick Loman and David Daniels raised £668
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The early May house -to-house collection took a
total of £2903
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£1282 was collected during two days at Tesco,
Exmouth
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The joint male voice choir concert - Budleigh and
Pontypridd - raised a total of £1100 through a full house at All
Saints Church.
Thanks to everyone who gave, and to all the hard work
by the organisers and collectors.
20 May 08 - Farewell to Forward
Birmingham
Exmouth RNLI Trent class lifeboat bows out after 12
years
Forward Birmingham, the Trent class all weather
lifeboat that's served Exmouth for 12 years, is to leave this
week. A Mersey class lifeboat that's more suitable for the shallow
conditions in the Swashway channel is replacing her. On Monday evening
(19 May 2008) the lifeboat will be open to the public and it's then
planned to take her back to the RNLI headquarters in Poole on Tuesday.
see the whole press release here
9 May 08 - The Mersey makes its mark
Exmouth RNLI's new Mersey class all
weather lifeboat has proved its worth in a low water rescue (Thursday 8
May 2008). The lifeboat successfully negotiated the Swashway channel to
assist a yachtsman who'd run aground. The stations former Trent class
lifeboat would not have been able to launch at this state of the tide.
Tim Mock, RNLI Coxswain at Exmouth, saw
the 22-foot yacht grounding in broken seas on the seaward side of the
Pole Sands and launched the Mersey Margaret Jean and the inshore
lifeboat George Bearman to assist the one person onboard the vessel.
Within half an hour, the sailing boat had been towed off the sand on the
rising tide.
see whole press release here
26 Apr 08 - Three Major Developments
The RNLI in Exmouth are announcing
three major developments today, Tuesday 22 April 2008, as plans unfold
for the charity's new boathouse. The lifeboat station is to take
delivery of a Mersey class all weather lifeboat tomorrow, just a few
weeks ahead of the start of the project to construct the new lifeboat
station. The work will start on 6 May; eleven days before RNLI
lifeguards start patrolling the town beach for the first time.
See whole press release here
16 Mar 08: Fortunate Jet Ski
party rescued by Exmouth RNLI volunteers
A party of jet skiers near Exmouth had
a lucky escape today (Sunday 16 March 2008) when the two craft they were
using broke down shortly after two of their group had fallen in the
water. The incident happened off Orcombe Point and was witnessed by a
member of the public who called 999 to alert the coastguard. The Exmouth
RNLI inshore lifeboat was immediately launched to rescue the two adults
and three children who all came from Somerset.
The party of five were a mile off
Orcombe Point in relatively calm seas and a northerly wind of force 4
when two people fell off one of the jet skis. Shortly after this both
vessels broke down. The group had no radio or mobile phone with them but
fortunately the incident had been seen from the shore and the alarm was
raised.
The Exmouth RNLI D class inshore
lifeboat, George Bearman, was launched in record time at 11.40am, thanks
to the vital team of RNLI volunteer shore helpers, and recovered the
group extremely quickly. The three children were very cold and two were
found in the water some way away from the jet skis. The volunteer
lifeboat crew, Dave Preece (Helmsman), Ian Taylor and Andy Stott who all
receive professional first aid training from the RNLI, immediately
transferred the children, aged between 11 and 14, to an ambulance at
Orcombe Point, which took them to the local hospital. They were released
after treatment.
Bob Paterson, RNLI Deputy Launching
Authority at Exmouth lifeboat station, says the group were not well
equipped for going to sea on a cold day in March:
'One of the adults had a dry suit on
and the other was wearing a wet suit, but the youngsters were not
dressed in suitable clothing. The sea is still very cold at this time of
year and you need to protect yourself against the wind chill and the sea
temperature. Thick wet suits or dry suits are ideal in case things go
wrong like they did today, and you land up in the water.'
'The RNLI advice when you go to sea is
to always carry a means of communication, preferably a VHF radio, so you
can contact the emergency services. Mobile phone signals can be
unreliable and if you fall in the water the phone may not work. A
lifeboat crew can also establish a position for you if you call on a VHF
radio as the signal can be used by the lifeboats direction finding
equipment and that can save valuable time.'
'Easter is almost upon us and I would
advise anyone heading for the water during the holiday to check that
their vessel, and its equipment, is well serviced. The RNLI offer a free
and confidential service called Sea Check where a volunteer advisor will
come and assess your boat and your safety equipment and offer suitable
advice to help you stay safe. To book a Sea Check you just need to call
0800 328 0600 or email seasafety@rnli.org.uk'
See whole press release here
28 Oct Kitesurfer Rescued
The
volunteer crew of the Exmouth inshore lifeboat rescued a kite surfer
today (Sunday 28 October) after he was swept out into 3 metre seas. The
man got into difficulties when his kite collapsed and he got caught up
in the lines. The RNLI crew safely picked him up, but only after they
had battled against the steep waves.
Read the whole story here
02 Oct 07: New Boathouse gets
Council go-ahead
East
Devon District Council has approved plans for a new RNLI lifeboat
station on Exmouth seafront. RNLI now hopes to start building the
facility, which will house both the inshore and all weather lifeboats,
next spring
.
Read
the full story here.
21 Sep 07 - Yacht aground near Orcombe
Point
Both Exmouth lifeboats were launched last night (20
Sep) to a 37-foot yacht that had gone aground near Orcombe Point. The
vessel had been approaching the River Exe when the two people onboard
couldn't start the engine. Wind and tide carried the yacht onto the
shore where it remained until the waters rose and the inshore lifeboat
towed it off.
Read the full story here.
15 Aug 07 - Strong Support for Boathouse Plans in
Journal Poll
An online poll in the Exmouth Journal shows support
for the new boathouse plans running at 98.81% in favour. Click
here to have a look and add your vote: www.exmouthjournal.co.uk
29 Jul 07 - Support the Boathouse Planning Application
Your
comments would be most welcome and appreciated to assist with the smooth
progress of the planning application for the new lifeboat station in
Exmouth.
Go
to East Devon District Council planning website; http://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/publicaccess/
Click
on the "Planning" option, then "application search";
Then
put 07/1952/FUL in the reference search box and click on
"Search" at the bottom;
Then
select "Click to view" arrow on the Lifeboat station planning
appl.;
Then
click on "Submit Comments";
11 Jul 07 - Boathouse Plans Submitted
Plans for a new RNLI lifeboat station
at Exmouth have been formally submitted to East Devon District Council.
At the same time it has been revealed that loyal supporters to the
Exmouth Boathouse Appeal have raised £708,000 towards the project
costs. Many, many thanks to all our supporters for this fantastic
effort! Click here for the full
press release.
06 Mar 07
Pictures from the very successful Valentine's Day Ball
at Budleigh Salterton are available for purchase, proceeds to the
Boathouse Appeal. Click here
to view and order.
Sequence dance at the Budleigh Ball 17 Feb 07
29 Jan 07
Exmouth RNLI volunteer Helmsman Dave Preece has been commended for
his outstanding seamanship during the rescue of three yachtsmen from
their stranded vessel last September. The 40-foot yacht Ambition dragged
its anchor and hit the Maer Rocks before eventually grounding on Exmouth
seafront beach. Dave, and his 2 volunteer crew, managed to pluck the
sailors from their boat despite a large swell and treacherous rocks.
Both the Exmouth RNLI inshore lifeboat helmed by Dave Preece, and the
all weather lifeboat were launched at 01.30 on Wednesday 20 September to
assist the yacht, which was on passage from the Hamble to Cardiff. While
the Trent class lifeboat Forward Birmingham stood by, Dave Preece, Lee
Comley and Steve Hockings-Thompson took the D class inshore lifeboat
Spirit of the Exe through the swell to rescue the yachtsmen. At this
stage the vessel was starting to go ashore and hitting the bottom.
At the time, Dave Preece, explained what happened:
'By the time we went in, the water was very shallow and we were
having to pick our way through the rocks and surf, which isn't easy when
there's a large swell running. It was also dark though the casualty
vessel did have her lights on. We managed to get alongside and take the
three men off the vessel, which was at this stage aground, but we had to
do it in three separate approaches taking them off one by one. It was a
difficult and demanding task, but this is when all our RNLI crew
training pays off and we put all we practise into ensuring we can save
the lives of those who get into trouble at sea.'
In his letter of commendation, Michael Vlasto, RNLI Operations
Director, says of Dave Preece:
'You demonstrated first class seamanship and leadership during this
service and both lifeboats worked well together. Well done!'
Later attempts to refloat the Ambition failed and she broke up in
storms a few days later.
Dave Preece, as seen in the 2007 Exmouth Lifeboat calendar
- now available at the giveaway price of £2 .
24 Jan 07
Issue 2 of the Exmouth Lifeboat Station Appeal
Newsletter, exe-change, came out just before Christmas. You
can download a copy here (in pdf format -
needs Adobe Acrobat). This version has been produced by scanning a
printed copy and, as a result, the quality isn't as high as we would
like. We are working on a more direct way of producing the 'e'
version of exe-change.
23 Jan 07
The beaching of the container ship MSC
Napoli off Branscombe Beach has been in the news and all over the papers
this week. We have a gallery of pictures
taken by:
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Tim Mock - Exmouth Lifeboat coxs'n:
pictures taken from seaward
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Tom Gruitt, of www.fotoboat.com:
pictures taken from the beach
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Mike Rice, Exmouth Lifeboat
webmaster: pictures taken from and on the beach and from Beer
Head.
21 Nov 06
It is now possible to donate to the appeal on
line. Go to our appeal page and
follow the links to an Exmouth Appeal page on the main site.
6 Oct 06
A mountain bike bike has been donated by
JAG communications to Exmouth Lifeboat crew, to auction off at the
Lifeboatman`s Ball on 14 October 2006 towards the Boathouse appeal. The
bike was presented by Kelly Davy, store manager to Dave Preece and Lee
Comley at the Exmouth shop in the Parade.
30 Sep 06
Exmouths
new inshore lifeboat, George Bearman, was launched to assist a kite
surfer just hours after it was officially named at a special ceremony
today (Saturday 30 September). The IB1 D class lifeboat was donated to
the RNLI by Mrs Pauline Smith, who witnessed the emergency call
out.
see
text of full press release here (pdf
format)
30 Sep 06
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Exmouth's new D Class inshore lifeboat (ILB)
"George Bearman" was formally handed over to the RNLI today by
Mrs Pauline Smith, George Bearman's granddaughter. The boat was
accepted on behalf of the RNLI by Captain Hugh Fogarty, Staff Officer
Operations, Fleet, who in turn delivered her into the care of Exmouth
lifeboat station, represented by Mr Kevin Riley MBE, Lifeboat Operations
Manager.
Click here for the whole story and the history of
George Bearman
Click here
for pictures of the ceremony and launch.
The picture on the right (from Wells Lifeboat
Station) shows the memorial to George Bearman and the others who
lost their lives during the tragic incident at Wells on 22
February 1898 |
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25 Sep 06
RNLI
lifeboats in the south and west** have launched a record 701* times this
summer. It means the volunteer crews of the lifesaving charity have been
busier than ever in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset during June,
July and August. The three busiest stations were Poole in Dorset (74
launches), Torbay in Devon (59 launches) and Exmouth in Devon (50
launches).
*Figures relating to the summer of
2006 are based on Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) search and rescue
preliminary incident records.
**The south division of the RNLI
includes an area from Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset, down the north
coast to the Isles of Scilly, up the south coast to Mudeford in Dorset,
and the Channel Islands.
See text of full news release here
(pdf format)
20 Sep 06
A forty foot yacht went ashore at Exmouth in the early hours of this
morning, 20 Sep 06. The three man crew were rescued by the Exmouth RNLI
D class inshore lifeboat, after the yacht had hit the Maer
Rocks. The yacht remains half way up the beach and on its
side, and the three crew are at the moment taking equipment off the
vessel for safe keeping. Full press release to follow.
10 Sep 06
Exmouth RNLI volunteers find stranded swimmers in late night
search
Both Exmouth RNLI's lifeboats were launched at 21.12 last night
(Saturday 9 September) to search for two teenagers who were presumed
missing after going for an evening swim. The alarm was raised by a woman
who saw the pair in the water, and then noticed that their clothes were
still lying on the shore an hour and a half later. The volunteer crew of
the inshore lifeboat found the teenagers on rocks at Orcombe Point where
they'd managed to climb ashore.
The youngsters aged 15 and 16, had left their clothes next to an old
shipping container at the end of Exmouth seafront while they went into
the water. Both had found they couldn't swim back against the flow of
the tide and had managed to climb onto the cliff face at Orcombe Point.
But they were then stranded as the set of steps at the point have been
partly washed away so can't be used. Fortunately the woman, who noticed
the clothes hadn't moved, raised the alarm and both Exmouth lifeboats
were launched. The winds were easterly force three with moderate
conditions, but a lumpy sea.
It was the volunteer crew of the D class inshore lifeboat, Spirit of
the Exe, David Preece, Carey Wreford and Scott Ranft, who found the
teenagers on the rocks, cold but otherwise unhurt by their ordeal. They
transferred the pair to the Trent class all weather lifeboat, Forward
Birmingham, and they were taken to the shore to be checked over by
waiting paramedics.
Tim Mock, RNLI Coxswain at Exmouth, says the two teenagers were
very lucky:
'This weekend's big tides mean a large tidal range but also an
increased tidal flow. This is why the pair couldn't swim back and found
themselves stuck on the rocks where they had climbed ashore. They were
only in their swimming trunks and it was getting late, they could have
found themselves in real difficulties if it wasn't for the woman who
noticed their clothes hadn't moved.'
'If you decide to go swimming, always tell someone where you are
going and when you plan to come back, and don't go into the water at the
end of the day when its going to get dark. Also check the local
conditions. If these lads had realised the tidal flow was going to be so
strong, I'm sure they would have thought twice about going into the
water.'
9 September
Yesterday evening (Friday 8 September) two giant cheques were
presented to the Exmouth Lifeboat Station appeal ahead of its launch
later this year. The hand over took place at the Lifeboat Station at the
docks.
One cheque, for £1,231 was from Branscombe Brewery who created six
limited edition ales, releasing one a month between last October and
this March. The RNLI received a contribution for every pint sold by
about 50 pubs in Devon. Paul Dimond and Graham Luxton (MD and Chairman
of the Brewery) attended, along with the landlord of the Bicton inn,
Alan Brocklebank.
The other cheque for £1,700 came from Exeter Philharmonic Choir.
Choir President Geoff Poad presented the money. The choir has performed
twice at Exeter Cathedral for the RNLI's benefit - one event was a Sea
Symphony concert.
4 Aug 06
The RNLI in the south west is advising people to seek out information
about conditions before they put to sea. It follows a number of
incidents in Devon and Cornwall where offshore winds have caught dinghy
sailors, swimmers and people on inflatables out. The forecast is for the
conditions to remain offshore on the south coast for the rest of the
week.
At Exmouth the D class inshore lifeboat Spirit of the Exe was
launched three times yesterday as a result of the 30-knot offshore
winds. In two cases, the suspected casualties were not in need of help,
and in the third incident a search for people reported to be in
difficulties at Straight Point came to nothing.
Kevin Riley, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at Exmouth, says the
sea can be deceptive:
'People need to be aware that strong offshore winds with wind and
tide going in the same direction can be fatal. The sea will look calm in
these conditions, but when you leave the lee of the land the winds can
be very dangerous, especially if you are on an inflatable that can be
whisked away in seconds. The second of yesterdays call outs was to a
couple of girls being swept out to sea in an inflatable in the area of
Sandy Bay. Fortunately they managed to get back to the shore by
themselves but they were lucky.'
'If you aren't sure about the conditions, ask for advice at the local
harbour office, RNLI station or coastguard base. And if there are
lifeguards on the beach, talk to them before you take to the water.' The
3 launches at Exmouth yesterday involved 26 RNLI volunteers as well as
local coastguard volunteers.
30 Jul 06
We have now set up a mobile phone recycling scheme, to benefit the
appeal. There are collection boxes in the Lifeboat Station and in
the Exmouth Journal office at No 1 Exeter Road, Exmouth. The
scheme will be extended to include printer cartridges in the near
future. So, if you have a mobile you no longer need. bring it
along to one of the collection boxes.
Update 9 Sep: Collection boxes are located at:
- The lifeboat house along the Queens Drive, Exmouth
- The Exmouth Journal down town office at 1 Exeter Road, Exmouth
- The Jag Communications (Plymouth) shop at 49 The Parade, Exmouth
28 Jun 06
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have today (Wednesday
28 June) revealed their initial plans for a new boathouse in Exmouth to
representatives of the town council. The building would bring both the
station's lifeboats together under one roof and ensure the RNLI
volunteer crews could react to incidents 24 hours a day. At present the
town's Trent class all weather lifeboat is tidally restricted which
means it can't launch on service across the bar at low water.
See full text of press release here.
(pdf format - you can get the Adobe Acrobat pdf reader here)
31 May 06
The crew of the Exmouth RNLI inshore lifeboat were called in last
night to rescue two dogs that had fallen 150 feet over steep cliffs. The
Cocker Spaniels called Charlie and Archie, dropped uninjured onto the
beach at Orcombe Point but their owners couldn't reach them. With the
tide rising, local coastguards called in the volunteer crew of the RNLI
D class inshore lifeboat, Spirit of the Exe, to recover the dogs and
return them to their grateful owners.
See full text of release here.
24 Apr 06
In just its second year, the Exmouth RNLI boat jumble has almost
doubled its profits. At the weekend the event raised £1,137 for the
lifesaving charity. The Exmouth volunteer crew stall alone took £255
and all the proceeds go back into running their station.
See full text of release here.
18 Apr 06
The Exmouth RNLI inshore and all-weather lifeboats were in action on
Easter Saturday helping to assist a single-handed sailor who'd gone
aground. The 9-metre yacht had gone ashore on the seaward side of
Dawlish Warren after its engine failed whilst on passage from Teignmouth
to the River Exe. The lifeboats were launched when it became clear the
yachtsman needed help.
See full text of press release here.
30 Jan 06
Exmouth RNLI's D class inshore lifeboat, Spirit of the Exe, was
launched this afternoon (Monday 30 January) following reports of four
capsized canoes in the entrance to the River Exe. After finding one
empty canoe, the volunteer lifeboat crew were directed to another person
who was in a canoe with a girl in the water beside it. The lifeboat crew
rescued both before transferring them to the coastguard helicopter.
See full text of press release here.
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